Multitasking has become an integral part of the modern digital experience, allowing users to consume content and perform work tasks simultaneously. Owners of Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO devices often wonder how to effectively use large display space to work with two applications simultaneously. Splitting the screen into two parts is not just convenience, but a powerful productivity tool built into the MIUI shell and the new HyperOS.
In this article, we will take a look at all the available ways to activate split-screen mode, from standard gestures to hidden system functions. You will learn how to lock windows in the right position, change their size and which applications are best for this work. Understanding these nuances will allow you to turn your smartphone into a real pocket office.
It is worth noting that the interface and menu item names may vary slightly depending on the version of the Android operating system and the version of the MIUI shell. However, the basic principles of operation remain the same for the entire ecosystem of the Chinese manufacturer.
The standard way through the menu of recent applications
The most common and intuitive method of activating split screen is built directly into the Task Manager, which requires no additional settings and is available out of the box on all current smartphones of the brand. First, you need to open the application that you plan to place on the top or left of the screen.
When you start the first app, you turn it down, you call the recent task menu. On gesture-navigating devices, you swipe from the bottom up and you hold your finger in the center of the screen. If you use the on-screen buttons, just press the corresponding "Menu" or square button. In the list of running programs, find the card of the desired application.
Then press and hold your finger on the preview of the application or on its name until the context menu appears. In the list of options, select the option "Separated screen" (sometimes indicated by the icon of two rectangles).
☑️ Screen split algorithm
It's important to understand that not all applications support this mode of operation. Some programs, especially games or specific utilities, can be forced to run on the whole screen. In such cases, the system may give a notification that it is impossible to separate, or the second application will simply block the first. Optimization of the application interface by the developer plays a key role here.
⚠️ Attention: When you split the screen, system resources are spent more actively. If you run two heavy games or graphics applications, the smartphone may start to heat up, and the speed of the interface will decrease.
Use of special gestures for fast navigation
For users who appreciate speed and minimalism, the MIUI shell offers an alternative method of controlling windows through special gestures, which allows you to split the screen in just a second without having to press and search the menu for a long time, but it may require pre-tuning in the special features section to activate it.
The most common swipe is with three fingers. You open the first app, then swipe the three fingers from the bottom up the screen. The system recognizes this gesture as a command to create a split view. If the gesture doesn't work, check the settings: go to Settings → Additional Settings → Special Features → Speed Commands and make sure the split screen function is activated.
There are other controls that depend on the firmware version, for example, some models with the activated Toolbar mode can drag and drop applications right from the sidebar, which is especially convenient when you need to quickly check the message in the messenger without interrupting the video or working with the document.
Using gestures requires a certain habit and precision of movement. If the system does not respond to swipe with three fingers the first time, do not panic. Try changing the speed of the conduction or the angle of the fingers. The sensitivity of the touch screen can also affect the recognition of complex multi-touch commands.
Setting up window sizes and managing the interface
Once the screen is split into two, the user can flexibly manage the space allocated to each application, which is critical for reading text or watching video content, where proportions matter, and the boundary between the windows is not static and adjustable.
In the center of the screen, at the junction of the two applications, there's a special dividing bar, and by pressing and holding it, you can move the boundary up or down, changing the area of the active window, and one application can take up two-thirds of the screen, leaving the rest of the space for the second program, or they can be split exactly in half.
| Action. | The result | Recommended use |
|---|---|---|
| Swipe the border up. | Increase in the lower window | Type of text, work with the keyboard |
| Swipe Borders Down | Increase of the upper window | Watching videos, reading articles |
| Double tap on the border | Balancing 50/50 | Data comparison, chat and browser |
| Swipe borders to the edge | Closing one window | Exit from split screen mode |
In addition, there are often additional control buttons in the corner of each window, one that allows you to fold an application into a floating window, and the other allows you to deploy it to the full screen, which make Xiaomi’s interface extremely flexible for multitasking.
The secret of fine-tuning windows
Windows management is becoming especially relevant when working with documents, so you can leave a calculator or directory in a narrow band of the screen, and give the main workspace to a text editor, and this ergonomics greatly speeds up the execution of routine operations.
Work with floating windows and side panel
The split-screen feature is closely integrated with other multitasking tools, such as floating windows and sidebar, which allow you to create more complex use cases that go beyond just splitting the screen in half.
To call the sidebar, you swipe from the edge of the screen inwards and hold your finger for a split second. In the menu that appears, you'll see a list of frequently used apps. If you drag an app from that panel to the screen, it will open as a floating window over the current application, rather than split the screen.
However, if you are already in split-screen mode, dragging the app from the sidebar can replace one of the open windows or add a third floating window over the two main ones.This creates (layering) interfaces, allowing you to keep chat, video and browser open at the same time.
⚠️ Warning: Opening too many floating windows can force the system to close background processes to save RAM.
Setting up the list of applications in the sidebar is done through the Settings menu → Special features → Sidebar. Here you can add any programs that you plan to use often in multitasking mode, providing instant access to them in any situation.
Application compatibility and possible limitations
Despite the power of Xiaomi’s current smartphones, there are a number of technical and software limitations that affect split-screen performance, most notably support from the app developers themselves, and not all programs are optimized to work in narrow horizontal or vertical spaces.
The biggest problems are with applications that require constant horizontal orientation of the screen, such as many games or video players with a fixed aspect ratio. Trying to run them in split mode can lead to image distortion, black fields or a complete failure of the application to run in this mode.
Also worth considering is screen resolution and pixel density. On low-resolution models, text in apps running in a narrow bandwidth can become unreadable. Android has minimal window height requirements to display content, and if the window gets too small, the app can automatically curl up.
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Use Full Screen Apps mode in screen settings to force some incompatible programs to run in window mode, although this may look unaesthetic.
Social media and instant messengers like Telegram, WhatsApp and VK are typically great at supporting split screens, adapting their interface to the available space by hiding secondary menu items, making them ideal candidates for second window placement.
Solving common problems and failures
During operation, users may encounter situations where the split screen function stops working correctly or disappears from the menu, often due to temporary system failures or overflow of the task manager cache. The first step should always be to simply restart the device.
If the problem persists, it is worth checking the settings of the specific application. In some cases, in the settings of the program itself (in the About section of the phone menu), you can find the option "Multi-window Support" or similar, which must be activated manually, and cleaning the application cache "Security" or "System Services" also helps.
In rare cases, the problem is conflicting design themes or third-party launchers, so if you have a custom theme or launcher installed, try temporarily returning to the standard MIUI design and checking the function to help identify the source of the conflict.
⚠️ Note: If the feature is missing after the firmware update, it may be a bug of a particular version, in which case expect a patch from the developers or use alternative methods, such as third-party launchers with multiwindow support.
Remember that the stability of multitasking depends on the amount of free RAM. If your smartphone has 4 GB of RAM or less, try not to keep heavy applications open in the background before activating a split screen.
Additional features and hidden functions
Xiaomi’s ecosystem is constantly evolving, introducing new ways to interact with the interface. Recent versions of HyperOS have improved animations and smarter resource allocation between windows. In addition, some models of tablets and foldable smartphones of the brand offer unique split-screen scenarios.
On devices with large screens or foldable designs, the system can offer automatic split scenarios, for example, when you open a tablet, the system itself will prompt you to run two applications side by side, and there is also the possibility of saving scenarios: you can remember a combination of two applications to open them together in one action.
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Maximum multitasking efficiency is achieved by combining split screen, floating windows and voice control, which turns the smartphone into a full-fledged working tool.
Remember to experiment with font settings and interface scale. zooming in Settings → Screen → The size of text and elements can make split-mode work more comfortable, especially for visually impaired users.