The main attraction of Xiaomi's latest event was clearly the Mi 9 Pro and the Mi Mix Alpha but they also introduced MIUI 11, the successor to MIUI 10.
MIUI, Xiaomi's own Android interface, is the most widely used custom Android user interface in the world. Some say it's better than the factory Android, some say it's much worse, it's a matter of judgement, but what is certain is that Xiaomi is constantly working to make the MIUI user interface better. These improvements are so successful that MIUI has won a Red Dot Design award. Xiaomi's goal is to make the system usable for both existing MIUI users and new users.
Design, font
The user interface has a system dark mode, which can be beneficial not only for those who like it, but also for those who use a Xiaomi with an AMOLED display, as it can extend the battery life of the phone (the AMOLED display, unlike IPS, does not display anything in the black areas, so it does not consume battery capacity in those areas.) A new font has been introduced, called MiLan Pro. Again, it's a matter of judgement whether it's nicer or not, it's a bit different, that's for sure. A boldness feature has also made its debut, allowing the user to choose the thickness of the fonts.
New Always-On Display and Horizon Light
Always-On Display doesn't really have a Hungarian equivalent, it is translated as "ambient display" in the system. It's common for many manufacturers, including Xiaomi, to show the time and possibly the date on a closed screen on AMOLED phones. Because of the aforementioned feature of AMOLED, this consumes a negligible amount of power, but can be extremely useful. This feature has been rethought by the MIUI developers, with plenty of schemes to choose from with plenty of analogue and digital, including a bunch of animated clocks to choose from. There's even the option to simply have your phone print out a text you've typed in after each lock. It's also got the Horizon Light feature from the OnePlus 7 Pro, which displays incoming notifications with a strip of light running along the two side edges of the screen.
Dynamic Natural Sound System
"Dynamic natural sound system", which means that sounds from nature, such as birdsong or crickets chirping, are mixed with a variety of pleasant melodies. With the new feature, the notification sounds change according to the time of day, which doesn't say much when written down, let the promo video do the talking.
Debuting in MIUI 11 is Mi Work, or "Mi Work", a platform-independent sharing service Xiaomi is working on with Oppo and Vivo. File throughput can reach up to 82 MBps, but it will be available for use on devices running Android 9 or later. The app supports many different file formats, so you can open different files without using another app. Wireless printing support has also been improved, with more than 2000 types supported. It supports wireless sharing with a useful extra feature, which is notification hiding, so while the notification will appear on the phone, it won't on the TV/projector.
As part of the Mi Go apps, improvements have been made to notes, adding to-do lists and several other features. There's also an extra saver mode that can give you up to 24 hours of standby time on a 5% battery (I'll be curious to see this in real life.) There's a promise that all themes will be available for free in MIUI 11, although I haven't come across any paid themes in MIUI so far.
The updates
These notifications and changes are basically apply to Chinese ROM, so the most commonly used may differ from global ROM.
The first open beta of MIUI 11 was released today, 27 September. Accordingly, all MIUI custom ROMs based on the Chinese ROM, such as MIUI HU and Xiaomi.eu, will be updated.
The MIUI 11 updates will debut in 3 phases, but the list below also applies to Chinese ROMs, release months included, but if you find your device in this list, it's most likely to get global MIUI 11.
1st (mid-October)
Wed 9 Mi 9 Explorer Mi 9 SE Mi Mix 3 Mi Mix 2S Wed 8 Wed 8 Youth Mi 8 Explorer Edition Mi 8 Pro Mi 8 SE Mi Max 3 Redmi K20 Pro Redmi K20 Pro Premium Edition Redmi K20 Redmi Note 7 Redmi Note 7 Pro Redmi 7
2 (end of October)
Mi 9 Pro 5G Mi CC 9 Mi CC 9 Meitu Custom Edition Mi CC 9e Mi MIX 2 Mi Note 3 Wed 6 Mi 6X Redmi 7A Redmi 6 Pro Redmi Note 5 Redmi 6A Redmi 6 Redmi S2
3rd (early November)
Mi Mix Mi 5s Mi 5s Plus Mi 5X Mi 5C Mi Note 2 Mi Play Mi Max 2 Redmi Note 8 Redmi Note 8 Pro Redmi 5 Plus Redmi 5 Redmi 5A Redmi 4X Redmi Note 5A
