MIUI 14 launched: All details about Xiaomi’s Android 13 update

Anurag — Sun, 11 Dec 2022 14:23:33 +0000

After a long wait, Xiaomi finally unveiled its latest custom Android skin, MIUI 14, alongside the new flagship number series. The user interface of the new software is based on Android 13 and comes with plenty of visual changes, several new features, and improved cross-device collaboration. The Chinese firm says MIUI 14 has a reduced firmware size compared to MIUI 13 and it arrives with an enhanced system architecture, for better performance and efficiency. Let’s have a detailed look at what’s new in Xiaomi’s Android 13-based software.

Design

The latest MIUI 14 comes with a significant visual overhaul. The company has made changes to the icons and the overall UI. The icons are large and their size can be adjusted. In addition, there are also new widget formats and home screen folders, giving users more customization options.

Further, the software brings new pet and plant widgets. This is somewhat similar to the Pixel Pals app for iOS. Once you add the pet/plant ornament on the home screen, you can interact or play with it.

Performance

Xiaomi talked a lot about performance during the launch of MIUI 14. The maker has worked a lot in making the software light. MIUI 14 comes with a new MIUI photon engine, which runs on the underlying Android kernel. This will allow third-party developers to create smoother and more power-efficient applications.

The system memory footprints have been greatly reduced and now there are only eight apps that cannot be uninstalled. Xiaomi claims the fluency of the system has been improved by up to 60%. Not only system apps, but third-party apps also offer improved performance and efficiency.

New Features

The biggest feature of the MIUI 14 would be its small size. The total size of the firmware is just 13.09GB, which is very less compared to the previous versions of MIUI. There’s also a new app cleaning feature that will compress low-frequency applications and save only one copy of duplicate files.

The software also brings new notification management options. Users will now be able to close the resident notifications with just one swipe. Also, newly installed apps will require notification authorization.

Privacy is also improved with no user data being stored in the cloud and all actions performed locally on the device.

AI Features

Several new AI features are packed into MIUI 14. The UI can now extract text from images. Users can also press and hold the text on a Gallery image to instantly recognize it now. Up to 8 languages are supported. There’s also a live captioning feature for video conferences.

Xiaomi has made notable improvements to the Mi AI voice assistant as well. It can be used to scan documents, translate, and filter spam calls. It can perform complicated daily tasks with simple voice commands.

MIUI Interconnection

MIUI 14 will allow users to seamlessly connect with other ecosystem products. The company says over a billion devices are supported by two major interconnection centers. There is an updated paired-device interface with each device occupying its own space onscreen, some of which can be moved from one to another to switch inputs.

The Xiaomi Magic center, a platform that lets you manage your Xiaomi ecosystem products, has also been revamped and now offers improved interconnection speed between devices. As per the company, the new high-speed interconnection bus has increased the speed of earphone connectivity by 50%, the speed of mobile TV connection by 12%, and picture transmission during streaming by 77%.

Family Service

The latest version of MIUI is said to be even more family-friendly. It comes with various family services which let you create groups with up to 8 members and assign various roles with different permissions. Users will be able to share photo albums with their family groups. Everyone in the group will be able to view and upload new items.

Family services also allow sharing of health data like heart rate, blood oxygen, and sleep with family members. In addition, there are various parental control options that will allow users to limit screen time, restrict app usage, set a secure area, and more.