Xiaomi 18 Pro/Pro Max, vivo X500, Pro/Pro Max are all official, Week 39 in review

It's been quite a busy week, and as we're now approaching the end of September, the calm and quiet of summer is truly behind us. Tech is in full swing again! So let's recap the past seven days.

Qualcomm unveiled its latest flagship chipsets – the Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6 and Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6. Both are built on TSMC's 2nm process and bring upgraded Oryon CPU cores, Adreno GPUs, and improved AI capabilities. The Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6 is the more powerful of the two, while the regular Elite Gen 6 is aimed at a broader range of flagship phones. The first devices powered by the new chips are expected to arrive later this year.

Xiaomi unveiled the 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max with 6.4-inch and 6.9-inch OLED displays, respectively, complete with hardware-level privacy protection and secondary 2.7-inch and 2.9-inch rear screens. Both phones feature dual 200MP Leica cameras, while the Pro packs a 7,000mAh battery and Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6, and the Pro Max gets an 8,500mAh cell and Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6.

The Xiaomi 18 Pro starts at CNY 5,999 ($840), while the Pro Max starts at CNY 6,999 ($980) in China. Both are already on sale there, and Xiaomi confirmed the 18 Pro series will launch globally later this year.

The vivo X500 series is also official, with three models – the X500, X500 Pro and X500 Pro Max. The X500 and Pro use MediaTek’s Dimensity 9600, while the Pro Max steps up to the Dimensity 9600+ and brings the most capable camera setup of the trio.

All three phones feature large batteries, Zeiss-branded cameras, and OriginOS 7. The vivo X500 series launches first in China, with sales starting on September 30; global availability is marked for October 27.

Realme introduced the 16 Pro Harry Potter Edition, featuring a themed design and the company’s (and the world's first) Quadra Light-Sensing Color-Changing technology, allowing the Hogwarts crest on the back of the phone to take the four houses' respective colors. It also comes with Harry Potter-themed UI elements, packaging, and accessories.

OnePlus officially revealed the design of the OnePlus 16 ahead of its full launch. The phone gets a redesigned camera island and will be offered in three colors: Dark Forest, Mars Masterprice, and Tomorrow Starlight. Or black, light orange, and grey.

Meta unveiled two new pairs of smart glasses – a new VR-focused model and the Ray-Ban Meta Audio. The latter drops the cameras entirely and focuses on audio, calls, and Meta AI, offering a more discreet alternative to the company’s existing camera-equipped Ray-Bans.

The Samsung Galaxy S27 series’ memory configurations leaked. The Galaxy S27 and S27+ are tipped to start with 12GB of RAM, while the S27 Pro and S27 Ultra will reportedly offer up to 16GB, with storage options reaching 1TB on the Ultra.

Right after Qualcomm unveiled its new flagship SoCs, Motorola announced the Signature 27, powered by the Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6. Motorola didn't fully reveal the phone, but it has a 200MP zoom camera, a high-end OLED screen, and a large battery!

Finally, vivo revealed the design and key specs of the upcoming V80. It will feature a 6.59-inch 1.5K 144Hz OLED, a 7,200mAh battery with 90W charging and a Zeiss-backed camera system with 4K/60fps video. It will come in Sunrise Anthem, Horizon Blue and Stellar Black. The vivo V80 will launch in India on October 6, with pricing to be announced then. It will also be the first vivo phone outside China to ship with OriginOS 7.