Back in May when Xiaomi announced the new version of their MIUI ROM called MIUI 8 alongside the Mi Max, quite a number of people were excited about the new features it was going to come with.

Weeks later, the company started an open beta program for select devices and announced that the stable version should be released around August 16. Just before the date, they released another statement saying it has been pushed to August 23, which was followed by another statement saying end of August. But it seems the company has gotten their act together as they have confirmed that a stable version of MIUI 8 will start rolling out on August 23.

As with most updates, they usually roll out in batches starting with some devices first and others later. MIUI 8 is no different. The first set of devices to get the update on the first day are the Redmi 1S, Mi 2/2S, Mi 4i, Redmi Note 3G and Redmi Note 4G. Other phones such as the Redmi 2, Redmi 2 Prime, Redmi 3, Redmi 3S/Prime, Redmi Note 2, Redmi Note 3 (Qualcomm version), Redmi Note 3 (Special Edition), Redmi Note Prime, Mi 3, Mi 4, Mi 5, Mi Note, and Mi Max (32GB model) will get the update later.

There’s one device that’s not on the list of phones getting MIUI 8. The Redmi Note 3 (Mediatek Version). I have no  idea why Xiaomi left it out. It uses the same processor as the Redmi Note 2 which is getting the update by the way, so there’s no reason why it should not get updated.

Another thing about the MIUI 8 update is the android version. Xiaomi is known to push out newer versions of their ROM but not update the android  version.

READ MORE: Xiaomi Working on A More Sophisticated VR Headset

MIUI 8 will come with new visuals and features like split-screen multitasking, a redesigned gallery app,video editing tools, a new calculator with built-in currency conversion, and scrolling screenshot. The MIUI update should also bring the newly announced Mi Pay NFC payment to the Mi 5 .

You should get a notification telling you an update is available, or you can open the Updater app and check for updates then proceed to download.

The post UPDATED: MIUI 8 Will Start Rolling Out To Devices on August 23 appeared first on Gizmochina.

While the MIUI 8 OS comes with a lot of new upgrades and visual changes such as new fonts, redesigned apps etc, the company executives have confirmed that there will be additional features rolled out in the future updates. Things like split screen multitasking are going to be added later.

READ MORE: Amazing MIUI 8 Upcoming Feature: Lost Mobile Tracking Without SIM

Another good news is that the company has confirmed that it will soon start working on MIUI 9 and it should most likely be based on Android N version. Considering that MIUI is usually stuck on old Android versions, this is welcome news to millions of fans around the globe.

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However, MIUI officials have come out with a somewhat great news that a new feature is being developed for the latest MIUI 8. The official revealed that the current Mi Cloud services will soon combine the phone lookup feature with virtual SIM feature to detect a phone even without a SIM card.

What this implies is that Mi Cloud would be able to detect the phone’s location even if the smartphone’s SIM card was pulled out by someone. As soon as the phone is booted, regardless of the presence of a SIM card inside, Mi Cloud would detect the device and pinpoint the location.

If this news is true, then it becomes very easy recovering lost or stolen phones and that would be a big boost to Xiaomi phones running the MIUI 8. More so, the feature will join other amazing features like fingerprint payment, split-screen and screen recording functionalities which are currently under development for the MIUI 8 version.

MIUI 8 also builds in several technology breakthroughs such as being able to clone apps and manage multiple accounts on the same phone and a host of other amazing features.

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Xiaomi’s MIUI OS is one of the popular ROMs available in the market right now and all Xiaomi smartphones come with the OS pre-installed. The company released the brand new MIUI 8 OS about two months ago and the OS is already in beta. The final version should be up and ready in a few weeks, after which you can expect Xiaomi phones to start receiving the update.

The new MIUI 8 version brings a lot of visual changes, and now, the colors on the OS change according to the month or even the weather. The company has included more young colors to make it look more vibrant and alive. There are a lot of feature additions as well, and today, we received information that the MIUI 8 will also add split screen multitasking.

In fact, MIUI seems to have confirmed that split-screen multitasking will soon come to MIUI 8. However, it doesn’t look like the feature will be available in the first release. So, we don’t know exactly when the feature will be available to the users, but it should be sometime later in the future minor updates to the ROM.

RELATED: MIUI 8 Enters Open Beta

Other features of the new MIUI 8 include recording live screen as well as support for fingerprint payments, like its own wallet service as well as Alipay (in the future).

MIUI 8 brings a lot of new features, and all of them have been detailed in this article. Check it out for more details.

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MIUI is one of the world’s popular ROMs, and it is found inside all the Xiaomi smartphones that are sold globally. The ROM has been praised for its simple design and features, however, it also gets a fair share of criticisms, especially about the advertising policy of the company inside MIUI. If you have ever used the UI, you would notice that there are advertisements displayed in the interface. In fact, the company’s UI has been often criticized in China for putting advertisements everywhere, and some even calling it the ADUI. Yesterday evening, when Xiaomi CEO’s Lei Jun was live, a couple of questions about MIUI’s advertising issues were raised. At that time, he revealed his views regarding this issue.

According to Lei Jun, users don’t usually hate advertising, rather, they hate the “annoying” kind of ads. This is similar to what some of the Xiaomi employees had to say about this topic earlier. Also, to be honest, we have to understand that Xiaomi makes little money from selling its smartphones, so it tries to make it up via other channels like ads in MIUI. However, Lei Jun further added that the new version of MIUI comes with a lot less ads, and if you think they are annoying, you can report it to the company.

We will have to wait and see whether the company has reduced the ads on the new MIUI 8 version. It comes with a lot of new features, most of which are listed in detail in this article. The ROM is currently in open beta and soon will be released to most Xiaomi smartphones.

Do you think the ads in MIUI are annoying?

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Xiaomi officially released the MIUI 8 OS, the next generation version to the MIUI 7 OS developed by the company. The release is a good three months ahead of schedule, which isn’t surprising given that in this competitive world, the release cycle has reduced drastically. Now that the MIUI 8 OS is released and its features detailed, it is time to look at what this new operating system brings to the table. Read on to know more about this newly announced OS.

Xiaomi kicked off the event by revealing that MIUI had reached 200 million users worldwide which is an amazing feat for the company. With so many users hooked to the OS, it becomes necessary to upgrade features as well as visuals regularly to keep everyone interested. To make things simple and organized, let’s take a look at the changes in different categories.

VISUALS:

One of the biggest changes in the new MIUI 8 OS is the visuals. The company has used rich and young colors for the OS, which reportedly provides more information to the user in a pleasant, comfortable and natural way (these were the exact words used by the company at the event!).

So, what new visuals can we expect to see on MIUI 8?

First up, the color changes as the month changes. So, for one month, you might see a yellow shade and a purple shade for another. Then, the colors change as the weather changes as well. And finally, you will also see changes in colors according to the surrounding sounds. For example, when recording, the color in the app can change according to the tone of the sound. So, the OS can change colors based on emotion, perception of temperature and sound understanding.

The dial pad is also changed a bit as compared to the MIUI 7. The notes app gets a new delete animation — paper shredder effect. When you have connected to Wi-Fi successfully, there’s a new colorful animation as well.

Mi Lanting Font

Since users read a lot on their smartphones nowadays, it becomes necessary for the phone to have the right font that won’t hurt your eyes even after reading for 6 hours on it. This is why Xiaomi has developed a new font for its MIUI 8 OS called as the Mi Lanting. The company says that they have used a new concept called “center of gravity of fonts” to design the perfect fonts for the new OS.

MIUI 8 FEATURES:

Lock Screen

Xiaomi has partnered up with over 50 different media outlets to bring high-quality lock screens for your MIUI 8 powered smartphone every day. The basic design seems to be the same, but there are going to be a lot more screen lock images at your disposal.

Gallery

Xiaomi has redesigned the new Gallery app to make it more user-friendly and feature rich. For example, there are three main changes. First, you will be notified whether your photos have been synced directly in a more friendly manner. Also, similar pictures will be grouped together instead of showing you individual ones in the gallery. GIF photos will have a “Gif” logo on them to identify them directly from the gallery app. There’s a new feature as well which will keep the thumbnail of the HD photo on your smartphone and the original one will be available on the cloud. This reportedly saves up to 90% of gallery storage.

Then there are new editing features on the gallery app as well. You can add doodles, graffiti, and other filters on photos. Also, you can edit videos in the gallery, and perform functions such as cropping, adding filters, captions or even music. Finally, there is a new SWIPE to share feature for easy sharing of your photo.

MIUI 8 Scanner

The new scanner comes with Quick QR code generation for WeChat Wallet and Alipay in China. You can also scan barcodes to search and purchase products online. The scanner also converts information in images to text at any angle. Another interesting feature is the ability to solve maths problems with step by step solutions.

MIUI 8 Calculator

The new OS adds support for advanced calculations and conversions in the calculator app. Your everyday calculations like mortgage, currency conversion etc are simplified in the new app.

Long Screenshots Feature

The new OS comes with a better long screenshot feature which makes it easier to take long screenshots. It also helps you to cut the portion of the screenshot required without much hassle since you can get a preview of the background image during the process.

MIUI 8 Notes

The new notes app comes with passcode and fingerprint lock options. There are a few templates options for the new app. Also, the notes can be viewed in grid view mode for easier navigation.

Hovering Options Menu

The MIUI 8 OS comes with a semi-transparent hovering options circle which you can position it anywhere on the screen. You can set common functions as well as applications in the menu and drag it anywhere. It will help in one-handed operation of the device as well as to perform quick functions.

Two Different Passwords

You can set two different passwords on your MIUI 8 powered smartphone. Each password will take you to a different desktop on the device and the information on each desktop will be different. So, you can dedicate a desktop for a particular function like entertainment, work etc. Also, it looks like a single phone can run two copies of an application at a time. And the data of the app on one desktop won’t interfere with the other.

New Text Selection & Translate Tool

MIUI 8 comes with a new text selection tool which offers word translation options. So, when you select a word on the screen, you get the option to translate from Chinese to English or vise versa. Further, if your selection contains important details like phone numbers or contact details, you will also get options to call or save as contact.

New Power Saving Mode

The company has tweaked the way the chain of applications interacts with each other. This reportedly helps to increase the battery life of the device by around 2-3 hours on its power saving mode. This mode freezes background applications and suspends sync to add more battery life to your device.

SMS Fraud Detection

The MIUI 8 OS comes with inbuilt SMS fraud detection system to ensure that your important personal details remain safe. The OS can analyze the SMS received by your phone and can pop up a warning if it suspects that the SMS is fraudulent. Further, when clicking on the link inside such messages, it will remind the user of the risks. And finally, even when you are in the browser with the URL about to open, it will give you a final warning to ensure that you do not give out any details to fraudulent websites.

So, this seems to sum up all of the important features of the MIUI 8 OS.

What are your first thoughts on this new version?

Meanwhile, check out the supported models and release schedule of the new OS from here.

The post MIUI 8 Released: New Visuals, Features & Apps Detailed Here appeared first on Gizmochina.

Xiaomi has added more spice to the upcoming launch event scheduled on 10^th May. Xiaomi will not only introduce Mi Max and Mi Band 2 but also will bring the long awaited MIUI 8.

An update on Weibo account of Mi announced, “MIUI 8 will be released on May 10, along with Mi Max,  you always wanted new features, there are a whole lot of new designs, new experiences. ” Later Xiaomi also tweeted from Xiaomi Global account and an update on MIUI forum confirmed the same too.

Compared to the current version, MIUI 8’s design has changed all-together. It not only has the material design, but the overall look and feel is refreshing.

In addition to the new design of the UI interface, we also found some interesting features. In the notification bar, apart from a few commonly used notifications, we found a small Cloud music application. In previous versions of MIUI, this app wasn’t there.

This announcement goes in line with morning announcement of Mi Max where Mi had hinted about the launch of a range of new applications and services.

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