How to combine photos on Xiaomi: from standard tools to professional tricks

Xiaomi’s modern smartphones not only allow you to take high-quality photos, but also creatively process them — including combining several photos into one panoramic image or collage. However, not all users know that you do not need to install third-party applications for this: MIUI already has built-in tools for gluing photos. And if you need advanced features, we will also discuss the best third-party solutions in detail.

In this article, you will find 5 proven ways to combine photos on any Xiaomi, Redmi or other device. POCO — From basic gallery features to professional technicians using Google Photos and specialized editors, we will focus on the hidden function of “Panorama by hand”, which is not available on all Android smartphones, but works well on devices with a high-end user experience. MIUI 12+.

Whether you want to take a panoramic view of the landscape, combine selfies with friends into a single collage, or simply keep the memory of the event as a single image, here you will find step-by-step instructions with illustrations and useful tips. At the end of the article, we will answer the most common questions, including problems with the resolution of the final file and format compatibility.

1. Standard gluing through the Xiaomi gallery (without installing apps)

The easiest way to combine photos on Xiaomi is to use the built-in feature in the standard Gallery app, which is suitable for creating simple collages of 2-9 images and does not require an Internet connection.

Open the Gallery app (the colored square icon) and go to the folder with the photos you want. Click on the first photo to open it in view mode, then tap on the More icon (the three dots in the upper right corner) and select Collage. The system automatically prompts you to add other pictures from this folder — tick off the ones you want to combine.

• 📌 Maximum number of photos: up to 9 pieces in one collage.
• 🎨 Model patterns: 6 preliminary options (grid) 2×2, 3×3, horizontal/vertical tape, etc.).
• ⚙️ Additional settings: you can change the thickness of the frame, background color and proportions of the cells.

After selecting the template, click Save, the finished collage will appear in the same folder where the original photos were located. Note that the final image is saved in JPEG format with a resolution that depends on the number of original images. For example, when gluing 4 photos to 12 MP, each final file will weigh about 8-10 MB.

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If you need to keep the collage as high as possible, cut the original photos in the same aspect ratio before gluing (for example, 1:1 for Instagram) – this will prevent automatic compression.

2. Manual panorama creation (hidden MIUI function)

Few people know, but Xiaomi’s camera has a hidden “Panorama by hand” mode that allows you to combine photos with an arbitrary viewing angle — not only horizontally, but also vertically or even diagonally, a feature that is especially useful for shooting tall buildings, waterfalls or group photos in cramped spaces.

To activate it:

1. Open the Camera app.
2. Scroll through the shooting modes left to the point Still (or Add. on some models).
3. Select Panorama, then tap the icon. ⚙️ top-right.
4. Activate the Manual Mode switch (on some firmware it is called Free Panorama).

Now you can take pictures in any direction, and the system will automatically connect them into one image.

⚠️ Attention: When shooting panoramas, keep your smartphone as smooth as possible - even a slight tilt can cause breaks at the joints. For best results, use a grid (includes in the camera settings) and cover the frame by 30-40% each time you take the next shot.

3. Combining photos through Google Photos (automatic gluing)

If you want to connect photos quickly and efficiently without manual fitting, use the Google Photos app, which automatically analyzes images and suggests creating collages or animations, the main advantage of this method is cloud processing, which does not load the smartphone processor.

Instructions:

1. Install Google Photos (if not already installed).
2. Upload the photos to the app (they can be in the cloud or on the device).
3. Open any photo, click on the + icon in the top menu and select Collage.
4. The app automatically picks up similar images and suggests templates. Choose the one you like and save the result.

• ✨ Pros: automatic selection of photos by date / place, cloud storage, no loss of quality.
• ⚠️ Cons: limited number of templates (only 4 options), no manual setting of the frames.
• 🔄 Alternative: If Google Photos doesn’t offer to create a collage, try uploading a photo to the album and wait for the “Create a collage” notification (it can take up to 24 hours).

4. Professional gluing in editorial applications

If Xiaomi or Google Photos are not enough, look for specialized apps that offer advanced features: layers, transparency adjustment, effects imposition, and even artificial intelligence to automatically align the joints.

Top.-3 Photos for photo collection on Xiaomi:

• 📱 PicsArt -- over 100 collage templates, Magic tool for automatic alignment, layer support. Download.
• 🎨 PhotoGrid is a simple interface, animation collages, built-in stickers and filters.
• 🔍 Union (by Pixite) is a specialized tool for panoramas and glues with manual adjustment of joints.

💡 Professional advice: If you need to glue photos together with perfect accuracy (like printing), use Adobe Photoshop Express. It has a feature called Layer Aquarization that analyzes overlaps and adjusts perspective:

1. Import the photos as separate layers.


2. Select all layers (long tap on miniatures).




3. Press "Align" → "Auto."




4. Cut the extra edges with the "Frame" tool.

Make a backup copy of the source

Cut off unnecessary items at the edges

Align the exposure (brightness/contrast)

Save in PNG format (if you need transparency)

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5. Slug through the PC: when the smartphone can not cope

If you need to combine dozens of photos (for example, to create a gigapixel panorama) or work with files in RAW format, it is better to transfer them to a computer.

To transfer photos from Xiaomi to PC:

1. Connect your smartphone via USB (select File Transfer mode in the notification curtain).
2. Copy the photos into a folder on your computer (we recommend PNG or TIFF format for minimal quality losses).
3. Open them in the selected program and follow the gluing master.

⚠️ Attention: When glued RAW-Xiaomi files (.dng extension) convert them to JPEG or TIFF through the appendix “Camera" → Settings → Save format: otherwise, some software (e.g. Microsoft) ICE) They can't be processed.

6. Solving the problems: why photos are glued crooked or not saved

Even with the built-in tools of Xiaomi, users sometimes encounter errors, and here are the most common problems and solutions:

• 🔄 Photos stick together with gaps: Reason: insufficient overlapping (less than 20%) Solution: when shooting a panorama, cover the previous frame by 30-40%.
• 📉 Low quality final file: Reason: automatic compression in the Xiaomi gallery.Solution: before gluing, convert the photo to PNG via the Files appendix".
• ❌ Error "Can't save collage": Reason: lack of memory space or damaged files Solution: clear the gallery cache (Settings) → Annexes → gallery → Memory. → Clear the cache) and restart the smartphone.

If the problem persists, try an alternative method:

1. Install the QuickPic app (lightweight gallery).


2. Select the necessary photos → "Send" → "Collage".




3. Save the result and check the quality.

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Before gluing important photos, always back up the source files – some apps (like the standard Xiaomi gallery) can automatically delete the originals once the collage is created.

FAQ: Answers to Frequent Questions