Xiaomi’s MIUI 6 OS adds style and function to Android

Chinese smartphone manufacturer Xiaomi launched its 2014 flagship, , and the device is set to on sale on Tuesday in the country for about $325.

While the phone isn’t exactly new, it does come with the latest version of MIUI, the company’s own flavor of Android. The Mi 4 is Xiaomi’s first device to get the update in English.

MIUI 6 isn’t just for the Mi 4 though; it will soon show up on other Xiaomi devices through 2015. We did a hands-on test of the Mi 4 last year, so this time around we’re looking at what’s new on the software side of things.

Home screen, themes and more

I like how MIUI is different enough to feel novel, yet familiar enough for any smartphone user to dive into. As with earlier versions of the OS, you can tap and hold the menu hardware button on the home screen and shake the device to neatly arrange your icons. MIUI 6 also lets you move and delete multiple apps at once, which works very well and makes a stronger case for doing away with the app drawer.

MIUI’s customization game is still going strong. Xiaomi VP Hugo Barra says there are now more than 8,000 themes available in the store, with over two billion downloads worldwide.

Tapping the menu hardware button brings up running apps as icons, but if you’d prefer larger app previews you can simply pinch out to see them.

Shiny happy icons

MIUI 6 has got a nice visual refresh, complete with colorful flat icons for default apps, and a range of motion effects and animations that make the OS feel subtly different from stock Android.

The cosmetic changes are definitely an improvement. Charming animations abound through the interface, from the volume control to the clock app to the running apps preview screen. Delete an app, and you’ll see the  icon burst into a cloud of dots, their colors drawn from the icon’s palette.

The status bar is also slimmer and sleeker, with updated icons and tighter typography that make for a more modern look while taking up less room.

n-built apps like Calculator, Calendar, Compass, Clock, Weather, Recorder and others have gotten a new look too. They’re pretty enough that I launch them every once in a while just to fiddle with them.

You’ll also notice nice little details in each. My favorite is the Compass, which uses the camera to become transparent when it senses you’re panning the device around to find an exact direction.

Better notification handling

MIUI 6 does a great job of accommodating power users’ demands while remaining easy to use, and the way it handles notifications is a great example of that balance. Essential apps that feature on a company-managed whitelist, such as messaging, email and calendar services, are allowed icon real estate on the status bar by default. Other apps, like games, music players and so on, are grouped automatically, so multiple notifications from them show as ellipses on the status bar.

Of course, you can adjust these settings to suit your preferences, but it’s nice to see an OS handling things smartly on its own. In addition, MIUI 6 uses less obtrusive floating notifications to display alerts when you’re running apps, and groups them on your lock screen so you can view them without having to fumble with your phone too much.

Source : thenextweb