Reading Mode in Xiaomi: Eye Protection and Comfort

Modern Xiaomi and Redmi smartphones have become an integral part of our lives, but prolonged interaction with the screen often leads to eye fatigue. To solve this problem, the company’s engineers have developed a complex feature known as reading mode. It is not just a change in color temperature, as it may seem at first glance, but a complex image processing algorithm.

Unlike the standard Android night mode, which only adds a yellow filter, MIUI offers deep customizations to simulate paper text. A unique feature is Paper technology, which not only changes colors, but also adds texture, bringing the picture on the display as close as possible to the real page of the book, which reduces the strain on the optic nerve when reading news or books for a long time.

In this article, we will discuss in detail how this function works, how its variations differ, and why you should pay attention to the screen refresh rate settings for maximum comfort.

Principle of operation and modes

The vision protection feature in HyperOS and older versions of MIUI is divided into several profiles, and the basic layer is Reading Mode, which is a software filter that removes the blue spectrum of light, making the image warmer. However, if you open the advanced settings, you will find more advanced options.

The first profile is Text, which is for those who read mostly white background and black letters, and the system inverts or darkens the background to make it gray or light brown, and the contrast of the letters is adjusted automatically. This reduces the brightness of the pixels, which is especially important for the OLED-screen.

The second profile is paper. This is the most interesting implementation. The algorithm puts a subtle noise on the image, mimicking the structure of the paper sheet. When combined with a yellowish hue, this creates the effect of an e-book with E-ink technology, the eyes perceive this picture as static, which reduces the micro-movement of the pupil and reduces fatigue.

The third option is Night, which differs from Text in its darker, almost black background and reduced brightness, and is the perfect choice for reading in total darkness, where even the minimal light on the screen can be an irritant. It is important not to confuse it with a systemic dark theme, since Read-Made Night works at the level of the entire screen, rewiring the content of applications.

Activation of the function and basic settings

You don't have to be an expert in Android settings to enable vision protection. There are two main ways to activate: through the control panel and through the system menu. Quick access allows you to instantly switch to comfortable mode if you feel a pain in your eyes.

To activate the function through the notification curtain, swipe down from the top edge of the screen. Find an icon that says "Read Mode" or an eye/book symbol. If there is no icon, click on a pencil or edit button in the corner of the curtain, find the desired item in the list of hidden switches and drag it to the active area.

You can set up more detail through the system menu.

• 📱 Go to Settings → Screen.
• 👁️ Select the item "Vision Protection" or "Reading Mode».
• ⚙️ Click on the settings gear to select a profile (Text, Paper, Night).

And you can also use sliders to adjust the degree of dimming and saturation of the yellow shade, and you can create a personalized balance that is perfect for your perception, and don't be afraid to experiment with sliders, because the settings are real-time.

Advanced Features: Update Frequency and Autosetting

Owners of Xiaomi smartphones with screens that support high hertz (90 Hz, 120 Hz and above) often wonder about the effect of reading mode on the smoothness of the interface. By default, the system can reduce the refresh rate of frames to save energy, which makes scrolling text less smooth.

To fix this, you need to find the "Read Mode Update" option in the Vision Protection or Screen menu. There are three options available here: "Default", "Standard" and "Maximum" option, selecting the "Maximum" option will make the screen work at full frequency (for example, 120 Hz) even when the filter is on, ensuring perfect smooth scrolling of the pages.

⚠️ Warning: Forced reading-on-read-up speeds can lead to accelerated battery discharge as the processor and display will be powered up.

There's also an automatic switch on feature, so you can set a schedule so that you can activate the reading mode from, say, 22:00 to 7:00, so you don't have to manually turn on your vision protection every night, and you can switch to gentle mode at a given time.

Another useful option is Adaptive Brightness inside the read mode, which allows the screen to respond to changes in ambient lighting even when the filter is active, which prevents the screen from becoming too dim during the day and blinding at night.

Impact on image quality and color reproduction

Using text, paper or night profiles dramatically changes the color rendering of the device, making the screen monochrome or sepia-tinted, great for readers, news aggregators and instant messengers, but can cause discomfort when viewing photos or videos.

MIUI and HyperOS can automatically turn off read mode when you run certain applications, such as a gallery, video player or camera, but this list is not always perfect. You can manually add exceptions or force the mode to a particular application.

Comparison of the influence of modes on the perception of content:

To view color graphs or diagrams in PDF-Text and Paper modes can be inconvenient because they hide the color coding, and in such cases it is better to use the standard mode with light tinting or temporarily turn off the protection of vision.

Compatibility issues and application performance

Some apps may not display correctly when read mode is enabled, for example, maps may become unreadable due to loss of color markers, and games may miss important visuals, and there may be problems with applications that use color inversion for their interface.

If you notice that in a particular application the text becomes pale or disappears, try changing the profile of the read mode. Often switching from Paper to a standard yellow filter solves the compatibility problem. In rare cases, cleaning the cache of the problematic application helps.

Also worth mentioning is the effect on screenshots. By default, if you take a screenshot with the reading mode on, all the effects (yellowness, monochrome) will be saved on the image. If you need to transfer the screenshot in its original form, the mode will have to be temporarily disabled.

Energy consumption and health display

There is a common belief that reading mode saves battery life significantly, which is only true in part and depends on the type of matrix your Xiaomi smartphone has. On AMOLED screens (used in most flagships and mid-budget models), black means off pixel.

“Night” or “Text” with a dark background really reduces power consumption AMOLED-It's a screen, because most of the pixels go out. IPS-screens (often found in budget models of the Redmi Note series entry-level) backlight works constantly, and the savings will be minimal or absent at all.

⚠️ Warning: Long-term use of the “Paper” mode with maximum texture detail on older CPU models can cause barely noticeable, but additional resource consumption. GPU, What theoretically affects autonomy.

As for the health of the display itself, the decrease in brightness and the absence of a static bright white background prolong the service life of the display. OLED-This is especially true for users who keep their phones at maximum brightness.

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For maximum energy savings on AMOLED screens, use the dark theme mode in the reading app itself. Double dimming gives a better result than just a system filter.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

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Reading mode in Xiaomi is a powerful tool not only for eye protection, but also for focusing attention, removing color distractions when working with text.