How to put an emoji like an iPhone on Xiaomi: a complete guide 2026

Why do Xiaomi and iPhone emojis look different?

If you’ve moved from iPhone to Xiaomi (or just used to the design of Apple emojis), you’ve probably noticed that the emojis on Android and iOS are radically different: on iPhones they are more rounded, with soft shadows and detailed faces, while the standard emojis on MIUI (Xiaomi firmware) look flat and simplified. This is not a coincidence, but a consequence of different design approaches: Apple has been developing their emojis since 2008, and Google and Xiaomi use the open standard Noto Color Emoji, which is updated less rarely and looks less “premium”.

But the good news is that Xiaomi (including Redmi, Poco, and Mi) can replace standard emojis with iOS-style emojis without having to root or manipulate them. From installing third-party keyboards to changing system fonts (yes, it’s possible even without root!). MIUI, And we warn against common mistakes that can “break” the display of emoji in messengers.

⚠️ Warning: Not all methods are equally secure. Changing system fonts without a backup can cause data loss in some applications (e.g. Telegram or WhatsApp) if they cache emojis in their storage!

Method 1: Install the keyboard with an iOS emoji

The easiest and safest way is to use a third-party keyboard that supports an iOS-style emoji, an advantage of which is that you don’t need to tamper with system files, and the emoji will be displayed correctly in most messengers (unless the app loads its emojis like Viber).

The best keyboard options for Xiaomi:

• 📱 Gboard (Google) - has a built-in set of emoji in the style of iOS (must be included in the settings). Supports gestures and themes.
• 🎨 SwiftKey (Microsoft) – allows you to choose the style of emoji (including iOS) in the section “Design».
• 🔄 Emoji Keyboard – iOS 16 Emojis (from Kika Tech) – a specialized keyboard with Apple emoji, but can show ads.

How to install and configure:

1. Download the keyboard from Google Play (links above).
2. Go to Settings → System and Device → Language and Input → Current Keyboard.
3. Activate the installed keyboard and set it by default.
4. In the keyboard settings, find the “Emoji” or “Style” section and select iOS.

⚠️ Note: In some instant messengers (such as Viber or Facebook Messenger), emojis may appear in a standard Android style, as these apps use their own fonts.

Method 2: Replace the system font emoji (without root)

If the keyboard is not enough, you can replace the system typeface with the entire MIUI interface. This method is more complicated, but provides a complete replacement in all applications (except those that use their own fonts, like Instagram).

• 📲 Xiaomi smartphone on the MIUI 12/13/14 (On older versions, the method may not work).
• 🔧 iFont (or FontFix) for new versions MIUI).
• 📁 Archive with the font emoji iOS (can be downloaded here).

Step-by-step:

1. Download and install iFont from Google Play.
2. Download the archive with the font AppleColorEmoji.ttf (for example, here: Google Drive).
3. Unpack the archive and place the font file in the Download folder.
4. Open iFont, click Local and select the downloaded font.
5. Click “Install” → “OK” → go to Settings → Screen → Font and select AppleColorEmoji.
6. Reset the device.

⚠️ Note: Some Xiaomi models (e.g. Redmi Note 12 Pro)+ Xiaomi 13T) post-refresh MIUI To avoid this, back up the original font in iFont before replacing it.

Method 3: Using Magisk and Emoji Replacer (for advanced)

If you're ready for a deeper change, you can use Magisk to replace the system-level emoji, which requires an unlocked bootloader and a Magisk installed, but the most consistent result is that the emoji will be displayed in an iOS-style way even on system notifications.

What you need:

• 🔓 Unlocked bootloader on Xiaomi (instruction: miui.su).
• 📱 Installed by Magisk (version 26.0 or later).
• 🔧 Emoji Replacer Module (you can download it here).

Instructions:

1. Download the Emoji Replacer module (file with.zip extension).
2. Open Magisk Manager and go to Modules.
3. Click “Install from Storage” → select the downloaded file.
4. After installation, restart the device.
5. Check the emoji in any messenger (for example, in Telegram or WhatsApp).

⚠️ Note: Installing Magisk modules can lead to loss of warranty and update issues MIUI airborne (OTA). Before installation, create a full backup through Settings → Additionally. → Backup and reset.

Comparison of emoji: iOS vs Xiaomi (MIUI)

To see if you should change emojis, compare them visually, below is a table with popular emojis in the style of Apple (iOS 16) and standard for MIUI 14:

As you can see from the comparison, Apple emojis are more elaborate: they have shadows, gradients and realistic proportions. At the same time, Xiaomi emojis (like standard Android) follow the minimalist design of Material You, which may not be liked by everyone, 😍 or 😡) and (🍕, 🚗).

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Replacing an emoji with an iOS style only affects the visual display. The characters themselves (Unicode codes) remain the same, so the recipient will see the emoji in the style that their device supports.

Problems and Solutions: Why Do Emojis Not Change?

Even after all the manipulations, emojis can be rendered incorrectly.

Problem 1: WhatsApp or Telegram emojis are standard.

• 🔹 Reason: These messengers use their emoji fonts, ignoring the system.
• 🔹 Solution: Telegram can enable “System Emoji” in chat settings (Settings) → Type size and emoji → You can't use system emojis on WhatsApp, you have to accept or use an iOS-style keyboard.

Problem 2: After replacing the font, some characters are displayed in squares (□).

• 🔹 AppleColorEmoji.ttf does not support all Unicode characters.
• 🔹 Solution: Install the optional NotoColorEmoji.ttf font as backup in iFont.

Problem 3: After the MIUI update, the emojis reset.

• 🔹 Reason: System update overwritten fonts.
• 🔹 Solution: Repeat font installation via iFont or save backup to /sdcard/iFont/Backup.

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If the emojis are displayed correctly but look blurry, try clearing the cache of the Android System WebView app in the application settings. This often helps with font artifacts.

How to bring back standard emojis to Xiaomi?

If the experiment with iOS emoji did not suit you, you can return the original emoji in several ways:

For the keyboard:

1. Open the keyboard settings (such as Gboard).
2. Find the “Emoji” or “Style” section and select the standard set.
3. If you don’t have an option, remove the keyboard and set the standard (Settings → System and device → Language and input → Keyboard management).

For system type:

1. Open iFont and go to the Backups section.
2. Restore the original NotoColorEmoji.ttf font.
3. Reset the device.

For Magisk:

1. Open Magisk Manager.
2. Find the Emoji Replacer module and remove it.
3. Reboot your smartphone.

⚠️ Note: If after returning standard emojis, certain applications (e.g, VK or Discord) have stopped displaying emojis at all, clear their cache in Settings → Annexes → Application management → [Title of the annex] → Clear the cache.

FAQ: Frequent questions about emojis on Xiaomi