How to Make a Xiaomi Desktop Stylish and Functional: The Complete Guide

The smartphone desktop is the owner's business card. On Xiaomi devices with a shell MIUI There are almost no limits to customization, from changing wallpapers to deep tuning of animations and widgets, but how do you choose the best option among these different options that are both beautiful and convenient?

In this article, we will analyze not only the basic methods of design (wallpaper, icons, themes), but also hidden functions. MIUI, You'll learn how to create unique designs with embedded tools, third-party apps, and even manually configured system files without the risk of breaking a phone. And for those who like minimalism, here are some examples of concise solutions with maximum functionality.

Important: All instructions are relevant to MIUI 14/15 (including global and Chinese versions and tested on Redmi Note models 12 Pro+, Xiaomi 13 Ultra and POCO F5. If you have a different version of the shell, some menu items may be different — but the logic remains the same.

1. Basic desktop settings: where to start

Before you get into fine-tuning, you should learn the basics. Even the standard tools. MIUI It allows you to change the appearance of the screen in a few minutes.

Open the Settings. → Desktop. Here you'll find key options:

• 📱 Icon Style: Choosing between Standard, Adaptive or Theme Icons
• 🔄 Automatic ordering: turn on if you want the icons to line up on the grid themselves
• 🖼️ Wallpaper and themes: quick access to the gallery of standard images
• 📦 Application Panel: Configure folder display and search bar

Note the Animation Effects section, where you can turn off unnecessary transitions (like when you open apps) to speed up the interface, and the Additional Settings section hides the option to Show folder names to make the design cleaner.

If you want to return the "factory" look, use the reset function: Settings → Desktop → Reset. It won't affect your data, but it will bring back the standard icon and widget settings.

2. Wallpaper: where to look and how to install unique

Standard wallpaper in MIUI Fortunately, there are plenty of sources for unique images, from official to little-known.

Ways to change wallpaper:

• 🌄 Built-in gallery: Long press on the desktop → There's a category of "nature," "abstraction," and even "4K"
• 🎨 Topics MIUI: Themes app offers wallpaper with adaptive colors (change depending on the time of day)
• 📲 Third-party apps: WallpapersCraft, Backdrops or Zedge with support for resolutions up to 3200×3200
• 🖥️ Own images: any picture from the gallery (optimum resolution — 1080×2400 For most of the Xiaomi models)

For models with AMOLED-screens (for example, Xiaomi 13 Pro or Redmi) K60) You better choose dark wallpaper, it'll reduce energy consumption, and if you want dynamic wallpaper (with paralax effect), install it. KWGT Kustom Wallpaper from Google Play.

💡

To prevent wallpaper from being cut when scrolling, in the desktop settings, turn off the option "Stretch wallpaper to all screens".

3. Topics MIUI: How to Find Hidden Pearls

The official Theme app is not just about wallpaper, it's about completely redesigning the system, but most users only use 10 percent of the features.

How to find truly unique topics:

1. Open the Themes app and go to the Online section.
2. In the search box, enter the keywords in English: minimal, dark, ios, pixel.
3. Sort the results by Popularity or New.
4. Pay attention to the topics with the mark MIUI 15 – They are optimized for the latest versions.

Among the hidden functions of the application:

• 🔍 Preview: A long tap on a theme will show you how it will look on your device
• 🎭 Mix of topics: you can combine icons from one theme with wallpaper from another
• 🔄 Switch: Scheduling to automatically change topics (e.g. dark theme in the evening)

⚠️ Note: Some topics from third-party sources may contain promotional modules or change system fonts. Check the reviews and rating of the topic before installing.

4. Widgets: How to Make Them Useful and Beautiful

Widgets in MIUI They can show the weather, calendar, notes and even control a smart home – right on the home screen.

How to add a widget:

1. Make a long press on the free place of the desktop.
2. Select Widgets from the bottom menu.
3. Drag the desired widget to the screen (such as Weather or Notes).
4. Set the size by clicking on the widget and selecting Change Size.

The most useful widgets for Xiaomi:

• 🌡️ Weather: Shows temperature, humidity and forecast for 5 days (updated every 30 minutes)
• 📅 Calendar: syncs with Google Calendar and shows upcoming events
• 🔋 Battery: Discharge schedule and time to full charge
• 🎵 Music: Managing Playback Without Opening an Application
• 🏠 Smart home: quick buttons for Mi Home devices

For advanced users: widgets can be created independently with the help of KWGT Kustom Widget Maker. This app lets you customize every pixel - from font to animation when clicked.

Keep no more than 3 widgets on one screen|Place the most important widgets at the top|Use transparent widgets for minimalism|Update data (for example, weather) no more than 1 time per hour

-->

5. Icons: How to change without root rights

Standard icons in MIUI Not everyone likes it. Fortunately, there are a number of ways to change them, from simple to advanced.

Method 1: Through Themes

Many themes in the app Themes change not only wallpaper, but also icons. Look for themes marked Icon Pack. Popular packs:

• 🎨 Minimal UI — flat-coloured
• 🖤 Dark Icons – Black icons on a transparent background
• 🍎 iOS Style – imitation of icons from Apple

Method 2: Third-party launchers

Install an alternative launcher (like Nova Launcher or Hyperion Launcher) and select any icon pack from Google Play.

• 🌌 Whicons (white icons)
• 🔴 CandyCons (bright colors)
• ⚫ Lines (minimalist linear icons)

Method 3: Manual replacement (for advanced)

With Icon Changer, you can replace your icons one by one.

1. Download your favorite icon pack (files in.png format).
2. Open the Icon Changer and select the replacement app.
3. Show the way to the new icon.
4. Apply the changes (overlay permission is required).

⚠️ Note: When using third-party launchers, some functions MIUI (For example, gestures or system animations may not work properly. Before installing, back up your settings in Settings. → The phone. → Backup.

6. Hidden functions MIUI customize

MIUI It hides a lot of tools that are not mentioned in the official guides:

1. Supernatural Color Mode (Super Wallpaper)

These are dynamic wallpapers that change with the time of day, and you can activate them like this:

1. Go to Settings. → Desktop → Wallpaper.
2. Select the Super Wallpaper category.
3. Download your favorite version (for example, "Earth" or "Mars").

This wallpaper consumes a little more battery, but looks impressive on the side. AMOLED-screen.

2. Configure transitions between screens

B Settings → Desktop → The effects of animation can be:

• Disable the animation of opening applications (speed up work)
• Change the style of transition between screens (for example, to "3D-cup")
• Set up the animation speed (from 0.5x before 2x)

3. Hidden gestures

V MIUI 14/15 There are undocumented gestures:

• 👆 Swipe up from bottom edge: opens notification bar (if the navigation bar is turned off)
• 👇 Swipe down the center of the screen: a quick return to the desktop
• ➡️ Double swipe to the right: opens the last application

The “Laboratory” regime

In some versions MIUI There's a hidden menu for experimental functions:

Settings → About Phone → MIUI version (click 5 times in a row)

After that, in Settings → Additionally, there will be a point Laboratory, where you can test new features before their official release.

💡

Super Wallpaper is only available on Snapdragon processor devices 8 series (e.g. Xiaomi) 12/13, Redmi K50 On budget models, it can work with lags.

7.Optimizing productivity after customization

The more widgets, animations and third-party themes you install, the more the system gets loaded, so you can avoid the brakes.

1. Limit background activity

Go to Settings. → Annexes → Permits → Autostart and disable Autostart for unnecessary applications (especially launchers and widgets).

2. Turn off unnecessary animations

B Settings → Desktop → The effects of animation set:

• Speed of animation: 0.5x
• Transition effect: No animation or simple

3. Clean the cache regularly

Use the built-in Cleanup utility (the icon with a broom on your desktop) or follow the command:

adb shell pm trim-caches 1000000000

This will clear the cache of all applications without deleting the data.

4. Watch the temperature.

If after installing themes or widgets, the phone began to warm up, check the load in Settings → Battery → Battery use. Consumption applications >10% in the background should be limited.

8. Design examples: from minimalism to futurism

You can be inspired by these examples, from simple to complex:

1. Minimalism (clean screen)

• 📱 Wallpaper: monochromatic black or white
• 🗂️ Icons: monochrome (e.g. Minimal O pack)
• 📊 Widgets: only clocks and weather in the upper corner
• 🔳 Folders: All applications are hidden in one folder "Apps"

2. Dark mode with neon accents

• 🌃 Wallpaper: dark gradient with blue/purple glare
• 💡 Icons: Neon contours (Neon Glow pack)
• ⚡ Widgets: transparent with color fonts
• 🎚️ Animations: included, speed 1.5x

3. iOS-like style

• 🍎 Wallpaper: light with blur (like in the iPhone)
• 📱 Icons: iOS 16 Icons Pack
• 🔄 Transitions: imitation of swipes from iOS
• 📂 Folders: rounded corners

4. Futuristic cyberpunk

• 🤖 Wallpaper: urban landscapes with neon signs
• 💻 Icons: Cyberpunk pack UI or glitch
• 📊 Widgets: with digital fonts (e.g. Digital Clock Widget)
• 🎮 Animation: 3D-effects of opening applications

For models with Always-On Display (such as Xiaomi 13 Ultra), you can configure the display of time and notifications in the style of the desktop – this will create a single visual image.

FAQ: Answers to Frequent Questions