MIUI 11 has been released in India alongside the launch of the Redmi Note 8 Pro, Redmi Note 8, and Mi Air Purifier 2C. The new MIUI update, which Xiaomi announced in China last month, comes as an upgrade to the existing MIUI 10. The company claims that in MIUI 11, it has removed and eliminated many of the UI elements to deliver a new minimalistic design. There are also new colours on the interface to look more like an organic, natural skin. Further, MIUI 11 is touted to provide an "ultimate full screen experience" along with a dedicated system-wide dark mode -- a move to counter the stock Android 10 and Apple's iOS 13 that both come with a native dark mode. Xiaomi at its event in New Delhi has also revealed that its MIUI has hit the mark of 80 million monthly active users in India.
As announced at an event in China last month, MIUI 11 is coming to a list of Xiaomi phones. The company at its event in New Delhi has announced that the MIUI 11 update will start rolling out for the Poco F1, Redmi K20, Redmi Y3, Redmi 7, Redmi Note 7, Redmi Note 7S, and Redmi Note 7 Pro from October 22-31. This represents the first phase. The second phase will see the update hit the Redmi K20 Pro, Redmi 6, Redmi 6 Pro, Redmi 6A, Redmi Note 5, Redmi Note 5 Pro, Redmi 5, Redmi 5A, Redmi Note 4, Redmi Y1, Redmi Y1 Lite, Redmi Y2, Redmi 4, Mi Mix 2, and Mi Max 2 between November 4-12. Further, the MIUI 11 update will reach the Redmi Note 6 Pro, Redmi 7A, Redmi 8, Redmi 8A, and Redmi Note 8 starting November 13-29 in the third phase. Ultimately, it will arrive on the newly launched Redmi Note 8 Pro between December 18-26 as the final phase.
Unlike MIUI 10, MIUI 11 is designed to offer an always-on experience. Xiaomi has already offered clock styles on its Redmi K20-series phones. However, with MIUI 11, it is expanding the existing experience with a Dynamic Clock that can be placed on the always-on, lock screen. The company has also included an option to add symmetrical patterns to the lock screen. These patterns are inspired by Kaleidoscope, the company claims. Users on MIUI 11 can also add their own custom codes or messages that will be visible on the lock screen.
Alongside the always-on experience, MIUI 11 brings a reimagined notification light. "A lot of high-end phones of late have done away with the notification light," said Muralikrishnan B, Chief Operating Officer, Xiaomi India, while demonstrating MIUI 11. "But our Mi fans, our Mi users have given us feedback that they truly like it, they appreciate it. It serves a functional purpose."
With MIUI 11, Xiaomi offers a notification light-like experience directly to the screen. This means that no matters if your phone does or doesn't include a notification light, it can provide you notification alerts in an idle state through on-screen notification effects.
Further towards enhancing the lock screen, Xiaomi has extended its partnership with Glance to offer a feature called Wallpaper Carousel. The company claims that the new feature is designed to deliver a personalised lock screen experience to the users. However, you should be aware that such features generally acquire your data and usage behaviour to some extent to provide personalisation.
Apart from the lock screen enhancements, MIUI 11 brings a feature dubbed Dynamic Video Wallpapers. It allows users to set any videos as a wallpaper on the screen.
MIUI 11 also upgrades the existing File Manager app with a document viewer and the ability to preview documents at a glance. The company has also integrated a task manager within its Mi Notes app to let users view their To-Do list, add new tasks to their existing list, and sync tasks with the Calendar app. There is also an option to simply swipe from the top-left side to access the To-Do list. Further, users can also record their tasks using their voice.
The Calculator app on MIUI 11 has also been upgraded with a floating interface to let users easily perform calculations. The app has also received the ability to calculate age, EMI, GST, and split bill.
To enhance the daily life experiences of users, MIUI 11 comes preloaded with a Step Tracker. This can be accessed by swiping right from the home screen -- through the App Vault. Specifically for women users, the new MIUI version brings the option to track menstrual cycles directly from the preloaded Calendar app.
MIUI 11 also includes Quick Replies to let you easily reply to a message or call without leaving the active app, video, or game on the screen. The new feature also enables messaging apps, including WhatsApp and the default Messaging app, to open in a small window to reply to important messages without leaving the active app, video, or game. Users can also enable or disable the Quick Replies feature for their favourite apps or games directly from the Settings menu.
For an enhanced communication experience, Xiaomi has partnered with Bobble to offer pre-installed Mint Keyboard on MIUI 11. The new keyboard supports over 25 Indic languages as well as English in addition to the feature called Translations within Transliteration and Real-time emoji suggestions for Indic languages.
Xiaomi has also announced features such as natural sound effects, wireless print, dual clock, Mi Share, and Gallery monthly view that will hit MIUI 11 over time. Similarly, you'll get a new panchang and casting feature through the latest MIUI version.
For the latest tech news and reviews, follow Gadgets 360 on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News. For the latest videos on gadgets and tech, subscribe to our YouTube channel. If you want to know everything about top influencers, follow our in-house Who'sThat360 on Instagram and YouTube.