Xiaomi unveils Android-based MIUI 9 OS with focus on performance: Know more

The upgraded MIUI 9 operating system will be available for most of the Xiaomi smartphones, including Mi 2 that was launched in 2012

China-based electronics maker Xiaomi on Thursday introduced the latest iteration of its Android-based operating system MIUI 9. The new operating system promises quick app load times and blazing performance, which the company claims to be as good as that in stock Android devices such as Xiaomi Mi A1.

The beta version of the MIUI 9 had been opened in August this year. The final version will start rolling out to select Xiaomi devices -- Redmi Note 4, Mi Mix 2 and Mi Max 2 – starting Friday. There is a whole lot of Xiaomi smartphones that will receive the update in the near future and the list of devices also includes 2012 flagship Mi 2 smartphone.

In terms of new features, the MIUI 9 sports a new design and comes with new system animations for icons. While there are numerous changes that the new operating system brings, the most noticeable changes are made in the following features:

App Vault

The app vault feature is an addition to the MIUI. The feature keeps basic apps – those supported by the operating system – such as notes, cab, calendar etc at one place that can be accessed by swiping right on the screen. This is something similar to shelf feature that we saw in OnePlus’s Oxygen OS but with much more utilities.

Multitasking

The much-demanded multitasking feature for Xiaomi devices is now a part of MIUI 9. Also known as split screen, the new OS allows sharing screen with two apps at the same time.

Notifications

The new notification centre manages to show more information. It groups similar notifications such as WhatsApp messages that can be read by a single swipe down. Also, the new notification centre enables quick reply from notification area and therefore brings uniformity in comparison with stock Android.

Mi Video and Mi Drop

The video app has been updated to support multi-lingual subtitles, multiple audio files, grouped folders for ease of use and support for more video formats.

The Mi Drop, a file sharing app that requires no internet connection, is also updated with new design that makes it easy to send and receive larger files in a flash.

Advance photo editing tool

The MIUI 9 comes with enhanced photo editing software, which uses machine learning to eliminate unwanted objects from the scene captured in the image. The editing tool is also infused with stickers and filters to add special effects to the photos.

Apart from all the above features, there are other incremental changes made in the user interface of MIUI 9. The new operating system, according to company’s claim, promises to work without visible latency even after 6 hours of use.

Here is a complete list of smartphone getting the MIUI 9: