Xiaomi smartphones are famous for their flexibility in personalization, allowing users to turn a standard device into a unique gadget. One of the most popular requests among owners of Redmi and POCO is the desire to change the color scheme of the system to suit the mood or just please the eye. The standard shell of MIUI or the new HyperOS provides powerful tools for this, but they are often hidden in the depth of the menu or require the use of special applications.
Changing the color of the interface is not just a change of wallpaper, it is a complex setup that affects the notification curtain, settings menu, keyboard and even system icons. Visual component plays a key role in the usability of the smartphone, as the right contrast reduces the load on the eyes, and a pleasant palette improves the overall user experience. In this article, we will examine all the available ways, from built-in functions to advanced customization methods.
It’s worth noting that customization options can vary slightly depending on the version of the operating system and the region for which the device is released. However, the basic principles remain unchanged for most models, whether it’s the flagship Xiaomi 14 or the budget Redmi Note. Get ready to dive into the world of themes and styles to make your smartphone truly your own.
Basic settings through the Themes app
The easiest and safest way to change menu colors is to use the regular Themes app, which is a built-in tool that is pre-installed on all smartphones of the brand and allows you to download ready-made design packages. Themes affect everything from the color of the volume sliders to the background of the call menu and settings.
To get started, you need to open the Themes app. At the top of the screen, you'll see a search bar and a few tabs. The navigation here is intuitive, but to find specific color solutions, you'd better use filters or keyword searches, for example, typing "Black" will find black themes, and "Blue" will find blue variations of the design.
⚠️ Warning: Be careful when installing themes from third-party sources or unofficial stores. Some themes may contain ads or display incorrectly on your version MIUI, visually buggy.
After selecting your favorite theme, click Download and then Apply. The system will alert you to what items will be changed. These are usually system icons, wallpaper and interface colors. If you are satisfied (preview), confirm the action. The changes will take effect instantly, the device is usually not required to restart.
It is important to understand that the use of a new theme completely replaces the current colors of the system elements. If you want to change only the accent color, retaining the general style, this method may be redundant, in which case you should look at the more subtle system settings that appeared in the latest versions of firmware.
Use of the function Color accents
More modern versions of the shell, especially HyperOS and the latest MIUI 14 updates, have introduced Color Palette, which automatically generates a color scheme based on the colors that dominate your current wallpaper, an elegant solution that eliminates the need to search for specific topics.
To activate this feature, go to Settings → Wallpaper and personalization. Here you will find the item “Color accents” or “Palette”. The system will offer you several options for color combinations extracted from your current image on the desktop. You can choose a warm, cold or base hue.
- 🎨 Automatic generation: the system itself selects harmonious shades for buttons, switches and icons.
- 🖼️ Wallpaper dependency: changing the picture on the desktop, you automatically change the colors of the interface.
- ⚙️ Flexibility: You can manually switch between the proposed palettes without changing the main image.
This feature is especially useful for those who like to change the visual style of their device often, but do not want to download heavy themes files every time.The accent color will apply to the notification curtain, volume menu, brightness sliders and controls in apps from Google and Xiaomi itself.
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For the best effect, select wallpaper with a clearly expressed dominant color, then the system will be able to create the most contrasting and pleasing interface palette.
It’s worth noting that some older smartphone models or Chinese firmware versions may have a different name or no feature, and users often resort to installing third-party launchers or using special themes that change only system colors, leaving the icons standard.
Font settings and their colors
The color of the interface is not just background and buttons, but text. Many users forget that Xiaomi can change not only the style of the font, but also its visual perception, including boldness and, in some cases, color, this is achieved through the font store in the Themes app.
Go to the Themes app, then select the Fonts tab (the T icon) from the bottom menu. Here's a huge catalog where you can find fonts with changed letter geometry, which visually changes text density and contrast. Some design fonts have altered kerning or kerning, which makes the text lighter or darker on the screen.
The way to font settings:
Settings → Screen → System FontOnce you install a new font, the text across all menus, messages and browsers will change, and this affects the overall perception of the color scheme, as thin fonts may appear less contrasting against a bright background, and bold fonts may appear more massive. By experimenting with fonts, you can achieve a unique style without changing the main theme.
| Type of font | Impact on the interface | Recommendation |
|---|---|---|
| Standard. | Maximum readability | For daily use |
| Fat (Bold) | Increases the visual weight of the text | For users with impaired vision |
| Decorative | Changes style, can reduce readability | For short-term use |
| Monowidthy | Gives a technical look to the interface | For developers and geeks |
Always check the compatibility of the font with Unicode characters before using.
Personalization of the lock screen and Always on Display
The lock screen is the first thing a user sees, and its color style sets the tone for all interaction with a smartphone. MIUI and HyperOS have a powerful lock screen builder that allows you to change not only the wallpaper, but also the color of the watch, date and notification elements.
Hold your finger on an empty desktop space or go to Settings → Lock screen. Here you can choose the style of the watch. Many styles support dynamic color change or allow you to manually select the shade of the numbers to harmonize with the background. This creates the effect of depth and a single color space.
☑️ Setting up the lock screen
The feature is always on display (AOD). Nana AMOLED-In screens, it allows you to display time and notifications on a screen that is off with minimal energy consumption. The colors here are also customizable: you can choose the color of numbers and icons so that they do not burn out pixels and look stylish in the dark.
⚠️ Attention: Using the color Always On Display consumes the battery faster than the black and white option.If you want to save charge, choose monochrome styles or set up a power schedule.
Some themes offer animated lock screens that respond to touch by changing the color or shape of elements.This adds to the dynamics but may be too intrusive for some users.Always test new settings throughout the day to make sure they're comfortable.
Advanced setup through third-party launchers
If standard tools aren’t enough and you want to change the color of the taskbar (doc), folders or app menus dramatically, third-party launchers will come to the rescue. These are programs that completely replace the standard Xiaomi desktop, providing limitless customization options.
Popular launchers like Nova Launcher, Microsoft Launcher, or Lawnchair allow you to customize every pixel of the interface. You can change the color of the folder background, the transparency of the dock bar, the color of the text on the menu, and even the animation of the folding of applications. This is a level of deep customization that is not available in the stock shell.
To install the launcher, download it from the Google Play Store, launch it and follow the instructions for setting up the home screen. After that, the system will prompt you to select the default desktop management app. Select the launcher installed. Now all changes will apply to your workspace.
Compatibility of launchers with MIUI
Using a third-party launcher is a great way to refresh the interface of an old smartphone, making it look like a pure Android or iOS. However, it is worth considering that this can require more CPU resources, which on budget models sometimes leads to micro-latency.
Dark theme and reading mode
When you talk about interface color, you can't ignore the global display modes that affect color perception throughout the system. Dark Mode is not just a color inversion, but a complex algorithm that replaces white background with deep gray or black, which looks particularly good for you. OLED-screen.
You can activate a dark theme through the notification curtain (crescent icon) or in the Settings menu → Screen → Dark theme. In MIUI, you can set the switch schedule so that the theme activates automatically at sunset, not only saving energy, but also changing the color temperature of the interface, making it more pleasant at night.
- 🌑 Energy savings: on AMOLED Black pixels are turned off, which saves charge.
- 👁️ Reduced load: Less blue light and brightness protects eyes in the dark.
- 🎨 Contrast: Colored elements (icons, buttons) become brighter and richer on a black background.
And then there's the Reading or Paper Text mode, which adds a light yellowish or grayish tint to the entire interface, mimicking an e-book, which changes the color reproduction, making it less saturated, but more comfortable for long-term text reading.
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The combination of dark theme and automatic reading mode is the best way to adapt the color of the interface to the time of day and keep your eyes healthy.
Users can also adjust the color temperature of the screen manually in the Read Mode or Vision Protection section. By shifting the slider toward warmer tones, you remove the blue spectrum, making the interface yellower, which is useful before bedtime.