MIUI 13 review: The Android 12 skin that balances tradition ...

MIUI 13, Xiaomi's new skin that is based on Android 12, has been available since February 2022. I reviewed this Android skin with some of ... Tech&Community Search Login News Smartphone Smartphone News Reviews BestLists Versus HowTo Opinion Manufacturer Tablet Wearables Wearables News Reviews BestLists Headphones Smartwatch FitnessTracker Apps Apps News BestLists HowTo Games Messenger Mobility Mobility News E-Bikes Entertainment Entertainment News Music/VideoStreaming Gaming Jobs Community Forum Community HallofFame CommunityGuide Mods+Admins Editors More More SmartHome Deals WinnerandLosers InsideNextPit BuyingGuide AllDevices ©NextPit MIUI13,Xiaomi'snewskinthatisbasedonAndroid12,hasbeenavailablesinceFebruary2022.IreviewedthisAndroidskinwithsomeoftheothermorepopularchoicesinthemarketinordertosharemythoughtsaboutitsdesign,features, andfluidity. NEXTPITTV ThedeploymentofMIUI13continuestohappenonmoreandmoreXiaomi,Redmi,andPocosmartphones.IwasabletousethisAndroidskinwhichisbasedonAndroid12,onmanydifferentmodelsliketheXiaomi12X,PocoF4GT,orRedmiNote11Pro+5G.MIUI13maybearatherconvolutedinterfacethatmissedthemarkabitonAndroid12,butIlikeitforitsmanycustomizationoptionsandvarietyoffeatures.Andthat'sdespiteitsverynoticeableflaws. CheckifyoursmartphoneiseligibleforanupgradetoMIUI13 ForthiscomprehensiveMIUI13review,I'llcovertheoverallinterfacedesign,featureset,smoothness,andstabilityaswellasXiaomi'supdatepolicy.Jumpto: Design Features Privacy Ergonomics, smoothness, andstability Updatesandcompatibility Conclusion DesignMIUIhasalwaysbeenaveryclutteredinterfaceandisveryfarremovedfromtheoriginalstockAndroiddesign.MIUI13isnoexception.Thereareanimationseverywhere,whichisaverymarkedvisualidentity.Inshort,MIUIisflashy.Sometimes,Ithinkthatisaverygoodthing,likewiththeXiaomiSuperWallpapers,whichprovedtobeverysuccessfulwhereanimatedwallpapersareconcerned.WhatabouttheMIUIControlCenter,wherethisshortcutmenuhaslarge,easy-to-read,andgreatlookingicons.Regardlessofwhatthehaterssay,MIUI13clearlyhasaniOSfeeltoitsdesignandthat'sagoodthing inmyopinion. TheXiaomi12XrunsonMIUI13butisbasedonAndroid11andnotAndroid12./©NextPit Othertimes,however,IfindthatthedesignofMIUI13lacksrefinementandfinesse.NotificationsorquickaccessmenuitemsarefranklylessprettythantheirAndroid12counterparts,whicharefarmoresoberandminimalistinnature.Besides,Ithinkit'sashamethatXiaomididn'tmaketheefforttoimplementthedynamicthemesfoundinAndroid12,whichadapttheinterfacecolortothedominantcolorofyourwallpaper.Somenativeapps,likeSecurity,Cleaner,orthebatteryutility,havebeautifulanimationsandanintuitiveinterface.Howeverwhenitcomestootherappssuchasthebrowser,thesearefranklyoverloadedandsorelylackinginrefinement. MIUI13'sinterfaceisfullofanimations./©NextPit MIUI13'swidgetsarealsoverycoolandvisuallyappealing.Thatis,ifyouhaveaXiaomismartphonewithaChineseROM.Yes,thisisbecausethefamouswidgetsthatXiaomiwasdanglinglikeacarrotinfrontofusare,well,acarrot.TheyarenotavailableontheglobalandEuropeanROMsofMIUI13. TheglobalversionofMIUI13isdevoidofthenewwidgetsfromXiaomi./©NextPit FeaturesMIUI13isaveryfeature-richAndroidskin.Ithinkyou'llhavenoticedthisfrommymanydedicatedtutorialsbynowifyoufollowNextPitreligiously. Checkoutour completelistofthebestMIUI13features Icouldmentioninnoparticularorderhere, theBackTapfeature,whichallowsyoutotapthebackoftheXiaomismartphonetoperformcertainactions,suchasanadditionalshortcutbutton.OrtheQuickBallmenu,whichallowsyoutoaccessarangeofshortcutsviaafloatingbubblefromyourhomescreen. Here'showtoactivatetheQuickBallmenuonyourXiaomismartphone./©NextPit Someoptionsaremoreunusual,likethefunctiontoself-cleanthespeakersofyourXiaomismartphone.Nowthat'ssomethingthatyoudonotseeinothersmartphones.Butyoucanreallyhavefunpokingaroundthesettingsandexperimentingwiththeslewoffeatures.Ithinkit'sreallynicethatXiaomiofferssomanypossibilitiestoitsusers. MIUIalsooffersawholerangeofnativeapplicationstoclearthecache,freeupstorageandmakeroominyourRAM,suchastheSecurityandCleaningapplications.IstillbelievethatXiaomishouldsimplyintegratethemintothesettingsratherthanmakingthemseparateapplications.MIUI13alsooffersplentyoffeaturesformultitaskingsuchasfloatingwindows,whichareveryintuitive,orthesidebarthatallowsyoutoaccessyourfavoriteappsviaacontextualmenubyswipingontheedgeofyourhomescreen. MIUI13'sfloatingwindowsareintuitivebutdonotworkwithallapplications(GoogleChrome,forexample)./©NextPit Thescreensettingsarealsoverycomprehensiveandallowyoutocustomizethecolorschemeinafardeepermanner comparedtoothermanufacturers.This ismypetpeevethough-thebatteryutilityofMIUI13isoneofthebestamongallAndroidskins.There'sarichamountofinformationthatyoucangleanfromit,sportinganinteractivegraph,aniceanimationtoindicatethechargelevel,andanergonomicsliderbuttonthatletsyouswitchbetweenbatterypreservationmodes.SamsungandOpposhouldtakenotes. ScreencolorimetryisverycustomizableinMIUI13./©NextPit PrivacyFinally,MIUI13alsofocusesonprivacyjustlikeeveryoneelse.WefindittoresemblethePrivacyDashboardinAndroid12thathelpsmanageallitspermissions.XiaomialsoofferssomeadditionaloptionsthatIfindtobeverysmart.Oneexampleistheabilitytoapplya"watermark"orsignaturetoimagesthatyouwanttoshare.Thisallowsyoutotrackthemifsomeonedecidestohijackoneofyourselfiestomakeameme(butalsoformoreserioussituationslikeplagiarismorevenharassment). Youcandigitallysignyourimagesbeforesharingthem./©NextPit ButtheprivacysettingshavebeenseriouslyreducedcomparedtoMIUI12.5,atleastthatiswhatIexperienced. YoucannolongercreateaVirtualIDtogiveagenericadvertisingIDwhenyoubrowsetheweb,forinstance.AndtherearestillirritatingadsinMIUI13.Thisiscertainlythebiggestflawofthisskinanditaffectssmartphonesfromallpriceranges,evenhigh-endsmartphones.Ofcourse,youcaneasilydisableadsinMIUI,butit'sstillabigdisservicetousers.Thisclearlyaffectsbuyerconfidenceinthemanufacturer.Ergonomics,smoothness,andstabilityIfMIUI13canboastofone greatqualitycomparedtootherAndroidskins,itistheoverallsmoothness.Animations,transitionsbetweentwoapplications,scrollingofmenusornewsfeedswhenyounavigatetheinterface,etc- everythingrunsbutterysmooth.I'veusedMIUI13onbothhigh-end$1,000smartphonesandmid-range$200smartphones,butXiaomihasmasteredtheoptimizationofitsskinverywell.Itisthecontinuityofthissmoothnessthatelevatestheuserexperiencetoawholenewlevel (yes,Iknow,itmightmeannothingtosomeofus).WhatImeanbythisis,assoonasyoulockthedevice,youareimmersedinaseriesofanimationsthatfollowupwitheachotherverywell.Ontheotherhand,IthinkthatXiaomihasalotofprogresstomakewhenitcomestotheintuitivenessofitsinterface.ThefactthatyouhavetoswipedownfromtheleftsidetopullupthenotificationdrawerandfromtherighttoaccesstheMIUIControlCenterisreallyannoying.Fortunately,youcanreturntotheoldsystemwhereeverythingisgroupedtogether. FollowourtutorialtodisabletheMIUIControlCenter Ontheleftandinthemiddle,thenewversionwithseparateControlCenterandnotificationpane.Ontherightistheoldversion./©NextPit Having15differentmenusforprivacysettingsisalsoabigflaw.WehaveadedicatedSecurityapp,aPrivacyDashboardsection,aPasswords&Securitysection,andaPrivacysection(Googledata).It'sarealhootwhenyouhavetojugglebetweenallthesemenustobesureyouhaveactivatedanddeactivatedwhatyouneed. MIUI13doesnotbringmanynewprivacyfeatures./©NextPit Finally,awordaboutthefilemanager.Xiaomiwantedittobetoocomprehensive,closetowhatoneexperiencesonaWindowsPC.Therearetoomanyfoldersandyoucanquicklygetlostinthislabyrinthoffolders. XiaomidoestoomuchwiththefilemanagerofMIUI13./©NextPit UpdatesandcompatibilityOneoftheotheradvantagesofMIUIisitsveryhighcompatibilityrate.ForeachofXiaomi'slinesandsub-brands,wehaveseveraldozenmodelsthathavealreadyreceivedorwillreceivetheupdatetoMIUI13.TheonlysmallhitchisthatnotallversionsofMIUI13arebasedonAndroid12,especiallyonthebrand'smostaffordablesmartphones.SometimesyouremainstuckonAndroid11. SeeourguidetoreceivingfasterMIUIupdates WemustalsotakeintoaccountthegreatlackoftransparencyofXiaomiregardingitsupdatepolicy.Idowanttoacknowledgethatthemanufacturerhasmadesomeseriouseffortslately,clarifyingthesoftwareupdateofselectedmodels,especiallyflagships.UnlikeSamsung,Xiaomiiscontentthat thevastmajorityoftheirsmartphonesstillcarrythebareminimumoftwoversionsofAndroidandthreeyearsofsecurityupdates.Inanycase,Xiaomineverindicated howoftensecuritypatcheswillbereleased(monthly,quarterly,orbiannually?)anditisdifficulttoknowhowlongyourXiaomi,Redmi,orPocosmartphonewillbekeptup-to-date.WecanconsoleourselvesbysayingthatwewillbenefitfrommanyupdatesofMIUIinordernottobelefttoofarbehindbyAndroidandGoogleintermsoffeaturesovertime.ConclusionWithMIUI13,XiaomihasnotfundamentallychangedtherecipeofMIUI12.5.ItsAndroidinterfaceisstillsmooth,customizable,andrichinfeatures.However,itmissedtheboatwithAndroid12intermsofdesign,whichisarealshame.AndIalsofindthattheglobalandEuropean(EEA)ROMsaretoobereftintermsofnewfeatures.Inadditiontoitsoverallsmoothness,whichremainsthebiggeststrengthofMIUI13,itisalsoaboveall,thechoicethatXiaomileavestoitsusers.Wehaveacompletesoftwaresolutionthatadjuststoouruserexperience,ourneeds,andpreferences.Eventhelessrelevantfeatures,suchasheartratemeasurementviathefingerprintreader,arestillalittleextrathatisalwaysgoodtohave.However,thedownsideofthisvarietyoffeaturesandcustomizationoptionsistheimpressionthatsometimes(certainlynotallthetime),itissimplylackingsubstance.Xiaomishouldalsoworkharderonprivacymattersandofferclearer,morecentralizedsettings.Ialsothinkthatadshavenoplaceonhigh-endsmartphones.Whataboutyou- whatdoyouthinkofMIUI13?DoyouusetheAndroidskinonadailybasis?Whatareyourthoughtsonthematter? 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