Global icon animations on Xiaomi: a complete guide to setup and optimization

Have you ever noticed how the app icons on your Xiaomi, Redmi or screen are POCO They wake up smoothly when they unlock, they jump up slightly when they press, or they change color depending on the topic? MIUI, It's a dynamic interface, but what is it, how does it affect performance, and can you customize it?

In this article, we will understand what types of icon animations exist in the MIUI, How they relate to system settings and the theme of the design, and give step-by-step instructions for managing them, from complete shutdown to fine-tuning through hidden menus. Whether animations should be turned off for battery saving, how they affect ping in games, and why on some models (e.g. Xiaomi 13 Ultra or the likes of the game). POCO F5) The animations work differently than on the budget Redmi Note.

If you want to make your smartphone interface more responsive or, conversely, remove all the “extra” visuals – this article is for you. We will also reveal some little-known tricks, for example, how to return animations on custom firmware or why they may disappear after an update. MIUI.

What are Global Icon Animations and Why You Need Them

Global animations of icons (or icons) in MIUI — It's a set of visual effects that apply to all icons on the desktop, in the app menu, and even in system dialogues. Unlike the transition animations between screens (which are responsible for smooth window changes), icon animations focus on microinteractions: How the icon reacts to touch, how it appears when the system is booted, or how its appearance changes when the topic changes.

The main objectives of these animations:

• 🎨 Visual feedback: the user immediately understands that his action (pressing, holding) is registered by the system.
• 🔄 Uniform interface: all icons are animated in the same way, creating a holistic perception MIUI.
• 📱 Branding: unique animations (e.g., the effect of "breathing" icons in the MIUI 14) distinguish Xiaomi smartphones from competitors.
• ⚡ Masking delays: smooth transitions hide small lags when opening apps.

It's important to understand that global animations are not just beautiful, they're very integrated with the core. MIUI depend on:

• 📲 Firmware versions: in MIUI 12.5 and MIUI 14 different animation engines are used.
• 🎯 Current Design Themes: Some of the themes from the Mi Theme Store redefine standard effects.
• 🔧 Performance settings: In Battery Mode or Performance Animation Can Be Automatically Simplified.

⚠️ Note: On devices with MediaTek processors (e.g. Redmi Note 12 or POCO M5) animations can run less smoothly than on flagships with Snapdragon 8 Gen 2. This is due to the optimization of graphics drivers in the MIUI chipset.

Types of animation icons in MIUI: standard to covert

V MIUI There are several types of icon animations, and not all of them are obvious at first glance:

The most subtle yet important animations are microinteractions, like dragging an icon across your desktop, it lifts slightly above the background, creating a depth effect, or when you hold the icon for a long time, it vibrates, signaling that you can move, and these little things make the interface more "lively," but some users find them redundant.

V MIUI 14 there is a hidden mode "Super Icons", where the animations of the icons are synchronized with the system sounds (for example, when pressed, a slight click is heard, and the icon jumps). This mode is only activated on devices with stereo speakers (for example, Xiaomi 13 Pro) and is not yet documented in the official settings.

How to turn on or off global icon animations

Animation management in MIUI It's spread across multiple menus, and not all options are visible:

Method 1: Through the main settings (MIUI 12.5 and newer)

1. Open the Settings → Screen.
2. Select System Animation (or Animation Style in older versions).
3. Switch the slider Animation icons in the position On/Off.
4. For fine-tuning, tap Additional and select animation speed (for example, 0.5x speed up).

Method 2: Through the Developer's Hidden Menu

If the standard settings do not give the necessary flexibility, you can use the menu for developers:

1. Activate Developer Mode: Go to Settings → About Phone and tap the MIUI version 7 times.
2. Back to Settings → Additionally. → For developers.
3. Find the section The scale of the animation window, the scale of the animation transition and the scale of the duration of the animator.
4. Set the value off to completely shut down or 0.5x speed up.

⚠️ Note: On some devices (e.g. Redmi) 10A or POCO M4 Pro) disabling animations through the developer menu can cause a malfunction in the Always On Display.

Make sure there is enough free memory on the device (less than 1GB can cause lags)

Make a backup copy of the themes in Settings → Theme

Check the version. MIUI (Some beta versions may not have options)

Remember the current scale settings for animation rollback-->

Method 3: Through ADB (for power users)

If you need to disable animations at the system level (for example, to test performance), use the command:

adb shell settings put global window_animation_scale 0


adb shell settings put global transition_animation_scale 0




adb shell settings put global animator_duration_scale 0

To return the standard values, replace 0 with 1.

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If after disabling animations, the interface began to seem “twitchy”, try to set the value 0.5x It's going to keep the system smooth, but it's going to speed up the system's response.

The Impact of Animations on Performance and Battery

One of the most controversial questions is, should we turn off animations to save resources? The answer depends on the device model and the use case.

1. Effect on the battery

Animations of icons consume a minimum amount of energy — an average of 0.3-0.7% of charge per hour when used actively.

• 🔋 On devices with AMOLED-screens (e.g. Xiaomi) 12T or Redmi K50 Pro) dynamic icons with changing color can increase consumption by up to 1-1.5% due to pixel illumination.
• ⚡ In Always On Display, the “breath” animation adds icons ~0.2% per hour.
• 📉 On budget models (e.g. Redmi) A1) processor spends more energy on rendering animations due to weak graphics.

2. Impact on productivity

Xiaomi 13 Ultra (Snapdragon 8 Gen 2) and POCO X5 Pro (Snapdragon 778G) showed:

• 🎮 In games (such as Genshin Impact or Call of Duty Mobile), disabling animations increases the number of games. FPS 2-5% free of graphics processing.
• 📱 With everyday use (scrolling tape, launching applications), the difference in speed does not exceed 0.1–0.3 seconds.
• 🔄 On 60Hz devices (such as the Redmi Note 11), animations can create a stuttering effect when navigation is fast.

⚠️ Attention: On devices with MIUI 13 and older, disabling animations may conflict with the Smart Refresh Rate function, in which case the screen will run at a fixed 60 Hz, which will reduce the smoothness of the scrolling experience.

Problems with icon animations and their solutions

Sometimes global animations start to work incorrectly: icons twitch, effects disappear, or the system ignores the settings altogether.

1. Animations will disappear after the update MIUI

This is a common problem when switching to a new firmware version (for example, with a new version of the firmware). MIUI 13 on MIUI The reason is the reset of the graphics subsystem cache.

Decision:

• Go to Settings → Applications → Application Management.
• Find the Launcher (or) MIUI Launcher) and clear the cache.
• Reset the device.
• If it doesn’t help, reset the theme settings: Settings → Theme → Restore by default.

2. Badges twitch or laggy animations

This happens on devices with insufficient RAM (for example, Redmi). 9A with 2 GB of RAM) or when the processor is overheated.

Decision:

• 🔄 Reduce the scale of animations to 0.5x developer-setting.
• 🧹 Clear background processes: Hold the Recent button and close all applications.
• ❄️ If the device is overheated, let it cool for 10-15 minutes.
• 🔧 Turn off background animation in screen settings (if available).

3.Animations don't work on all icons

This happens if:

• You use a third-party theme from the Mi Theme Store that overrides the standard effects.
• Some icons belong to system applications (such as Settings or Phone) that have their own animations.
• The light version is on. MIUI (weak-wielding).

Solution: Return the standard theme or check the settings in Settings → Special facilities → Simplified regime.

Hidden chips and fine-tuning animations

For those who want to get the most out of the animation, MIUI There are a few hidden possibilities. They require a deeper dive into the settings, but the result is worth it.

1. Set up animations for individual applications

V MIUI 14, it's possible to assign unique animations to specific icons, for example, you can make the Spotify icon pulse in the beat of music, and WhatsApp is highlighted when new messages.

How to turn on:

1. Keep the app icon on your desktop.
2. Choose to Change (or Edit)
3. Slip on the Icon Effects (not available on all devices).
4. Choose the desired style of animation from the proposed ones.

2. synchronize animations with Always On Display

On devices with AMOLED-screens (e.g. Xiaomi 13 or Redmi) K60 Pro) can be configured to sync the icon animations on Always On Display with notifications, such as the Phone icon flashing when a missed call is made and the Messages flashing when a missed call is made. SMS.

How to set up:

1. Go to Settings → Screen → Always On Display
2. Choose the Icon Style.
3. Activate the dynamic effects option.
4. Set notification priority for each application.

3.Use of ADB advanced-tuning

With help. ADB You can change animations that are not available in the GUI, for example, set custom speeds for different types of transitions or disable animations only for system dialogues.

Examples of teams:

• Set the speed of the animation window on 0.3x: adb shell settings put global window_animation_scale 0.3
• Disable notification animation: adb shell settings put global notification_pulse_enabled 0
• Replace the standard values: adb shell settings delete global window_animation_scale

⚠️ Attention: Misuse of the right ADB It can cause interface failures. Before experimenting, back up through Settings. → Additionally. → Backup and reset.

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On devices with MIUI 14 and the Snapdragon processor 8 Gen 2 (for example, Xiaomi 13 Pro) is available hidden option Adaptive Animations, which automatically adjusts the smoothness of animations to the current load on the CPU. Activated by adb shell settings put global adaptive_animations_enabled 1.

Comparison of animations on different Xiaomi devices

Not all Xiaomi smartphones support global animations in the same way, and even within the same lineup (like the Redmi Note) there may be differences due to different processors or versions. MIUI. Let’s look at the key differences:

On flagship devices (for example, Xiaomi) 13T Pro) icon animations are based on technology MIUI Motion Engine, which uses the power of the GPU to render real-time effects. On budget models (e.g. Redmi). 10C) animations are often simplified or disabled to reduce the processor load.

Interesting fact: on devices for the Chinese market (with firmware China) ROM) 20% more animation options available than in global versions MIUI. This is because in China, users are more actively customizing the interface.

FAQ: Frequent questions about icon animations on Xiaomi