Xiaomi 18 Pro rear screen: Google Maps on the back of a phone

Xiaomi goes further and says the rear screen is a good place for Google Maps directions, for controlling YouTube Music or Spotify, and for other apps.

Is a rear screen on a normal phone useful?

The author of the original commentary is not convinced, and the argument is easy to follow. Why read directions on a small screen when the big one on the other side already shows the full map? Why control music there when you can do it on the main display? Lower power use might be the answer, but the front panels are OLED, which means you can light up only a small part of them without waking the whole screen.

On foldables, the argument goes, an outer screen makes sense because it lets you do things without opening the device. On a slab phone, what you gain is not having to flip it over. Beyond taking photos or videos of yourself, the critic sees no practical use.

Adding more apps does not change that, he says. It only gives you smaller, more awkward, cut-down versions of programs you can already use in full by turning the phone to face you.

Xiaomi has not given a verdict from buyers yet, and the phones are not out. For now, the pitch is on the table: your phone's back is no longer just a back.