Always On Display (AON) on Xiaomi: A Complete Guide to Setup and Use

Have you ever looked into your Xiaomi screen settings and stumbled across the mysterious AON option? This acronym stands for Always On Display, a feature that keeps a portion of the display active even in sleep mode, showing time, notifications or customized widgets. At first glance, it seems like just a “beautiful chip,” but in fact, AON solves a lot of practical problems – from saving time to improving the user experience.

In this article, we’ll break down everything about AON on Xiaomi: how it works at the iron level, what models support the technology (including the budget Redmi series and Xiaomi 13/14) flagships, how to properly configure the display to avoid landing the battery, and even reveal a few hidden MIUI features that are not written about in the official instructions. If you think that AON is just a “watch on the off screen”, prepare to be surprised!

What is AON on Xiaomi and how does it work?

Always On Display (AON) — This is a mode where a portion of the screen is left on in a minimal energy-saving state, showing key information: time, date, charge level, notifications or even animations, AON uses 1-5% It is bright and only activates individual pixels (on the AMOLED-screens, which significantly reduces energy consumption.

Technically, the function works as follows:

• 🔹 Nana AMOLED-All flagships and most mid-range models Xiaomi/Redmi/POCO) It only uses the pixels that you need to display information, and the black background is not illuminated at all, which gives you minimal battery consumption.
• 🔹 Nana IPS-screens (budget models like Redmi) 9A or POCO M3) AON This is done differently: the display is switched on at full brightness. 1-2 moment-by-second 10-15 It's less efficient, but it's still useful.
• 🔹 The processor and graphics chip go into ultra-low power consumption, handling only updates of time and notifications.

It's important to understand that AON is not just a picture on the screen. MIUI integrates a function with:

• 🔔 Notification Center: Shows icons of new messages (SMS, WhatsApp, Telegram and others.).
• ⏰ Alarm clocks and timers: displays the remaining time before activation.
• 🎵 Music player: controls playback without unlocking.
• 📊 Widgets: weather, steps, calendar (on some models).

What Xiaomi models support AON: full list

Not all Xiaomi smartphones have support for Always On Display.

• ✅ AMOLED-displays: the function runs at full power with minimal battery consumption. 12/13/14, Mix 4), middle segment (Redmi) K50, POCO F4) And even some of the budget (Redmi Note) 11 Pro+).
• ⚠️ IPS-display: AON It's available, but it's implemented through a periodic turn on screen (less conveniently, POCO M4 Pro.
• ❌ No AON: The cheapest machines (Redmi) 9A, POCO C31) and older models until 2019.

Here is the list of models with full AON (AMOLED):

To check if there is an AON on your device:

1. Open the Settings → Screen.
2. Scroll down to Always On Display & Lock screen.
3. If you don’t have an option, your model doesn’t support the function.

💡

On some models (such as Xiaomi 13 Ultra), AON can be enabled via the hidden menu of engineering settings. To do this, type in the Phone app code ##6484## and select "AOD Test".

How to turn on and configure AON on Xiaomi: step-by-step instructions

Activating Always On Display is easy, but there are nuances that affect power consumption and convenience.

1. Enable the function: Go to Settings → Screen → Always On Display and move the slider to the "On" position. On some firmware, the path may differ: Settings → Screen Lock → Always On Display.
2. Choosing style: MIUI Offers several pre-set templates: ⏱️ Digital watches (minimalistic appearance). 📅 Calendar + Time (useful for business users). 🎨 Dynamic wallpaper (animations that change depending on the time of day). 🔄 Customized (you can add your own elements).
3. Schedule setting: In the Schedule section AOD choose: 🌞 Always (constantly active). 🌙 Only at night (savings energy during the day). ⏰ Time (set intervals, for example, from 20:00 to 8:00).

Additional options

Turn it on or off:

• 🔔 Displaying notifications (may reduce confidentiality).
• 🔋 Charge level display (useful for battery control).
• 🎵 Player control (pause/skipping tracks).

Battery Consumption: The Truth and Myths About AON on Xiaomi

The main fear of users is that Always On Display will quickly drain the smartphone, let's figure out how much AON actually consumes and how to minimize the impact on the battery.

According to XDA Developers and GSMArena, energy consumption depends on:

• 📱 Like a screen: AMOLED: 0.5-1.5% charge per hour (for example, on Xiaomi 13 Pro) AON "eat" ~10% for 8 hours of sleep). IPS: 2–5% per hour (due to periodic switching on of the entire display).
• ⚡ Brightness: even in AON-You can adjust the backlighting, optimally 20 to 30 percent of the maximum.
• ⏳ Active elements: the more widgets (weather, steps, music) the higher the consumption.

For comparison, this is how the Xiaomi 12T Pro (AMOLED, 5000 mAh) smartphone discharges in different modes:

How to reduce battery consumption:

• 🌑 Use dark styles (on the AMOLED black background doesn't consume energy).
• ⏰ Set up a schedule (for example, only from 22:00 to 7:00).
• 🔌 Turn off unnecessary widgets (weather, steps).
• 🔋 Include adaptive brightness for AON (screen-setting).