At an event held in China today, Xiaomi announced the next version of MIUI with some major design changes and feature additions. Broadly speaking, the new MIUI update is aimed at improving loading times, making efficient use of the new, bigger displays and has a software-based AI portrait mode.
Xiaomi announced MIUI 10 today alongside the Mi 8, Mi 8SE, Mi 8 Explorer Edition, Mi VR Standalone, Mi TV 75” and the Mi Band 3. Xiaomi had earlier teased that the MIUI 10 update will be aimed at increasing the overall speed of operation of its interface. Today, Xiaomi revealed that the new update comes with performance improvements and a new AI preload feature that should reduce loading times across the operating system.
What’s new in MIUI 10?
New Recents
Devices with 18:9 or similar ratio displays are becoming quite common these days, and Xiaomi too has launched several phones with similar aspect ratios. To make better use of these new taller displays, Xiaomi has revamped the Recents screen to show more apps at the same time. Doing so allows Xiaomi to make more efficient use of the screen real estate.
Complimenting the new Recents screen are full screen display gestures and swiping actions that allow users to delete tasks. Instead of viewing one full app (and parts of other apps) now, you can view almost three to four apps in MIUI 10 – app cards are placed vertically in two rows now.
AI Portraits
With the popularity of portrait mode selfies with the bokeh effect rising, Xiaomi has gone ahead and announced an interesting feature that should bring this feature to a range of Xiaomi smartphones. This feature should work on phones with single as well as dual cameras – instead of relying solely on hardware, Xiaomi is making use of AI to bring this feature to several smartphones in its portfolio.
AI Preload
Since the MIUI 9 update was announced, Xiaomi has focused on improving loading times and general responsiveness of the operating system. The company has announced that it is working to further improve performance using a new feature called AI Preload.
As the name suggests, Xiaomi is going to use artificial intelligence to analyze users’ app usages and preload apps based on its analysis. The company claims that this should reduce app loading times, sometimes to even zero.
Beta testing MIUI 10
The MIUI 10 announcement today has also revealed that Xiaomi fans can start testing the update soon. The first developer version of the new update will be released on June 1st, and Xiaomi says that open beta releases will be announced sometime later in June. It is worth noting that the developer update release timeline is currently applicable for the China ROM only, so users out of China may want to wait for the Global Developer ROM releases later.
MIUI 10 – Eligible devices
At the moment, Xiaomi has not announced an official list of devices that will get the MIUI 10 update. However, the company has revealed that several devices in its portfolio will start getting the MIUI 10 China Developer ROM starting June 1st. However, to be able to download and install the update, you will have to sign up for beta testing and be selected.
If you have an eligible device, below is an expected schedule for the MIUI 10 China Developer ROM release.
China Developer ROM (closed beta)
June 1st
Mi 8, Mi MIX 2S, Mi MIX 2, Mi MIX, Mi 6X, Mi 6, Mi 5, Mi Note 2, Redmi S2, Redmi Note 5
China Developer ROM (public beta)
Late June
Mi 8, Mi MIX 2S, Mi MIX 2, Mi MIX, Mi 6X, Mi 6, Mi 5, Mi Note 2, Redmi S2, Redmi Note 5
Late July
Mi Note 3, Mi 5X, Mi 5c, Mi 5s, Mi 5s Plus, Mi 4, Mi 4c, Mi 4S, Mi Max 2, Mi Max, Redmi 5, Redmi 5A, Redmi 5 Plus, Redmi 4, Redmi 4A, Redmi 4X, Redmi 3S/Redmi 3X, Redmi Pro, Redmi Note 5A, Redmi Note 4 Qualcomm/Redmi Note 4X, Redmi Note 4 MTK, Redmi Note 3 Qualcomm
Manu Kumar Jain, VP, Xiaomi has posted a teaser on Twitter hinting the Indian rollout of Xiaomi in India. The company is expected to announce MIUI 10 along with its selfie centric device on June 7.
