# MIUI

MIUI is a deprecated mobile operating system by Xiaomi for its smartphones and devices, from 2010 to 2023, prior to the launch of its successor Xiaomi HyperOS.
MIUI was based on the Android Open Source Project, and served as the basis for other OS deviations by Xiaomi: MIUI for Poco, MIUI Pad, MIUI Watch, and MIUI TV (PatchWall).
There are different versions for each Xiaomi phone model, and each version has regional variants dependent on where the phone is sold, including China, Europe, Indonesia, India, Japan, Pakistan, Russia, Taiwan and Turkey. Xiaomi have also released a few devices running Google's Android One instead of MIUI. Xiaomi devices usually get three Android version updates, but get MIUI updates for four years (less for budget models).
The first MIUI ROM, released in 2010, was based on Android 2.2.x Froyo and was initially developed in China by Xiaomi in its first year of operation. Xiaomi added a number of apps to the basic framework, including Notes, Backup, Music, and Gallery apps.
An organisation named Xiaomi Europe, using the domain xiaomi.eu and working officially with Xiaomi despite not being affiliated with the Chinese company, was set up in 2010 as a community for English-language Xiaomi users with phones running MIUI associated with an Android version. The website issues its own stable and weekly versions of Xiaomi MIUI ROMs based on the stable, and on the weekly beta versions of the Chinese ROM. Installing the xiaomi.eu ROM, however, voids the warranty on Xiaomi phones; according to the xiaomi.eu leader, the official ROM must be flashed and the bootloader locked before returning a device for warranty repair.
Xiaomi is replacing MIUI with its new Android-based operating system HyperOS, starting with the Xiaomi 13 series and Pad 6.

## Google Play services

Google has had disagreements with the Chinese government, and the Great Firewall currently blocks access to all Google services. Since Xiaomi has expanded its operations outside China, MIUI releases for Android devices outside mainland China have Google Play Services and Google Apps such as Gmail, GMaps, YouTube and Google Play pre-installed and functioning as on any other Android device. MIUI global versions are certified by Google, as are all MIUI devices, which ship with Google Play Services since MIUI 12.5.

## Comparison of all MIUI variants

| | China | China | Global | Global | Xiaomi.eu | Xiaomi.eu |
| Languages available | Few, including Chinese and English | Few, including Chinese and English | Wide selection | Wide selection | Wide selection | Wide selection |
| Selection of downloadable themes | All | All | Some | Some | Some | Some |
| Drag up search | Yes with international Bing and selection of Chinese search engines | Yes with international Bing and selection of Chinese search engines | Google App or Mi Browser | Google App or Mi Browser | Yes | Yes |
| Smart Assistant | App vault | App vault | Google Discover (App Vault in Indonesia, India, Russia and Taiwan) | Google Discover (App Vault in Indonesia, India, Russia and Taiwan) | App vault and Google Discover | App vault and Google Discover |
| Default source of apps | GetApps | GetApps | Google Play, Mi Picks/GetApps | Google Play, Mi Picks/GetApps | Google Play | Google Play |
| Xiaomi Cloud services | All | All | Some | Some | All | All |
| Updates | Developer | Stable | Beta | Stable | Dev/Beta | Stable |
| Updates | No longer available | Usually updated every two months | No longer available | Usually updated every three months | Updated every Friday | Usually updated every two months |
| OTA | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes; patches are not supported, so a complete new ROM is downloaded each time | Yes; patches are not supported, so a complete new ROM is downloaded each time |
| Official | Yes (made by Xiaomi) | Yes (made by Xiaomi) | Yes (made by Xiaomi) | Yes (made by Xiaomi) | Approved by the official distribution in the European Union. | Approved by the official distribution in the European Union. |
| Custom recovery requirement | No | No | No | No | Some (recovery ROMs only) | Some (recovery ROMs only) |
| Additional features | Optional access to various Chinese online services built-in root support (unlocked bootloader Archived 20 October 2020 at the Wayback Machine is required) | Optional access to various Chinese online services | Google apps on some ROMs instead of MIUI apps (Dialer, Messages, Contacts, Calendar) | Google apps on some ROMs instead of MIUI apps (Dialer, Messages, Contacts, Calendar) | Additional icons for some third-party apps Unlocked some hardware features on selected devices | Additional icons for some third-party apps Unlocked some hardware features on selected devices |
| Supported Xiaomi devices | Majority excluding devices never released in PRC Older devices may not be updated | Majority excluding devices never released in PRC Older devices may not be updated | Majority excluding devices never released outside PRC Older devices may not be updated | Majority excluding devices never released outside PRC Older devices may not be updated | Majority excluding devices never released outside PRC Older devices may not be updated | Majority excluding devices never released outside PRC Older devices may not be updated |

## Android

Although MIUI is built on the Android platform, the default user interface of its earlier iterations resembled iOS due to the absence of the application tray, with a grid of icons arrayed in the home panels. Other iOS similarities include the app icons being in a uniform shape, the dialer and in-call interface, the organization of the Settings app, and the visual appearance of toggles in the UI. This prompted some observers to cite how the devices running on MIUI could appeal to iOS users wanting to switch to the Android platform. By 2018, MIUI was increasingly shifting towards a design aesthetic more similar to stock Android. For instance, several elements in builds of MIUI 10 resemble Android Pie features, such as the multitasking menu and gesture controls. This change was first seen in MIUI 9 (ver. 8.5.11) that shipped with Xiaomi Mi MIX 2S.
Another difference from Android is MIUI's support for themes and custom fonts. Users can download theme packs and fonts, which can change the user interface of the device when installed from the Mi Themes Store. It also allows more advanced users to tweak the hard-coded firmware of the handsets.

## Issues

As MIUI's kernel was proprietary, it was in breach of Linux kernel's GPL. The source code of certain components was released to GitHub on 25 October 2013. Kernel sources for a few devices, including the Mi3, Mi4, MiNote, and Redmi 1S, were released in March 2015.
In order to raise funds for the company, MIUI has its own online services from Xiaomi, including cloud services, paid themes and games. Payments are transacted using the Mi Credit digital currency.
After the government of India banned over 100 Chinese apps and services in 2020 due to national security and privacy concerns, including some made by Xiaomi, the company developed a separate MIUI version without them for India.

### Vulnerabilities

In April 2019, security researcher Arif Khan reported that Xiaomi's browser apps Mi Browser and Mint Browser suffered from a vulnerability that allowed the URL address bar to be spoofed, which affected Indian as well as certain global versions of MIUI. Xiaomi gave Khan a Bug bounty but opted not to fix this issue. In addition, a vulnerability in a wallpaper carousel app Glance on Indian versions of MIUI allowed a user to bypass the lock screen and access clipboard data. This vulnerability was eventually fixed by Xiaomi.

### Performance issues

Some users encountered issues such as touch response problems on MIUI 12.5. Users also complain about overheating, slow performance, drop in framerate, unstable app function and files randomly missing from their phone's storage. The update to MIUI 13 brought several performance improvements.

## Version history

| Version | Android version | Date of release | Last Stable release | Initial Beta release | Last Beta release | Notable change |
| align="center" class="templateVersion co swatch-unsupported" style="color: var(--color-base, #202122); " title="Old version, not maintained" data-sort-value="MIUI V1" | Old version, not maintained: MIUI V1 | 2.1 | 16 August 2010 | 0.8.16 | Un­known | | Initial release |
| align="center" class="templateVersion co swatch-unsupported" style="color: var(--color-base, #202122); " title="Old version, not maintained" data-sort-value="MIUI V2" | Old version, not maintained: MIUI V2 | 2.1-2.3.6 | Un­known | — | Un­known | Un­known | Redesigned user interface |
| align="center" class="templateVersion co swatch-unsupported" style="color: var(--color-base, #202122); " title="Old version, not maintained" data-sort-value="MIUI V3" | Old version, not maintained: MIUI V3 | 2.3.6 | Un­known | — | Un­known | class="templateVersion co swatch-unsupported" style="color: var(--color-base, #202122); " title="Old version, not maintained" data-sort-value="2.4.20" | Old version, not maintained: 2.4.20 | Redesigned user interface |
| align="center" class="templateVersion co swatch-unsupported" style="color: var(--color-base, #202122); " title="Old version, not maintained" data-sort-value="MIUI V4" | Old version, not maintained: MIUI V4 | 4.0.4 – 4.1.2 | Un­known | ICS24.0 | Un­known | class="templateVersion co swatch-unsupported" style="color: var(--color-base, #202122); " title="Old version, not maintained" data-sort-value="3.2.22" | Old version, not maintained: 3.2.22 | New user interface Added anti-virus |
| align="center" class="templateVersion co swatch-unsupported" style="color: var(--color-base, #202122); " title="Old version, not maintained" data-sort-value="MIUI V5" | Old version, not maintained: MIUI V5 | 4.1.2 – 4.4.2 | 1 March 2013 | 31.0 | 3.3.1 | class="templateVersion co swatch-unsupported" style="color: var(--color-base, #202122); " title="Old version, not maintained" data-sort-value="4.12.5" | Old version, not maintained: 4.12.5 | New user interface Google Services were removed from the Chinese version |
| align="center" class="templateVersion co swatch-unsupported" style="color: var(--color-base, #202122); " title="Old version, not maintained" data-sort-value="MIUI 6" | Old version, not maintained: MIUI 6 | 4.4.2 – 5.0.2 | 29 August 2014 | 6.7.2.0 | 4.8.29 | class="templateVersion co swatch-unsupported" style="color: var(--color-base, #202122); " title="Old version, not maintained" data-sort-value="5.8.6" | Old version, not maintained: 5.8.6 | New user interface Dropped devices running Android Jelly Bean or below |
| align="center" class="templateVersion co swatch-unsupported" style="color: var(--color-base, #202122); " title="Old version, not maintained" data-sort-value="MIUI 7" | Old version, not maintained: MIUI 7 | 4.4.2 – 6.0.1 | 13 August 2015 | 7.5.9.0 | 5.8.12 | class="templateVersion co swatch-unsupported" style="color: var(--color-base, #202122); " title="Old version, not maintained" data-sort-value="6.5.26" | Old version, not maintained: 6.5.26 | Locked bootloader on selected old devices and all released afterwards |
| align="center" class="templateVersion co swatch-unsupported" style="color: var(--color-base, #202122); " title="Old version, not maintained" data-sort-value="MIUI 8" | Old version, not maintained: MIUI 8 | 4.4.2 – 7.1.2 | 16 June 2016 | 8.5.10.0 | 6.6.16 | class="templateVersion co swatch-unsupported" style="color: var(--color-base, #202122); " title="Old version, not maintained" data-sort-value="7.7.20" | Old version, not maintained: 7.7.20 | Minor changes to the user interface Updated system apps Added support for Second Space and Dual apps. |
| align="center" class="templateVersion co swatch-unsupported" style="color: var(--color-base, #202122); " title="Old version, not maintained" data-sort-value="MIUI 9" | Old version, not maintained: MIUI 9 | 4.4.2 – 8.1.0 | 10 August 2017 | 9.6.5.0 | 7.8.10 | class="templateVersion co swatch-unsupported" style="color: var(--color-base, #202122); " title="Old version, not maintained" data-sort-value="8.5.24" | Old version, not maintained: 8.5.24 | Minor changes to the user interface Added split screen Improved Notification Shade and QuickCard (currently known as App Vault) New silent mode Added key and gesture shortcuts Added face unlock. |
| align="center" class="templateVersion co swatch-unsupported" style="color: var(--color-base, #202122); " title="Old version, not maintained" data-sort-value="MIUI 10" | Old version, not maintained: MIUI 10 | 6.0 – 9 | 19 June 2018 | 10.4.5.0 | 8.6.14 | class="templateVersion co swatch-unsupported" style="color: var(--color-base, #202122); " title="Old version, not maintained" data-sort-value="9.9.6" | Old version, not maintained: 9.9.6 | New notification shade Extended notifications' functionality New recent apps screen, volume control, Clock, Calendar and Notes Higher integration with Xiaomi Minor changes to the user interface Removed black theme (Mi Note 2) Dropped devices running Android Lollipop or below |
| align="center" class="templateVersion co swatch-unsupported" style="color: var(--color-base, #202122); " title="Old version, not maintained" data-sort-value="MIUI 11" | Old version, not maintained: MIUI 11 | 7.0 – 10 | 22 October 2019 | 11.0.14.0 | 9.9.24 | class="templateVersion co swatch-unsupported" style="color: var(--color-base, #202122); " title="Old version, not maintained" data-sort-value="20.3.26" | Old version, not maintained: 20.3.26 | Dropped devices running Android Marshmallow Based on Android 10 on some devices System-wide dark mode, with dark mode scheduling. Monochrome ultra power saving mode Mi calculator (Pip mode) MIUI Notes App Download New icons Optional app drawer setting for system launcher Smoother animations Status bar optimizations Automatic screenshot management Added ultra battery saver (China) Opt Out Of Adverts Settings China ROM only first |
| align="center" class="templateVersion co swatch-unsupported" style="color: var(--color-base, #202122); " title="Old version, not maintained" data-sort-value="MIUI 12" | Old version, not maintained: MIUI 12 | 9 – 11 | 27 April 2020 | 12.2.7.0 | 20.4.27 | class="templateVersion co swatch-unsupported" style="color: var(--color-base, #202122); " title="Old version, not maintained" data-sort-value="20.12.10" | Old version, not maintained: 20.12.10 | Dropped devices running Android Oreo or below Dark Mode 2.0 New gestures and animations (Smoother animations, in boxes) New Icons New notification shade AI help for calls (automatic reply) Super Wallpaper (Planet zoom from always on display to Lockscreen to Homescreen) App drawer for first time More privacy-focused 1-time permission for location, contacts etc. in third-party apps Added floating windows Added ultra battery saver for the global version Added Lite Mode Added Video toolbox. New fingerprint animations New camera & gallery filters Redesigned app vault |
| align="center" class="templateVersion co swatch-unsupported" style="color: var(--color-base, #202122); " title="Old version, not maintained" data-sort-value="MIUI 12.5" | Old version, not maintained: MIUI 12.5 | 10 – 12 | 28 December 2020 | 12.5.26.0 | 20.12.25 | class="templateVersion co swatch-unsupported" style="color: var(--color-base, #202122); " title="Old version, not maintained" data-sort-value="21.7.5" | Old version, not maintained: 21.7.5 | Dropped devices running Android Pie New nature sounds of notifications Smoother animations Redesigned app folders Added vertical layout for Recents (only on Android 11) Improvements for Mi Notes Added new Super wallpapers ("Geometry" and "Mount Siguniang") Added heart rate measure using the camera (China only) New Mi Notes icon |
| align="center" class="templateVersion co swatch-unsupported" style="color: var(--color-base, #202122); " title="Old version, not maintained" data-sort-value="MIUI 13" | Old version, not maintained: MIUI 13 | 11 – 13 | 28 December 2021 | 13.2.8.0 (Mainland China) 13.2.6.0 (Global Market) | 21.7.6 | class="templateVersion co swatch-unsupported" style="color: var(--color-base, #202122); " title="Old version, not maintained" data-sort-value="13.1.22.10.25.DEV (Android 13 Weekly) 13.1.22.10.24.DEV (Android 12 Weekly) 22.11.23 (Daily Beta for some devices) 22.10.26 (Daily Beta)" | Old version, not maintained: 13.1.22.10.25.DEV (Android 13 Weekly) 13.1.22.10.24.DEV (Android 12 Weekly) 22.11.23 (Daily Beta for some devices) 22.10.26 (Daily Beta) | Dropped devices running Android 10 Minor changes to the user interface New widgets New one-handed mode from Android 12 Redesigned App Vault New Mi Sans font (China only) Redesigned Control center New live wallpapers Added sidebar (only phones) Redesigned Game Turbo and Video toolbox Improved multitasking on tablets Mi Smart Hub (China only) Redesigned Notes App Improved fingerprint animations Improved MIUI Launcher |
| align="center" class="templateVersion co swatch-maintained" style="color: var(--color-base, #202122); " title="Old version, still maintained" data-sort-value="MIUI 14" | Old version, still maintained: MIUI 14 | 12 – 14 | 11 December 2022 | 14.1.10.0 | 14.0.22.12.5.DEV | class="templateVersion co swatch-unsupported" style="color: var(--color-base, #202122); " title="Old version, not maintained" data-sort-value="14.0.23.10.8.DEV" | Old version, not maintained: 14.0.23.10.8.DEV | Dropped devices running Android 11 Minor changes to the user interface New widgets New wallpapers Super Icons (China only) Pets and animals (China only) Photon Engine Razor Project New family share features MIUI Interconnect |