What you need to know
- Recent rumors claim that Xiaomi is working on a Privacy Screen for its devices, but it will do so differently than Samsung.
- The company may be looking at software to do this, and may do so “later this year” for HyperOS 4 (Android 17).
- After the debut of the Galaxy S26 Ultra, rumors claimed that other OEMs were looking to follow Samsung’s newest feature, with Xiaomi and Honor highlighted as potential candidates.
Samsung’s Privacy Screen was a real highlight for the Galaxy S26 series, and another rumor expands on which of its competitors will do the same.
Rumors about it continued on social media, with tipster Yogesh Brar claims Xiaomi is working on Privacy Screen (via Digital Trends). Brar’s early speculations claim that Xiaomi is working on a feature “similar” to Samsung’s Privacy Screen. This may be due to the Chinese OEM following the path towards this security feature via software.
Brar claims that Xiaomi may implement a version of Privacy Screen through a future HyperOS update. The post says it could arrive with HyperOS 4 “later this year.” Exactly how this might work is still unclear, especially since Xiaomi is (as claimed) pursuing a software route rather than a hardware one. The publication theorizes that Xiaomi’s software-based Privacy Screen may have some significant limitations compared to the hardware version.
We’ll have to see it to know exactly what it looks like. Brar’s claim suggests that HyperOS 4 will carry this based on Android 17. Last year, Xiaomi launched the big HyperOS in late October. Perhaps we’ll see similar behavior again with this Privacy Screen app.
Competition
Shortly after the debut of the Galaxy S26 series, we were already seeing reports that Samsung’s competitors were focusing on the Privacy Screen. Rumors claimed that additional OEMs already tries to reflect the technology. No specifics were given, but it was speculated that such OEMs could include Xiaomi and possibly Honor. Most interestingly, the tipster claimed that these companies will deploy a privacy display at the hardware level, just like Samsung.
However, what we’ve seen in rumors about Xiaomi today is that it could be looking at software to make this happen. It’s an interesting change that makes us even more curious about how it will shape up. Previous rumors have suggested that we’ll see other OEMs adopt Samsung’s Privacy Screen later this year, in September and beyond. Samsung’s new feature is incredibly welcome, especially for user privacy. but not entirely innocent.
In our tests, the inclusion of such technology seems to have a negative impact on the brightness of the S26 Ultra. The screen is slightly darker than the S25 Ultra from all angles.
Android Central’s Take
I’m very curious how the software version of Privacy Screen will work. In the past, Samsung solved the privacy problem for users and eliminated the need to get a foreign version to stick with. Sure, both have their downsides, but they get the job done. For Xiaomi – if I believe the rumor, how will the firmware do it? Hopefully I won’t have to wait too long to find out.
