Review of HyperOS: Xiaomi raises the bar for Android smoothness
With the latest HyperOS update for the Xiaomi 13 Pro, Xiaomi has mastered simple personalization.
I've tested a ton of Android phones over the past year, and I can say with certainty that none of them compare to the pure fluidity of MIUI on the Xiaomi 13 Pro. Startled? When I initially used the Xiaomi 13 Pro to test the skin, I was also apprehensive. It turns out that high-end and low-end devices have very distinct MIUI experiences. Cheap phones come with a condensed version that has a cheesier user interface and spartan animations that still jerk.
However, the Xiaomi 13 Pro has a seamless experience. No matter how hard you push the phone, the UI is not only incredibly smooth—you'd be hard-pressed to find any lags—but it has been made this way despite many resource-intensive iOS-style animations. animations that are exclusive to this Android skin. And here comes HyperOS, just when I thought Xiaomi had reached the pinnacle of fluidity.
The animations that I once referred to as "fancy" have been enhanced even further. Xiaomi made some UI element tweaks to make it appear livelier and more colorful than it did previously. These are a few other things I discovered after testing out HyperOS.
Many Android skins have "borrowed" from iOS, but Xiaomi is known for occasionally directly ripping off Apple. The parallels are quite obvious. Although MIUI's Control Panel already bore some similarities to iOS, HyperOS goes one farther by eliminating the labels from the tiles. It's a well-executed rip-off however, so I won't gripe. Now that Control Center can be opened by pulling down the status bar, the animation is much more fluid and flawless, which further resembles iOS.
The new lock screen customization choices are another example of how iOS and Android are similar. Three styles are available on HyperOS: Rhombus, Magazine, and Classic. Classic shows the weather, date, and time. Your own text appears in a magazine, nice and large. With a simple long push, you can always have the words you desire front and center. These lock screen layouts also apply to the always-on display, facilitating a seamless unlocking experience.
This, in my opinion, is the finest way to customize the lock screen on any Android skin. It makes changing your lock screen's appearance anytime you become bored very easy—just a few touches will do the trick. Xiaomi has mastered the art of simple customization.
A few more programs, like the File Manager, Calculator, and Weather apps, were also overhauled. The Weather app now includes more information like Real Feel and is easier to understand. Although it now matches the rest of the system UI, the File Manager was appearing outdated and had not been updated in years. However, for some reason, it launches strangely slowly. I particularly adore these apps' hazy translucency on the bottom tabs. It gives a refined touch.
Xiaomi has adopted Mi Sans, a bespoke font that blends in remarkably well with the rest of the UI, to join the trend. More contemporary in appearance, but curvier than Roboto. Additionally, new iconography with much more depth was added to the home screen icons. The settings icons have also been modified.
However, the new personalized page with wallpapers is my favorite modification. Rather than dispersing the customization options all over the place, it gathers them in one location. Thankfully, the terrible Themes app is no longer accessible by tapping "Wallpaper."
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