Top Qs
Timeline
Chat
Perspective
MIUI
Android-based mobile OS developed by Xiaomi From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Remove ads
MIUI[a] is a deprecated mobile operating system developed and used by Xiaomi for its smartphones and mobile devices from 2010 to early 2024,[3][4][5] prior to the launch of its successor Xiaomi HyperOS.[6] MIUI was based on the Android Open Source Project. Xiaomi produced versions for Xiaomi-branded smartphones and its own Poco, MIUI Pad, MIUI Watch, and MIUI TV (PatchWall).[7]
There are different versions for each Xiaomi phone model, and each version has regional variants dependent on where the phone is sold, including China, Europe, Indonesia, India, Japan, Pakistan, Russia, Taiwan and Turkey. Xiaomi also released a few devices running Google's Android One instead of MIUI. Xiaomi devices usually received three Android version updates, and MIUI updates for four years (less for budget models).[8]
The first MIUI ROM, released in 2010, was based on Android 2.2.x Froyo and was initially developed in China by Xiaomi in its first year of operation.[9] Xiaomi added a number of apps to the basic framework, including Notes, Backup, Music, and Gallery apps.[10]
An organisation named Xiaomi Europe, using the domain xiaomi.eu and working officially with Xiaomi despite not being affiliated with the Chinese company, was set up in 2010 as a community for English-language Xiaomi users with phones running MIUI, and later HyperOS, associated with an Android version. xiaomi.eu makes available for free download debloated and improved ROM images based on China MIUI and HyperOS ROMs. Installing these images is technically challenging.[11]
Remove ads
Google Play services
Google has had disagreements with the Chinese government, and the Great Firewall currently blocks access to all Google services. Since 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, as are all MIUI devices, which ship with Google Play Services since MIUI 12.5.[12]
Remove ads
Comparison of all MIUI variants
Summarize
Perspective
There are different versions of MUIU, and its successor HyperOS, for different regions: China, EEA (Europe), India, etc., and a global version. For each region different Xiaomi devices have different implementations. The EEA version differs from the global version in meeting specific EEA regulations for mobile phones regarding advertising and other issues. Each version has successive, numbered, releases.
The version code consists of the release number followed by seven letters. The first letter identifies the Android version it is based on, the second and third letters specify the device model, the fourth and fifth letters the region, and the last two letters the mobile operator, or "XM" if not locked to any operator.[13] For example, MIUI V12.0.5.0.QFAEUXM is release 12.0.5 of MIUI, based on Android 10, for Mi 9, EEA version, not locked to an operator.
Remove ads
Android
Although MIUI is built on the Android platform, the default user interface of its earlier iterations resembled iOS due to the absence of the application tray,[16] with a grid of icons arrayed in the home panels. 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 the devices running on MIUI could appeal to iOS users wanting to switch to the Android platform.[16] By 2018, MIUI was increasingly shifting towards a design aesthetic more similar to stock Android. For instance, several elements in builds of MIUI 10 resemble Android Pie features, such as the multitasking menu and gesture controls.[17] This change was first seen in MIUI 9 (ver. 8.5.11) that shipped with Xiaomi Mi MIX 2S.[18]
Another difference from Android is MIUI's support for themes and custom fonts. Users can download theme packs and fonts, which can change the user interface of the device when installed from the Mi Themes Store. It also allows more advanced users to tweak the hard-coded firmware of the handsets.[19]
Issues
Summarize
Perspective
As MIUI's kernel was proprietary, it was in breach of Linux kernel's GPL.[20][21] The source code of certain components was released to GitHub on 25 October 2013.[22] Kernel sources for a few devices, including the Mi3, Mi4, MiNote, and Redmi 1S, were released in March 2015.[23]
In order to raise funds for the company, MIUI has its own online services from Xiaomi, including cloud services, paid themes and games. Payments are transacted using the Mi Credit digital currency.[24]
After the government of India banned over 100 Chinese apps and services in 2020 due to national security and privacy concerns, including some made by Xiaomi, the company produced separate MIUI versions without them for India.[25][26]
Vulnerabilities
In April 2019, Indian security researcher Md. Arif Khan reported that Xiaomi's apps Mi Browser and Mint Browser, for Indian and some global versions of MIUI, suffered from a vulnerability that allowed the URL address bar to be spoofed. Xiaomi gave Khan a bug bounty but opted not to fix this issue.[27][28] In addition, a vulnerability in a wallpaper carousel app Glance on Indian versions of MIUI allowed a user to bypass the lock screen and access clipboard data;[29][30] it was eventually fixed by Xiaomi.[30]
Performance issues
Some users encountered issues such as touch response problems on MIUI 12.5.[31] Users also complain about overheating, slow performance, drop in framerate, unstable app function and files randomly missing from their phone's storage. The update to MIUI 13 brought several performance improvements.[32]
Bloatware
Xiaomi devices running MIUI became controversial for including a lot of bloatware—obtrusive pre-installed unwanted software that uses system resources and slows operation.[33] As of November 14, 2025, Universal Android Debloater Next Generation recommends uninstalling more than 193 different pre-installed apps on MIUI devices, excluding some AOSP packages.[34] Many MIUI users are concerned about Xiaomi apps spying on them and targetting them with personalized advertisements.[35][36] MIUI's replacement, HyperOS, has the same issues.[37]
Remove ads
Version history
Summarize
Perspective
An organisation named Xiaomi Europe, using the domain xiaomi.eu and working officially with Xiaomi despite not being affiliated with the Chinese company,[11] was set up in 2010 as a community for English-language Xiaomi users with phones running MIUI, and later HyperOS, associated with an Android version, with discussion forums. The website issues its own debloated and improved versions of Xiaomi ROM images based on China ROMs for devices using Qualcomm Snapdragon hardware. Weekly beta versions of MIUI and HyperOS were also issued, but Xiaomi later stopped making their HyperOS beta code available.[11] Installing a xiaomi.eu ROM image is technically challenging, requiring the bootloader to be unlocked and the firmware flashed.
xiaomi.eu say that their ROMs were approved by the official EU distributor ABC Data to not void warranty for devices sold by them.[38] According to a xiaomi.eu leader in 2021, the official ROM must be flashed and the bootloader locked before returning a device for warranty repair.[39]
There are other customised versions of MIUI and HyperOS for Xiaomi devices,[40] and also other non-Xiaomi-based custom Android ROMs can be installed on Xiaomi phones.[41]
Remove ads
See also
Notes
References
External links
Wikiwand - on
Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.
Remove ads