Chinese Smartphone and OEM manufacture XIAOMI enjoying mass popularity. Xiaomi’s MIUI, however, is definitely an exception with more than five years of development and over 150 million users.
Xiaomi, which unveiled the MIUI 7 custom ROM in India this August, will be roll out the final build of the ROM globally on supported devices starting October 27. The MIUI 7 ROM was until now under beta testing with select users. Compatible smartphones include Redmi 1S, Redmi 2, Mi 3, Mi 4, Mi 4i, Redmi Note, and Redmi Note 4G.
“We are really excited to announce MIUI 7 global stable build for MIUI fans all around the world. With two months of testing and optimization, MIUI 7 global stable version is to roll out from Oct. 27, 2015. Yours by design! Get ready for upgrade!,” said the MIUI blog post on Wednesday. Users would be receiving the OTA update via the Update app. However, for those who cannot wait, they can manually download and install the ROM package from the company’s dedicated page.Some of the focus feature of the new MIUI 7 include four default themes (Rose, Pink Blush, Ocean Breeze, and High Life) to choose from.
The new themes have a complete game on the lock screen; wallpaper of the lock screen will be changed every day. New copyrighted images exclusively for MIUI. up to 30 percent better response time than MIUI 6; a reduction in overall modem power consumption alongside background restrictions apps to save up to 10 percent battery life; a XXL font size; a Baby album feature that recognises baby faces and creates albums; a new Child mode in MIUI 7 allows users to choose apps accessible to child and also allows to add passwords, and a mute notifications feature.
Xiaomi India clarified that the selection of HD wallpapers in MIUI 7, with 10 pre-sets available on the ‘daily lock screen’ rotation, are currently only available in India. Also added was that top feature requests it received for MIUI 7 were for battery life and better performance, and stressed that the new ROM also optimises system app startup time and also accelerates the CPU.
Some of the “Made for India” features include Visual IVR, which is an attempt to reduce the time required to navigate automated voice menus when calling a customer service hotline. Xiaomi’s Visual IVR will show the voice menu on the phone’s screen, so users can tap on the selection quickly. The company revealed that the Visual IVR in MIUI 7 has been further improved with support for more than 50 companies’ customer support numbers. A new Smart SMS Filter has been also added to MIUI 7 which is said to intelligently filter service messages into a separate notification tab, and lastly, a Quick OTP feature has been integrated that is built-in and helps in entry of the OTP codes during online and mobile transactions.
The MIUI 7 integration with Mi Band has been improved and will now switch the Mi phone to Do Not Disturb (DND) mode when it detects that the user is asleep. One of the notable features added in MIUI 7 is the addition of Showtime, which allows users to record a short video loop on phone and exchange contact card with friends. This will mean that every time a friend calls you, the Showtime video will run in loop.
For MIUI 7, Xiaomi has partnered with Opera Max to provide Data Saver, which compresses browser and in-app media, letting users save up to 50 percent data usage
As for the official list of supported devices that the initial rollout will cover, Xiaomi has promised it will provide a list shortly. However, the OEM’s ROM download page could serve as some indication, as it does already list quite a few devices that have MIUI 7 developer builds. Chances are that if your model is on the list, it will be getting the final build at some point. But nothing is official yet. The Xiaomi products on the list are:
- Redmi Note 2
- Mi 4c
- Mi 4
- Mi Note
- Mi Pad
- Mi Note Pro
- Mi Redmi 2
- Mi Mi 4i
- Mi Redmi Note
- Mi Mi 3
- Mi Redmi 1S
- Mi Redmi 1
- Mi Mi 2/2S
As for what you can expect from MIUI 7, the most important thing is probably Android 5.1.1 that lies underneath. You can also expect speed improvements, better battery life and up to 50% data savings, thanks to Opera Max integration.
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