How to make a GIF on Xiaomi: everything from built-in tools to third-party applications

Creating animated images (GIFs) on Xiaomi, Redmi or POCO smartphones seems like a challenge only at first glance. In fact, the MIUI branded shell has several hidden features for this, and third-party applications expand the capabilities to the professional level. In this article, we will discuss 5 working methods, from basic to advanced, that will be suitable for both beginners and experienced users.

Xiaomi's feature is that many of the features depend on the MIUI version and the device model. For example, in the Xiaomi 13 Pro with MIUI 14, the algorithm for creating GIFs through the gallery is different from the same process on the Redmi Note 10 with MIUI 12.5. We took these nuances into account and collected universal instructions that work on most devices. If your model behaves differently, check the relevance of the firmware in the Settings → About Phone → System Update.

Important: GIFs created on Xiaomi are automatically optimized for messengers (Telegram, WhatsApp) and social networks, but if you want high quality for professional tasks, you will have to use third-party tools, which we will also discuss below.

1. Create a GIF through built-in screen recording

The easiest way is to convert screen recording to a GIF, which works on all Xiaomi devices with MIUI 11 and later, including the POCO F5, Redmi K60 and other models, the main advantage is that you do not need to install additional applications.

The algorithm is:

1. Open the Quick Settings panel (swipe down from the top edge of the screen).
2. Find the screen recording icon** (if not, add it through panel editing).
3. Click on it and select the recording parameters: 🎯 Permission: 720p (gyphoid). 🔊 Sound: Turn it off if you don't need it. ⏱️ Show touch: turn on if you want to emphasize the actions.

Start recording, perform the necessary actions on the screen (maximum 30 seconds for the GIF).

Stop recording and save the video to the gallery.

Now convert the video to GIF:

1. Open the gallery. → Find the recorded video.
2. Tap on video → Edit → More tools (three dots).
3. Select "Create GIFs"**.
4. Cut the duration (maximum 15 seconds for most models).
5. Click "Save" - the GIF is ready!

Step-by-step:

1. Open the gallery and select the video.
2. Tap Edit (pencil icon)
3. In the lower menu, find “GIF”** (may be hidden under More or Tools).
4. Cut the fragment (drop the sliders to the timeline).
5. Set up the parameters: 🔄 Speed: from 0.5x before 2x. 🎨 Filters: Add effects (not available on all models).

Animation.

Make sure the video is no longer than 15 seconds.|Check the permission (minimum) 720p)|Turn off the sound if you don't need it.|Cut off the extra footage in advance-->

On devices with MIUI 14 (such as Xiaomi 13T), the gallery has a new tool called Animation, which allows you to create multiple-photo GIFs (like stop motions). To use it, select 3-10 shots in the gallery, tap More → Animation and adjust the speed of the frame change.

3. Use of the application "Screen Recorder"

Some Xiaomi models (such as the Redmi Note 12 Pro+) have a Screen Record** app pre-installed with advanced features that allows you to immediately save GIF records without converting.

How it works:

1. Open the Screen Recorder app (if not, download it from Google Play).
2. Select in the settings: 📹 Format of exit: GIF (instead MP4). 🎨 Permission: 480p or 720p (above, not supported by GIF). ⏱️ Duration: up to 30 seconds.

Start recording, perform the necessary actions.

ScreenRecordings

⚠️ Attention: POCO M4 Pro and older models, the Screen Recorder application may not save the GIFs in high quality. In this case, use alternative methods (see section 4).

4. Third-party applications for creating GIFs

If you don’t like the built-in MIUI tools (for example, due to length or quality restrictions), install one of the specialized applications. We tested 5 popular options and selected the best ones for Xiaomi:

• 🎬 GIPHY — Simple interface, integration with social networks, but watermark on the free version.
• 🖼️ ImgPlay – without watermarks, supports the creation of GIFs from photos and videos.
• 🎥 GIF Maker by Momento – Advanced Speed and Quality Settings.
• 📱 GIF Me! Camera – shooting GIFs directly from the camera (useful for stop motion).
• 🔧 Ezgif – a web service for fine-tuning (works through a browser).

ImgPlay is optimized for Xiaomi and does not overload the system.

1. Install ImgPlay from Google Play.
2. Open the application and select the source: 📹 Video - Convert from the video. 📷 Photo - creating a slide show from the pictures. 🎥 Camera - shooting a gif in real time.

Resolution: 720p (optimum)


Speed: 10-15 frames/sec




Cycle: Infinite or 1 time

Save the gif to the gallery or share immediately in the messenger.

Built-in tools MIUI|GIPHY|ImgPlay|Other|I don't make gifs.-->

For professional tasks (such as site gifs), use Ezgif:

1. Open ezgif.com in your browser.
2. Download a video or photo from your phone.
3. Set up: 🔄 FPS: 12-24 for smoothness. 🎨 Color palette: 256 colors (optimum for the web). 📏 Size: Reduce to 800px social-network-width.

Download the finished GIF and transfer to the phone.

5. Hidden MIUI features for animations

MIUI has little-known GIFs that aren't documented in the official instructions, like the Xiaomi 12T and later, you can create animated stickers from the GIFs right in the keyboard.

How to do this:

1. Create a GIF in any of the above ways.
2. Open any chat app (Telegram, WhatsApp).
3. In the input field, tap on the sticker icon → + → Create a sticker.
4. Choose your gif and cut it to a square format.
5. Add a sticker to your collection – it’s now available for quick shipping.

Another hidden feature is animated wallpaper from gifs:

1. Download the GIF (for example, via ImgPlay).
2. Move it to DCIM → Animated Wallpapers (create it manually if not).
3. Hold your finger on the desktop → Wallpaper → Animated.
4. Choose your GIF and use it as a wallpaper.

If the gif is "teared" (with jerks):

1. Try to reduce the resolution of the original video to 480p.
2. Use ImgPlay with Frame Smoothing setting.
3. On devices with Snapdragon 8xx (such as Xiaomi 12 Pro), enable Hardware Acceleration in the screen recording app settings.

To diagnose problems, check the system log:

adb logcat | grep -i "gif\|animation\|media"

If there are errors in the log like MediaCodec failed or Out of memory, then the problem is in the hardware limitations of the device - use cloud services such as Ezgif.

FAQ: Frequent questions about creating GIFs on Xiaomi