How to change the size of icons on the Android Xiaomi desktop

Owners of Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO smartphones often face the desire to personalize the device interface to their needs. Standard sizes of app icons can seem too bulky for some users, creating visual noise, or too small for others, making navigation difficult. Customization of the interface is one of the strengths of the MIUI shell and the new HyperOS, providing many tools for fine-tuning the look.

Changing the scale of desktop elements is not just a matter of aesthetics, but also a way to improve the ergonomics of the gadget. Large icons are more convenient to press for people with poor vision or when using the device on the go, while smaller ones allow you to place more widgets and shortcuts on one screen. In this article, we will discuss all the available methods for adjusting the size of icons, from the regular tools of the system to advanced third-party solutions.

It is worth noting that the shell algorithms may vary depending on the version of Android and the specific model of your Xiaomi. Some features can only be available in global firmware, while others can only be available in Chinese versions of the software. However, the basic principles remain the same throughout the brand ecosystem, allowing you to flexibly manage the display space.

Standard design settings in MIUI and HyperOS

The first and most obvious step to change the look is to access the built-in theme settings. Xiaomi shells have a powerful theme engine that allows you to change not only wallpaper, but also the proportions of system elements. To access these options, you need to open the Theme app, which is system-based and preinstalled on each device.

Inside the app, you go to the user profile section, usually denoted by the person icon in the lower right corner, and here is the Makeup (or Theme Settings) item, where the sliders we want to hide, and here you can scale the icons globally by applying changes to all screens at once.

The user is given the ability to adjust the size as a percentage, and by moving the slider to the right, you increase the labels to make them more visible, and by moving to the left, you reduce the size, freeing up useful space.

• 📱 Open the Themes app on the desktop.
• 👤 Click on the profile icon in the lower right corner of the screen.
• ⚙️ Select the item Design in the list of available options.
• 🔍 Find the icon size section and move the slider.

Note that not all installed themes support resizing icons through system settings. If the slider is inactive or changes are not applied, then the active theme has rigidly defined graphics parameters, in which case it is recommended to temporarily switch to the standard theme Classic or Default for settings.

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Before the global size change, take a screenshot of the current desktop look so that in case of failure, you can visually compare the results and understand which way to move the slider.

Use of pocket phone mode

For users who don’t have a standard theme setting or want to change the desktop grid, Xiaomi has a special mode called Pocket Mode, which aims to make it easier to control one hand by increasing the interface.

Activating this mode causes all the icons on the desktop and in the app menu to become significantly larger, and the grid is rebuilt, reducing the number of items in the row, ideal for the elderly or those who prefer minimalism and large controls.

⚠️ Warning: Turning on a pocket phone mode changes the scale not only of icons, but also of fonts, as well as some settings menu elements. You can only return everything back through the same menu item, so remember the path to it.

To activate this feature, go to Settings on the main menu of the device. Search for settings, type the phrase "pocket" or find the corresponding section in the category "Special features" or "Desktop", the switch will instantly resize the entire system.

This is the most radical method, because it changes the logic of how you build the interface, and if your goal is to just adjust the size a little bit, rather than increase it by a factor and a half or two, you'd better use the other methods described above, but for maximum ease of reading, this is unparalleled.

• 🔍 Go to the settings of your smartphone.
• 📱 Find the Desktop section or use the search.
• ✅ Activate the switch Pocket Phone Mode.
• 🔄 Confirm the change, the system will restart the launcher.

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The pocket phone mode is a binary solution: it is either turned on or off, it does not give intermediate size values, unlike the theme settings.

Setting up the desktop grid

Another effective way to visually resize icons is to manipulate the desktop grid, so by changing the number of rows and columns, you automatically affect how much space each individual element takes up, and the more cells in the grid, the less space each icon gets.

To access these settings, you need to call the desktop editing menu, this is done by a long tap over the empty area of the screen or by pinching two fingers (finger mixing on the screen). In the lower menu that appears, you should select Settings (cog icon).

Here you'll see the grid parameter. The system will offer several options, like 4x5, 4x6, 5x5 or 5x6. Choosing a 5x6 configuration will make the icons smaller, because they will have to fit into a denser grid. Conversely, choosing 4x5 will increase their size.

Importantly, changing the grid can cause widgets and shortcuts to shift, and the system will try to keep them in position, but in some cases, items can “go” or go beyond the visible area, requiring manual adjustment.

Using different grid configurations, you can find a balance between capacity and readability. For devices with a screen diagonal of 6.67 inches and above, the 5x6 format is often optimal, whereas for more compact models, 4x5 or 4x6 is better.

The effect of system font on the size of icons

Many users are unaware that MIUI shells have a direct relationship between the size of the system font and the size of the signatures under the icons, and sometimes the graphic elements themselves. By changing the text display settings, you can indirectly affect the perception of icon size.

Go to Settings -> Screen -> Text size. There are sliders available to adjust the scale of the font. Enlarging the font makes the signatures under the applications more readable, which visually adds "weight" to the entire design of the label.

And there's also a separate setting in some versions of the firmware, which is the size of the interface elements, and it's in the advanced screen settings or the developer menu, and changing that setting scales everything. UI-elements, including indentations and icon sizes in the app menu.

By combining font and grid settings, you can achieve a unique result without installing third-party software, for example, by reducing the font to a minimum and choosing a dense grid, you will get the most compact desktop, reminiscent of the interface of old Android smartphones.

Application of third-party launchers

If Xiaomi’s regular hardware doesn’t meet your needs, third-party launchers come to the rescue, full-fledged replacements for the standard shell that give absolute control over every pixel of the screen, with Nova Launcher, Microsoft Launcher and Lawnchair being the most popular solutions.

Installation of such a launcher requires loading APK-You can use a file or installation from Google Play Market, and then you can ask for permission to use the default launcher, and you can get access to a powerful customization tool, where you can set the size of the icons to the pixel.

In the third-party launcher settings, there's usually a View or Desktop section where Icon size is located, and you can set a specific value like 120%, or you can select presets like "Huge," "Large," "Normal."

⚠️ Warning: Third-party launchers can consume more battery and RAM resources than standard Xiaomi shell. On low-end models with low RAM, this can lead to more frequent downloading of applications from memory.

The advantage of using third-party solutions is the ability to use icons of different shapes and sizes simultaneously, create complex grids and use unique folders. However, be prepared for the fact that some system functions of Xiaomi (for example, gestures or integration with Mi services) may not work properly.

• 📥 Download a launcher (like Nova Launcher from Play Market.
• 🚀 Launch the app and press Start.
• ✅ Select the Set as Default option).
• 🎨 Go to the launcher settings and find the Icon size section.

For users who want to keep the MIUI visual style but get more customization, there are Hyperion launcher ports or plugins that allow you to simulate the native interface, but give you access to hidden zoom options.

Scaling problems and their solution

When adjusting the size of the icons, users may encounter various artifacts, and it is common for the icons to become unreadable, cropped, or superimposed after resizing, especially when using custom themes from third-party sources.

One common problem is to desynchronize the size of the icon and its shadow or substrate. If you have a theme that is not optimized for your Android version, the graphics may not show correctly, in which case resetting the theme settings to the standard helps.

Problems can also arise when switching between display modes (for example, after turning off the pocket phone mode). The interface can get stuck in an intermediate state. The solution lies in completely restarting the device or cleaning the cache of the Themes application.

If the icons are gone or become transparent, check if the store’s traffic saving mode is activated with the one that blocks the loading of graphic resources. Turn off traffic saving and update the page with the applied theme.

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Any visual glitches after changing the size of the icons are most often solved by simply restarting the smartphone, since the launcher must completely redraw the desktop.

In conclusion, customizing icon sizes on Xiaomi is a creative and technically simple process: By combining built-in theme tools, grid settings and, if necessary, third-party launchers, you can achieve the perfect balance between functionality and aesthetics. Experiment with settings to find your ideal interface.