MIUI is a mobile user interface developed and maintained by Xiaomi exclusively for its smartphones and related communication devices. It is based on the Android Open-Source Project (AOSP) version of Android and serves as the basis for other operating systems created by Xiaomi, including MIUI for POCO, MIUI Pad, MIUI Watch, and MIUI TV (PatchWall).
The latest version of MIUI is MIUI 14, which is based on Android 13. This version was first launched with the Xiaomi 13 series and will roll out to older Xiaomi and Redmi phones throughout the first half of 2023. It’s important to note that Xiaomi’s software differs from country to country.
There are different versions of MIUI for each Xiaomi phone model, and each version has variants according to the regions in which the phone is sold, including China, Europe, Indonesia, India, Japan, Pakistan, Russia, Taiwan, and Turkey. Xiaomi has also released a few devices running Google’s Android One instead of MIUI. Xiaomi devices usually get three Android version updates but get MIUI updates for four years (less for budget models).
The first MIUI ROM was released in 2010 and was based on Android 2.2.x Froyo. It was initially developed in Chinese by Xiaomi in its first year. Xiaomi added several apps to the basic framework, including Notes, Backup, Music, and Gallery apps.
An organization named Xiaomi Europe was set up in 2010 as a community for English-language Xiaomi phones running MIUI associated with an Android version. This organization is not affiliated with the Chinese company but works officially with Xiaomi. It issues its own stable and weekly versions of Xiaomi MIUI ROMs based on the stable and weekly beta versions of the Chinese ROM. Installing the Xiaomi.eu ROM voids the warranty on Xiaomi phones; according to the xiaomi. EU leader, the official ROM must be flashed, and the bootloader locked before returning a device for warranty repair.
Google has had disagreements with the Chinese government, and access to many Google services is blocked in mainland China. As a result, MIUI does not ship with Google Play Services in mainland China. However, Xiaomi has expanded its operations outside China; MIUI releases for Android devices outside mainland China have Google Play Services and Google Apps such as Gmail, GMaps, YouTube and Google Play pre-installed and functioning as on any other Android device. MIUI global versions are certified by Google.
Although MIUI is built on the Android platform, the default user interface of its earlier iterations resembled iOS due to the absence of an application tray. Other iOS similarities include the app icons being in a uniform shape, the dialer and in-call interface, the organization of the Settings app, and the visual appearance of toggles in the UI. This prompted some observers to cite how devices running on MIUI could appeal to iOS users wanting to switch to the Android platform.
By 2018, however, MIUI was increasingly shifting towards a design aesthetic more similar to stock Android. For instance, several elements in the MIUI 10 build resemble Android Pie features such as the multitasking menu and gesture controls. This change was first seen in the MIUI 9 (ver. 8.5.11) that shipped with the Xiaomi Mi MIX 2S.
Another difference from Android is MIUI’s support for themes and custom fonts. Users can download theme packs and fonts from the Mi Themes Store which can change the user interface of their device once installed.
MIUI’s kernel was proprietary and in breach of the Linux kernel’s GPL. Source code for certain components was released to GitHub on October 25, 2013. Kernel sources for a few devices including Mi3 Mi4 MiNote Redmi1S were released in March 2015.
To raise funds for the company MIUI has its online services from Xiaomi including cloud services paid themes games payments are transacted using Mi Credit digital currency.
After India banned over 100 Chinese apps and services in 2020 due to national security privacy concerns including some made by Xiaomi company developed an MIUI version without them for India.
In April 2019 security researcher Arif Khan reported that Xiaomi’s browser apps Mi Browser and Mint Browser suffered from a vulnerability allowed URL address bar to be spoofed affected Indian certain global versions of MIUI gave Khan Bug bounty program opted not to fix issue addition vulnerability wallpaper carousel app Glance Indian versions allowed user bypass lock screen access clipboard data vulnerability eventually fixed by Xiaomi.
MIUI has several features that are unique to it and not found in stock Android. Some of these features include:
- Themes and Custom Fonts: MIUI supports themes and custom fonts, allowing users to download theme packs and fonts from the Mi Themes Store that can change the user interface of their device once installed.
- Notes, Backup, Music, and Gallery Apps: Xiaomi added several apps to the basic framework of MIUI, including Notes, Backup, Music, and Gallery apps.
- Cloud Services: MIUI has its online services from Xiaomi, including cloud services.
- Paid Themes and Games: MIUI also offers paid themes and games to its users. Payments are transacted using the Mi Credit digital currency.
- Share Images Without Metadata: MIUI 12 has a feature that allows you to share your images without location and metadata.
- Sound Assistant: MIUI’s Sound Assistant lets you adjust media volume based on which app you’re using. For instance, you can reduce the volume of Facebook while letting your music play at higher volumes in the background.
- Second Space: With Second Space, MIUI 12 allows you to create a separate area within your phone so you can cut out some of the noise. While you can import apps and data from your first space, Second Space is a blank slate that could be set up just for work apps.
- Google Home Integration in Control Center: MIUI offers Google Home integration right in the control center. You can even customize the order of compatible devices and select which ones show up.
- Floating Windows: Android comes with unique multitasking features, but MIUI 12 takes it a step further with floating windows. You can quickly open an app in a floating window by long-pressing a banner notification.
- Virtual Identity: Virtual Identity feature allows the user to protect their personal information on any website or app by generating a virtual identifier rather than using the user’s unique one.
MIUI offers great usage until the point users complain about overheating, slow performance, drop in framerate, unstable app function, randomly missing files, and phone storage compared to MIUI14 custom skin which brings several performance improvements and adds numerous features.
MIUI is a mobile user interface that offers a lot of features and customization options to its users. The latest MIUI version brings many improvements and enhancements to the user experience. Whether you are looking for themes, fonts, sound assistant, second space, video toolbox, or floating windows, MIUI 14 has something for everyone. If you are a Xiaomi user or a fan of MIUI, you should check out the new features and see how they can make your smartphone usage more enjoyable and productive. Thank you for reading this blog post about MIUI! I hope you learned something new and interesting about this amazing software.
