Introduction
Xiaomi’s proprietary MIUI software program matured fairly a bit through the years and we are able to confidently say that the final couple of generations haven’t got that burdened Chinese language really feel. And we’re not implying that Chinese language software program is unhealthy. It is simply typically tailor-made towards a very completely different market and person base.
MIUI 14 does not really feel like that in any respect. It brings a ton of customization choices to cater to anybody’s wants. And on the similar time, it feels clear, easy and usable.
Nonetheless, the most recent iteration provides no measurable modifications over the past MIUI 13 era, at the least relating to the internationally-available model. The brand new model is generally about under-the-hood modifications and optimizations. Nonetheless, there’s so much to cowl on this feature-rich MIUI setting, so proceed studying to see if it is down your alley earlier than you seize a Xiaomi smartphone.
Android 13
Xiaomi’s MIUI is barely influenced by new Android variations, which is a double-edged sword. On one hand, Xiaomi can distribute its newest Android pores and skin and options to most of its smartphones – together with the low-end ones. And by doing so, the corporate positive factors fame for holding its smartphones updated with the most recent options.
However on the opposite, some Android-intrinsic options do not make it MIUI. As an example, we’re but to see notification historical past from Android 12, and even the MIUI 14 + Android 13 combo does not immediate you to allow or disable notifications on newly put in apps. And people are simply a number of the lacking options that come to thoughts. There are various extra functionalities that Xiaomi selected to skip in its updates.
We additionally did not discover any vital distinction between Xiaomi smartphones working MIUI 14 + Android 12 and MIUI 14 + Android 13, suggesting that the Android model beneath MIUI does not matter all that a lot. Characteristic disparity stems principally from {hardware} limitations and smartphone tiers inside Xiaomi’s portfolio.
MIUI 14
What’s new?
Xiaomi says MIUI 14 re-built from the bottom up. It makes use of a brand new system structure on the Android Kernel stage with CPU, GPU and reminiscence useful resource scheduling. The firmware dimension has been decreased together with general reminiscence utilization. The tip result’s an alleged 60% smoother operation measured on a Xiaomi 12S Extremely.
There’s additionally automated compression for apps which might be not often used, and now you can uninstall all apps apart from eight core system apps. That is an enormous step in direction of de-bloating its MIUI software program because it ships with fairly a little bit of pre-installed apps.
When Xiaomi introduced MIUI 14 alongside the Xiaomi 13 sequence, the corporate outlined a slew of latest options (except for the system optimizations above), however little did we all know that a lot of them will not make it to the worldwide model of the ROM.
The Giant folders characteristic is among the many few user-facing options that has made it to the abroad version MIUI. And even then, there are variations within the implementations. We have seen MIUI 14 telephones that supply each Giant and XXL folder variants, whereas others have solely Giant folders.
Giant folders
Coincidentally, we had loads of time to spend with the Xiaomi 12S Extremely however with ported World model of the official Chinese language MIUI 14 + Android 13 ROM. We discovered many variations in addition to options we’ve not seen earlier than. One stood out specifically – App administration.
Underneath the Handle apps sub-menu, we discovered App conduct log. It tracks every app’s motion within the background and retains a log in chronological order. It could actually even let you know if a sure app began one other app or when an app tries to launch within the background. We had been capable of repair some app-related points because of this log and we’re disillusioned that this characteristic hasn’t made its solution to the worldwide model of MIUI.
App conduct within the Chinese language model of the ROM
Within the telephones offered exterior of China, you additionally will not see the brand new widgets with varied sizes and styles, there are not any Tamagotchi-inspired flowers and pets that may stay on your private home display screen, and we additionally did not discover the duplicated file merger.
The worldwide model skips of MIUI 14 additionally skips the brand new toggle within the Management middle that allows you to handle Xiaomi equipment and wearables.
Navigation, UI and customization
UI navigation is enterprise as typical. You do have the choice for software program buttons as an alternative of gesture-based navigation, however who’s nonetheless utilizing that? Nonetheless, we discovered three distinctive issues to MIUI’s navigation gestures. First off, you may disguise the navigation tablet on the backside, however you may nonetheless swipe left and proper the underside edge to rapidly change between apps. That is often not potential if you happen to disguise the tablet on different Android skins and even on vanilla Android.
Secondly, the again gesture solely works if you happen to swipe from the underside half of the perimeters. It’s because Xiaomi did not need to intrude with some pull-out menus in some apps. For those who swipe the higher half of the left/proper edge, you’ll pull out the specified menu as an alternative of going again.
Gesture navigation
And thirdly, there’s granular management over palm rejection. There are two customary presets and one which lets you alter the realm, which will not react to touches across the edges of the show. It is helpful totally on telephones with curved facet edges.
UI-wise, not a lot has modified coming from MIUI 13. The system makes use of its personal iconography for the principle Settings menu and the general look is acquainted.
All system menus have a constant, flat, streamlined and simplistic design, with many of the interactable content material moved to the underside half of the display screen for simpler attain. It is from Samsung’s One UI one-handed design and even Oppo/OnePlus/Realme’s ColorOS/OxygenOS/Realme UI, the place you’ve just about the whole lot inside your thumb’s attain.
Basic settings
The app drawer is one cool exception. It has the search bar proper on the backside of the show, and the outcomes are neatly organized proper above the search bar.
App drawer
Talking of the app drawer, you may go for a easy Residence display screen structure, however you would be lacking the classes, the simple app search and the customizable scroller. That is by far probably the greatest and most well-organized app drawers we have used on Android.
The current apps menu is one other facet of MIUI that is completely different from telephones from different makes. BIt shows your opened apps in a vertically scrollable record of tiles. You additionally get the choice to vary the structure to the extra widespread horizontal, carousel-style association.
Current apps
The current apps menu can also be residence to a few helpful shortcuts like Deep clear or Floating home windows. The latter lets you open just a few apps in floating home windows for simpler multitasking. We are going to discuss that intimately a bit later.
The notification shade additionally has two variations. MIUI 14 boots with the so-called Management Centre by default, which mimics Apple’s iOS Management Middle. Swiping down on the appropriate half of the display screen opens up the Management Centre with solely fast toggles and two sliders for display screen brightness and sound. The Wi-Fi and Cell information toggles are fastened and can’t be modified/changed. The remainder, you may re-arrange to your liking.
Normal notification shade and Management centre
Swiping down on the left half of the show opens up the notification shade with the acquainted card-style notifications.
You may change between the notification shade and the Management Centre with left/proper swipes. Meaning you may’t dismiss notification playing cards by swiping left, which is the principle problem we now have with this implementation. In any other case, we see the potential and why some customers would go for the brand new Management Centre type. It offers you a lot bigger management toggles. We won’t fairly perceive why the cellular information toggle is the one one which turns inexperienced when on whereas all others are blue of their lively state.
Customization-wise, there’s a lot to undergo. Xiaomi’s Themes ecosystem has been lively for a few years, so there are a variety of inventive neighborhood members with a whole bunch of themes.
Themes
The system Themes app lets you change not solely your wallpaper but in addition your font, icons, ringtones and AoD type.
For the extra premium Xiaomis, you may go for the so-called Tremendous wallpapers. They’re neat animations of the Earth, Saturn, Mars, geometry shapes and the snowy peaks of Mount Siguniang. They apply to your lock display screen, residence display screen and AoD.
Tremendous wallpapers
Talking of the At all times-on Show, MIUI has one of many largest choice of AoD types and presets. You may even create one from scratch with a picture of your selecting. However functionality-wise, it provides the usual choices like scheduling or when to show off routinely.
AoD Choices
Notifications
Like most different issues, Xiaomi enables you to customise your notifications and the way they seem. You may select which apps to look on the lock display screen (it’s possible you’ll need to disguise apps delivering delicate data on the lock display screen), disable everlasting notifications, floating and notification badges on per app foundation. You might be fairly versatile with the best way apps notify you.
Notification choices
There’s even an choice to swipe up on a floating notification to snooze upcoming ones within the subsequent minute or till you lock the system. This perform is kind of helpful when a sure messaging app is spamming you with notifications if you are utilizing the cellphone for different stuff.
The notification playing cards within the notification shade have two stylings to select from. There’s the MIUI type and the default Android one. The Android ones use easier icon types and group notifications from a single app inside one card. The MIUI notifications are considerably extra compact and use the unique app icons. And when you increase notifications coming from one app, every notification will get its personal card.
Notifcation playing cards type: Android default • Android default • MIUI • MIUI
What we want to see in future MIUI releases is the flexibility to regulate sounds for calls and notifications individually. That is potential on a number of different Android overlays however not in MIUI.
Sadly, one of many largest points we had with MIUI, regardless of the model of the software program, is the notification reliability. It seems that the system is means too overzealous with holding background apps in test, and notifications would both arrive late or they will not arrive in any respect. And there does not appear to be a sample both. Some apps are killed within the background, whereas others aren’t.
Notification points workaround
There’s a workaround, nevertheless it’s not excellent. You may whitelist sure apps from MIUI’s administration and permit them to autostart. This could alleviate a number of the notification points however will not repair them solely. We have observed this being a factor on a couple of MIUI variations and on a couple of cellphone. So maintain that in thoughts.
Good and extra options
Though not distinctive in any means, MIUI provides multi-tasking by way of the Floating home windows perform. Both by opening up the current apps menu and tapping on Floating home windows, or by pulling out the so-called Sidebar, you may open sure apps (nearly all of them in our expertise) in small, interactive home windows. You may divulge heart’s contents to two apps in Floating home windows and a 3rd app in full-screen. It’s also possible to dock a few of them on the appropriate facet of the display screen. Performing the house gesture will reduce the apps however will not shut them.
Sidebar and floating home windows
One other solution to open up an app in a minimized window is to faucet and swipe down on a floating notification card. It will open up the app in query in a Floating window mode.
The Sidebar turns into a Video toolbox as soon as the system detects a video participant. In fact, the toolbox works within the YouTube app and supplies a number of helpful shortcuts. Arguably essentially the most helpful characteristic, nevertheless, is the background playback. Any YouTube video will proceed taking part in even when the cellphone is locked.
Video toolbox
Usually, it is a characteristic accessible solely to YouTube Premium subscribers, so MIUI’s Video toolbox is actually saving you cash.
Underneath the Extra settings sub-menu, MIUI holds its gesture shortcuts, which most different Android iterations have. You may arrange a three-finger swipe gesture for screenshots and a three-finger tap-and-hold for a partial screenshot.
Sure Xiaomi telephones, principally the premium ones, have a further tap-on-the-back gesture. You may assign a double-tap or triple-tap perform, however regardless of the cellphone, we really feel just like the tapping gesture on the again is essentially unreliable. It not often prompts except you might be very assertive together with your faucets.
Extra settings and Gesture shortcuts
Final however not least, MIUI 14 provides improved textual content recognition by way of the default Gallery. You may open up a photograph or screenshot, faucet on the three-dotted icon and select Acknowledge textual content. It’s going to extract all of the textual content from the photograph and dump it on a notepad-like window so you may copy and paste no matter you discover helpful. This is not accessible on sure low-powered Xiaomis, although.
MIUI’s textual content recognition vs. Google Lens
Alternatively, you may at all times depend on Google’s Lens. The Gallery and the default Digicam app present deep integration with Google Lens, which is significantly extra superior and handy than the default one from Xiaomi, because it acknowledges emails, cellphone numbers, pictures and so forth. and supplies extra immediately actionable decisions.
Privateness and safety
Despite the fact that Xiaomi did not implement lots of the Android-intrinsic options from the final couple of releases, it did get round to incorporating privacy-related options such because the Privateness dashboard, per app permissions and the standing indicator within the top-left nook of the display screen when an app makes use of your microphone or digicam.
App permissions are neatly organized into three principal teams – delicate permissions, particular permissions and different permissions. Infrequently, if the system deems it mandatory, it should warn you of a high-risk permission from an app, and it’ll allow you to resolve what to do with it.
App permissions
MIUI carries round a Safety app that helps you preserve a wholesome software program standing. We stay skeptical of how sensible these options are, however you are able to do a safety scan on demand, lock sure apps with a fingerprint or do a deep clear by deleting unused recordsdata. It’s also possible to kill draining apps within the background with a single faucet. The Safety app is usually a great tool to delete system-wide cache too.
Safety app, Twin apps, Second house
Twin apps and Second house, then again, are fairly helpful options. The primary one lets you register with completely different accounts in a single app and maintain the person information separate for each person accounts. The Second house does the identical however for the whole system. For instance you’ve private and enterprise accounts to handle with completely different apps and delicate data. You are able to do that on a single system with Second house.
Though not essentially a safety characteristic, Xiaomi telephones with under-display fingerprint readers allow you to launch a QR code scanner or provoke a search as quickly as you unlock the cellphone. You simply should maintain your finger on the scanner after unlocking. Some of these shortcuts can be found on different proprietary Android software program, however MIUI does not allow you to customise the shortcuts. The Chinese language model of MIUI has extra shortcuts however does not help you customise them both.
System apps
For markets exterior of China, Xiaomi tried to streamline the expertise by eradicating a number of the system apps. For instance, the default Messaging and Telephone apps are from Google, whereas the Chinese language model adopts its personal apps. Nonetheless, one can find a Music participant, Video participant, Calculator, Gallery app, File supervisor, Recorder, Compass, the Xiaomi Neighborhood app and extra. In fact, the usual Google apps are additionally pre-installed together with third-party purposes like TikTok, Fb, and so forth. It is dependent upon your area.
Gallery app
And in case your cellphone has an IR blaster, you should use the Mi distant app to arrange a reference to your private home home equipment, together with the TV. There’s an enormous record of supported gadgets, so you’ll most probably make use of the Mi distant app.
Basic efficiency and day-to-day usability
We now have used MIUI 14 as a every day driver for just a few months now, and it seems and looks like your common Android OS. And we imply that in a great way. Whereas Xiaomi’s tackle Android has its personal look, it is nonetheless per Android. Builders did not strive reinventing the wheel.
The perfect half is that MIUI simply works. Other than the annoying notification points with some apps, the OS is kind of secure, dependable and quick. Even after putting in a whole bunch of apps and utilizing two completely different Xiaomi telephones, MIUI 14 remained snappy and responsive. You may even go for quicker animation, which can pace up issues even additional. And we advise you try this as a result of animations within the so-called Relaxed mode really feel a bit sluggish to our style.
Verdict
At its core, MIUI is a mature Android pores and skin, and it is undoubtedly one of the crucial constant and snappy OSs we have used recently. It has come a great distance.
Nonetheless, the aggressive background app administration and the hindered notification dealing with maintain us from giving MIUI 14 an ideal rating. We hope Xiaomi will work on these sooner or later and likewise attempt to implement at the least a number of the options it already has in its Chinese language ROM. We’re fully baffled by the choice to skip even fundamental options such because the double-tap-to-lock on the house display screen to lock.
Having mentioned that, MIUI remains to be one of the crucial customizable Android overlays on the market. You may change and alter just about the whole lot to your liking (okay, possibly with out the app notification quantity). So it is most likely protected to imagine that MIUI 14 will cater to nearly everybody, making it one of the crucial versatile UIs on the market.
