These are the coolest new features coming to MIUI 12



Xiaomi’s affordable hardware might be the draw for most users, but the MIUI Android skin has its fair share of fans. Despite being called out for taking design cues from Apple, Xiaomi has done an excellent job bringing the latest software enhancements, backporting features to older devices through MIUI. With MIUI 12, Xiaomi continues to introduce privacy, usability, and interface enhancements with a sprinkling of iOS styling thrown in for good measure.
While final builds will not start rolling out till later in the year, we managed to download and flash a MIUI 12 beta ROM of the Chinese version and flashed it on a Redmi Note 7 Pro . Here are some of the most notable MIUI 12 features we’ve come across so far.
A fresh new interface

With MIUI 12, Xiaomi has paid special attention to minimalism in interface elements. The new icon pack is clean to look at and is fully animated. In fact, animations across the board have received an upgrade and enjoy some extra visual flair.

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Instead of popping out from the middle of the screen, each animation is now triggered by respective icons which makes the experience look a lot more cohesive. There are subtle animation cues strewn all across the system interface that add to the aesthetics. For example, the storage widget in the about page dynamically adjusts to give you a visual notification of the percentage of free storage.
The settings pane has got an overhaul with sub-menu elements sporting larger text at the top which almost looks Windows Phone like in nature. Elsewhere, font kerning has been increased to give the text a more spaced-out, cleaner look.

Perhaps the biggest change is the switch to an iOS-style Control Center. The quick settings panel from the pull-down notification shade has been split off into its own separate page. Swiping down on the right side of the home screen reveals the Control Center while a swipe on the left side brings out the notification pane. In theory, it improves one-handed access to quickly accessed settings but in my time with the beta, I found it hard to get used to the new layout. If you’re not a fan, it is easy enough to switch back to the older layout.
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Elsewhere, navigation gestures have received an overhaul. With MIUI 12, Xiaomi has fully embraced the standard navigation gestures from Android 10 . The stock implementation is intuitive enough and Xiaomi’s additions make it more functional. You can mirror buttons to suit your preferences, it is still possible to switch back to navigation buttons if you aren’t ready to...

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