Owners of Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO smartphones often face the desire to personalize the interface to their needs. The standard shell of MIUI or its modern version of HyperOS provides ample opportunities for customization, but not all the settings are obvious at first glance. Changing the size of the icons is the first step to creating a unique desktop that will be convenient for you.
Many users don't know that icon size is directly dependent on the desktop grid you choose. The fewer cells you choose to host your apps, the larger the icons themselves will look. This is a fundamental principle of how Android works in conjunction with the Chinese manufacturer's branded shells. In this article, we will discuss in detail all the available ways to manage the visual space of your device.
It's worth noting that in addition to standard grid settings, there are deeper methods of redesigning the interface, which include installing alternative launchers and working with themes. Changing system fonts also visually changes the perception of icon size, making them more or less massive depending on the style chosen. Let's move from theory to practice.
Configure the desktop grid in MIUI and HyperOS
The easiest and most effective way to resize icons is to adjust the density of the desktop grid. In Xiaomi shells, this option is hidden in the general screen settings, not in the editing menu of a specific widget. You need to open the main menu of the phone settings and find the section responsible for the appearance of the interface.
Once you go to the desired section, you will see an option that allows you to select the number of rows and columns. The standard value is most often a 5x6 or 6x6 grid, which provides a compact placement of a large number of applications. If your goal is to make the icons larger, you need to reduce the number of cells, for example, by choosing the option 4x5 or 5x5.
It is important to understand that changing this setting will not only affect the home screen, but also the menu of all applications (if it is enabled).The system will automatically recalculate the location of items. If you use the theme, some grids may be blocked by the theme developer, and you will have to return the standard design to unlock all the density options.
⚠️ Attention: When the grid density changes, icons can move to other pages or get stacked up in a pile. Remember the location of important widgets in advance or take a screenshot of the desktop before the changes.
Using design themes to change style
The second powerful tool is the Themes app, pre-installed on all the brand’s devices, and the Theme Store allows you to download not just wallpaper, but entire design packages that dramatically change the look of system icons. The catalog offers thousands of options, from minimalistic black and white sets to vibrant animated sets.
Some themes are designed with larger graphics, and when you apply them, you'll notice that the icons have become visually larger and more massive, even if the grid has remained the same, and this is done by using large-field graphics around the main image or a specific style of drawing.
- 🎨 Open the Themes app on your smartphone.
- 🔍 Search for queries like “Big icons”, “Large icons” or “Large icons".
- 📥 Download your favorite package and click the Apply button.
- ⚙️ If the theme changes only the icons, the system will suggest using only this component, leaving the wallpaper the same.
Be careful when installing themes from third-party authors who don't have a lot of downloads. Unstable themes can cause interface lags or incorrect display of some system applications. Always check the rating and reviews before installing. If the phone starts to work slower after applying the theme, it's better to go back to standard design.
How to remove a poorly working theme?
The impact of font size on interface perception
Many users overlook that the size of the font in the system directly affects the overall perception of screen space. In Android and MIUI, increasing text often leads to an automatic increase in indentations around the interface elements, which visually makes the icons more sparse and large.
To adjust this setting, go to Settings → Screen → Text Size and Display. Here you will find a slider that adjusts the scale of the font. By moving it to the right, you zoom in on text, which may require you to rethink the grid density of the desktop to achieve perfect balance.
There is also a hidden developer menu where you can change the minimum screen width (DPI), a more advanced method that scales all interface elements at once, including icons, fonts and control panels. However, using this method requires caution, since an incorrectly selected value can make the interface unreadable.
☑️ Display setting
If you’re experimenting with DPI, remember the original value. For most modern Xiaomi smartphones with FullHD+ resolution, the standard value is 392 or 411 dpi. Changing this setting to too high a value (for example, 600+) can cause some applications to stop opening correctly.
Third-party launchers: complete freedom of action
If standard features aren't enough, third-party launchers come to the rescue, and these are shell apps that completely replace the standard Xiaomi desktop, the most popular and functional ones being Nova Launcher, Microsoft Launcher, and Smart Launcher, which allow you to resize icons to pixel accuracy.
With this launcher, you can access an extended menu of look and feel settings, and unlike the standard shell, you can set a specific size in percentages or pixels, change shapes, add shadows, or change signatures under icons, ideal for those who like full control of their device.
However, third-party launchers may consume more battery and RAM than the built-in solution, and new versions of HyperOS may have restrictions on third-party desktops for security and system optimization reasons.
| Launcher | Flexibility of setting | Impact on the battery | Difficulty in mastering |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nova Launcher | Very high. | Average. | Medium |
| Microsoft Launcher | Tall. | Low. | Low. |
| Smart Launcher 6 | Medium (automation) | Low. | Low. |
| Niagara Launcher | Minimum | Very low. | Very low. |
⚠️ Note: After installing a third-party launcher, the system may periodically suggest returning the default standard launcher. To avoid this, select Always when requesting or disable battery optimization for the new launcher in the settings.
One-handed mode and scaling
Special attention should be paid to the function "One-Hand Mode", which is often turned on by default on large screens of smartphones Redmi and POCO. When activating this mode (usually swipe down the lower bar of navigation), the entire screen is reduced, compressing and icons including. If your icons suddenly become small, check if this mode is not included.
Also in the special settings (Settings → Advanced Settings → Special features), you can find screen zoom functions. They are designed for people with low vision, but they can be useful for ordinary users. Enable "Increases" allows you to temporarily scale part of the screen, making all the elements giant.
To constantly resize without changing the grid, you can use the "Text and Elements Increase" feature, which is in the same feature menu, and activating this mode will force all interface elements to increase, ignoring the standard pixel density limits set by the manufacturer.
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If you accidentally turned on zoom mode and can’t get into the desired menu, try quickly tapping three times on the screen (the standard zoom function) or rebooting the device to reset the temporary zoom settings.
Frequent problems and their solution
During the setup process, users often experience icons that “float” or are not displayed correctly after the system update, because newer versions of MIUI can reset the user’s grid settings to factory values, in which case the setup procedure will have to be repeated again.
Another common problem is that icon sizes don't fit across menus, like the icons on the home screen can be large, and the menus of all apps can stay small, and that's normal for the system if you don't use a third-party launcher that unifies these settings, and different screens can have independent grid settings.
If you notice that after installing a certain theme, the icons become blurred or blurred (squares are visible), then the resolution of the graphics in the theme does not correspond to the resolution of your screen. HD-version.
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The most stable way to resize icons without losing performance is to change grid density in standard system settings, rather than installing heavy third-party launchers.