Xiaomi’s desktop is not just a background of icons, but an ecosystem of visual effects that can transform how you interact with your device. Many users don’t even realize that under the standard MIUI shell, there are dozens of dynamic transitions, animations and interactive elements that can make your phone more convenient and entertaining. But how do you find them, turn them on and, most importantly, customize them correctly?
In this article, we’ll look at all types of desktop effects on Xiaomi, from basic animations when opening apps to hidden features like live gesture wallpapers or dynamic window transitions. You’ll learn which models support advanced visual settings (spoiler: not just flagships!), how to turn off unnecessary effects to save battery, and what to do if animations start to slow down, and also reveal some exclusive MIUI 14/15 chips that aren’t even written about in the official guides.
What are the desktop effects on Xiaomi: the full list
The MIUI shell offers users three main types of visual effects that can be combined, depending on the firmware version and smartphone model, but basic features are available even on budget devices like the Redmi Note 12 or POCO X5.
- 🎨 Transition animations: smooth opening/closing of applications, swipe effects between desktops, window scaling. Included in Settings → Special facilities → Animation of the system.
- 🌌 Live wallpaper and dynamic effects: wallpapers that respond to the time of day, weather or gestures (e.g. Xiaomi's Super Wallpapers). → Wallpaper.
- ⚡ System visuals: backlighting when you click on icons, blurring backgrounds in the notification menu, shadows under windows. Managed through Settings → Display. → Additional settings.
On flagship models (Xiaomi 14, Mix Fold 3) are available additional options such as: 3D-The effects of turning a device or adaptive color gamut that adjusts to lighting, but on older devices (e.g. Redmi 9 on the other side of the spectrum) MIUI 12) some functions may be disabled by default to save resources.
How to turn on and off effects: step-by-step instructions
Most of the visual settings are hidden in the depths of the MIUI menu, and it can be difficult to find them the first time, and we put together a checklist to quickly access key settings:
Open Settings → Display. → Additional settings|Select system animation and set speed (0.5x–1.5x)|Get into Topics → Wallpaper and choose Live Wallpaper|Include touch effects in Settings → Special facilities-->
To activate hidden effects (such as background blur in multitasking) you will need:
- Go to Settings → About phone and 5 times click on the MIUI version to turn on the developer mode.
- Back to the settings → Additional → for developers.
- Find the points Windows animation, transition animation and animation scale - here you can fine-tune the speed and smoothness.
⚠️ Attention: on devices with MIUI 14+ Some developer options may be blocked, and to unlock them, you need to link your Mi Account and confirm the rights through the SMS.
Hidden effects: what MIUI can do, but does not advertise
Xiaomi is known for hiding the most interesting features deep in the settings, here are some exclusive features that only advanced users know about:
- 🔮 Mode "Cinema": when watching video in landscape mode, the desktop automatically darkens, and notifications are hidden. → Display. → Movie Mode (available on Xiaomi) 13/14).
- 🎶 Music animation: If you play tracks through Mi Music, the desktop icons will pulse to beat.
- 🌪️ The vortex effect: When you swipe up from the bottom of the screen, all the open windows spiral out. Activated through Settings. → Gestures → Additional gestures.
Another little-known option is adaptive transparency, which if you include in Settings → Themes → Theme settings → Transparency, the notification bars and the bottom navigation bar will automatically adjust their opacity to the color of the wallpaper, and this works even with custom images!
How to bring back old MIUI 12 animations on new versions?
Effects vs. Performance: How not to kill the battery
Beautiful animations and live wallpaper are great, but they can eat up to 15-20% of battery life per day, especially on devices with a battery. AMOLED-Here's how to balance things:
| The effect | Battery consumption (in 8 hours) | How to optimize |
|---|---|---|
| Live wallpaper Super Wallpapers | ~12% | Disable animation in Topics → Wallpaper → Settings or use static versions |
| Animation of transitions (1.5x) | ~8% | Set the speed to 0.5x or disable in Settings → Special. |
| Touch effects | ~5% | Turn off vibration and backlighting in Settings → Sound and vibration |
| Transparency of panels | ~3% | Set a fixed color in Settings → Themes → Theme settings |
⚠️ Attention: on devices with Snapdragon processors 4xx (Like Redmi. 10A) Including all effects simultaneously can lead to slowdowns, in which case it is recommended to leave only the basic animations of transitions (speed). 1x) and turn off the live wallpaper.
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If the phone starts warming after the effects are turned on, check the load on the GPU in Settings → Battery → Battery → Graphics. If the GPU is loaded more than 30% in idle – turn off the dynamic wallpaper.
Problem Solving: Effects don’t work or slow down
Most animation problems are related to topic conflicts, cache errors, or performance limitations.
- Check out the MIUI version: Some effects (like Super Wallpapers) require MIUI 12.5+. Update the firmware to Settings → System Update.
- Reset the theme settings: Go to Themes → Settings → Reset to standard. This will remove custom wallpaper and fonts that may conflict with system animations.
- Clear the cache: go to Settings → Apps → Application Management → Themes and click Clear Cache.
- Check the battery limitations: in Settings → Battery → Performance mode, select High Performance (but note that this will increase charge consumption).
If the effects still don’t work, try manually reinstalling the theme:
- Download the official theme from themes.xiaomi.com (e.g. Default MIUI 15).
- Install it through Topics → My Themes → Import.
- Reset the device.
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On root-right devices, you can force all effects to be enabled through file editing /system/build.prop (debug.sf.hw=1). But it’s risky – it can lead to system failures!
Top.-5 The best results for Xiaomi
If you find the standard settings boring, try installing one of these themes from the official Xiaomi Themes store. They are all free and optimized for the latest versions of MIUI:
- 🌌 Cosmic Black: a dark theme with an animation of the starry sky on the desktop and smooth transitions in the style of iOS.
- 🍃 Nature Breeze: live wallpaper with leaves responding to the tilt of the phone, + Unique sounds of nature when unlocked.
- 🤖 Cyberpunk Neon: Neon animations when opening apps and dynamic icon highlighting. Perfect for the user experience AMOLED-screen.
- ⚡ Speed UI: Minimalist theme with accelerated transitions (suitable for weak devices).
- 🎨 Artist’s Palette: wallpaper changes the color scheme depending on the time of day (in the morning – blue tones, in the evening – warm).
To establish a theme:
- Open the Topic app.
- In the search bar, type the title of the theme (e.g. Cosmic Black).
- Click Apply and select which elements to replace (wallpaper, icons, animations).
⚠️ Note: Some themes from third-party sources may contain ads or malicious code. Install only verified versions from the official Xiaomi store!