It might seem like the tail is wagging the dog — Xiaomi is one of those who believe the basic stock Android is merely a canvas on which they can paint their own User Interface enhancements. They update the UI, with some useful enhancements, every few years, especially for Indian users and have just launched MIUI 9. Besides updates to existing features like Dual Apps (the ability to run two accounts of the same app on the same screen), Second Space (partitioning your phone memory) and scrolling screenshots (the ability to take screen shots beyond an entire screen of the device), the UI has gone back to basics. Any MIUI device will now respond faster to touch, will optimise the CPU performance by creating a priority matrix for apps running in the background and optimises data transfer within the device. Additionally, the screen icons will now be animated, and the notifications on the home screen will be more intuitive, allowing you to respond to WhatsApp messages without going into the app. I also like the ability to split the screen between two apps.
Another enhancement is an ‘erase’ tool that allows you to pull up any image in your gallery and erase any distracting elements in the picture. Finally, your railway ticket SMS will no longer look like a string of gibberish. If your device runs on MIUI 9, any IRCTC ticket will look like a ‘card’ with all the important information displayed neatly. Some 25 new Indian holidays have been added to the Mi Calendar, and an additional panchang calendar has been added. MIUI 9 has started progressively rolling out to all Xiaomi devices, including the Y1, this month.
Customised UIs like these are a matter of taste — some love them. Others prefer the stark simplicity of the stock Android. We’re guessing you will retain most of the Xiaomi UIs.
