BackWhat the MIUI 7 update brings to Xiaomi
The Chinese smartphone maker is updating the MIUI interface, which will also be rolled out as an update for existing phones
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Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi is giving the software side of its phones a major reboot. The MIUI interface, a custom layer of visual tweaks and features that run over Android in Xiaomi phones, is being upgraded. The new version will be called MIUI 7, and is based on Android 5.1 Lollipop. The global version of this software will be released on Wednesday, and should be rolled out for phones in different countries in phases over the next few weeks.
There are a whole bunch of new features, apps and performance improvements. We look at five most important changes the new software will bring to Xiaomi’s existing phone, and the forthcoming launches.
Performance improvements
In addition to the performance and battery life improvements that Google’s latest Android version brings to the tablet, Xiaomi has also added some tweaks to further improve performance. Xiaomi says that the MIUI 7 is 30% faster than the existing MIUI 6 software. There are tweaks in the software that allow the processor to run at a much higher speed when there are some resource intensive apps running, and then quickly clock down once the task is complete. Also, changes under the hood mean that across the board, the phone feels snappier to use—home screens load faster, apps open quicker and the transitions are smoother.
Better battery
Compared to MIUI 6, the new software will offer up to 25% more battery life. For any smartphone, that is a massive improvement. In any smartphone, background apps and processes eat up battery even if the phone itself is lying silently on a table—mobile data networks, GPS sensors, news and social media apps and Wi-Fi scanning are some examples. Xiaomi’s own research suggests that 48% of the phone’s battery life is wasted when the device is actually not being used. In MIUI 7, Xiaomi has preconfigured rules for individual as well as genre-specific apps, dictating how they consume battery while running in the background.
Battery life improvement, as well as performance boost, will vary depending on factors such as the number of apps being used and the quality of mobile networks. The numbers Xiaomi claims are best case scenarios. While most users may actually get the full benefit, we will have to test the MIUI 7 under various use-cases to see how much of an improvement most users can truly expect.
Enhanced fonts
The new software brings with it a new font too, with tweaks in terms of line spacing and text size. Users can tweak the size of the text on-screen in five sizes—standard, medium, large, oversized and giant. The font size of the information in the notification bar has been increased too. Comparing font styles and the layout of the MIUI 6 on Xiaomi phones globally and the MIUI 7, available only in China at this time, there is no doubt that visual elements in the latter look crisper, it is easier to read text and the layout is quite clean.
There is a school of thought that the MIUI looks very similar to Apple’s iOS interface, but there really isn’t much truth in that fact, except possibly the way the icons are laid out on the home screen and the generous use of white colour in many apps.
Photo album recognition
The photo gallery app in MIUI 7 has the face-recognition feature, which allows automatic sorting of images in the People Tab within the app. For example, you can create an album for your child, and all photos which he is a part of will get sorted into a separate album too. Anyone who uses the phone as their primary camera will really appreciate this feature, but we will reserve our judgement on the accuracy till the time we actually test the MIUI 7.
Kids Mode
If you have children at home, they will inevitably get their hands on your phone. And if you have important documents and emails in the phone, there is a genuine risk of something getting deleted by accident. The MIUI 7 adds an all-new Kids Mode, which lets parents control the apps and features that children can access when they pick up the phone. Android phones from Samsung and HTC have had this feature for a while now.
In 36 countries including China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, US, Japan, UK, and Australia, Xiaomi is offering a nifty little feature that is similar to a virtual SIM card, with the MIUI 7. Simply put, the user needs to buy an international roaming data plan from Xiaomi for the country they are travelling to, and can continue to use 3G/4G in that country, without having to buy a new SIM card. This feature will be rolled out globally, over time.
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