Samsung’s Privacy Display might not remain exclusive for much longer. A new leak hints that Xiaomi is working on a new feature that will mimic the Galaxy S26 Ultra‘s software and hardware magic.
According to tipster Yogesh Brar, a new anti-snoop tech is in the works and is expected to ship with Xiaomi’s HyperOS 4 later this year.
Xiaomi might make it affordable
The Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra uses a hardware-integrated Privacy Display powered by Flex Magic Pixel, which Samsung says controls light emission to make the screen difficult to read from the side while keeping it clear for the person looking straight at it.
However, Xiaomi’s rumored approach sounds different. Since the feature is set to arrive with HyperOS 4 (based on Android 17), it likely employs some software magic. Of course, this would make it less advanced than Samsung’s pixel-level trick, but it makes it easier to roll out across multiple devices.
Samsung still has the technical lead
A software privacy mode would have obvious limits. It probably would not narrow viewing angles in the same way Samsung’s panel does. So while it might sound quite useful for now, it might end up impacting the user experience overall.
Samsung will still have the advantage here. Its Privacy Display can narrow viewing angles through dedicated screen tech, which can also be applied to either the full screen or specific areas. Keep in mind that this is still just an unconfirmed leak, and Xiaomi hasn’t confirmed anything yet. However, it is in line with recent reports that point to Chinese smartphone makers testing out “spy screens”.