Xiaomi phone design: how to design the interface beautifully and stylishly

Xiaomi smartphone owners often find the standard MIUI interface too clichéd. Meanwhile, the system offers dozens of personalization tools, from changing themes to fine-tuning animations. This article will help turn your Redmi, POCO or Mi into a unique device with a brand identity without resorting to third-party launchers.

We'll look at basic features like changing wallpapers and themes, and hidden features like customizing the notification panel or creating your own app icons, and focus on the latest versions of MIUI 14/15, where new tools have been introduced that many users don't even know about, and for those who like minimalism, we'll give you examples of how to remove unnecessary interface elements while maintaining functionality.

1. Changing theme: from standard to premium designs

So, to start with the obvious, the design theme, MIUI has a built-in Theme Store, where you can find both free and paid options.

1. Open Settings → Themes
2. Select the Online Topics section (Internet connection required)
3. Use filters by category: Minimalism, AMOLED, Gradients, etc.

Among the hidden features is the feature Mix colors in some themes, which allows you to automatically adjust the interface palette to the wallpaper, activated in the settings of the selected theme (not all themes support this option).

For users of POCO F5 and Xiaomi 13, exclusive themes with support for 120 Hz animations are available – they work smoother on displays with a high refresh rate. To find them, select the option of Responsive Themes in the theme store filters.

⚠️ Note: When you change the theme, some system applications (such as Calendar or Weather) may reset their settings.

2. Application icons customization

The standard icons in MIUI can be replaced in three ways:

• 🎨 Built-in icon packages: In the store, look for Badges or Icon Packs sections. Popular sets: Pixel Icons, Oxygen, Whicons.
• 🖼️ Manual replacement: Long press on icon → Change. → Badge → Gallery selection:.png and.jpg formats with transparent backgrounds are supported.
• 🔧 Third-party launchers: Nova Launcher or Hyperion allow custom icon packages from the Play Market.

To create unique icons, use services like Icon Kitchen or Shortcut Maker. They generate adaptive icons with shadow and background that will not look flat on the home screen.

Download the icon template with a resolution of 192×192 px

Remove the background in the graphic editor

Save in PNG-24 format

Check the display on a dark/light background-->

On devices with MIUI 15, the Adaptive Icons feature has been introduced, which automatically adjusts the color of the icons to the selected theme. To enable: Settings → Home Screen → Adaptive Icons.

3. Wallpaper customization: dynamic and interactive

The standard wallpaper in Xiaomi can be replaced with:

• 🌄 Live wallpaper: In the Wallpaper section → Live wallpaper available animations with particles, gradients and even touch response.
• 📱 Double Wallpaper: Different images for the home screen and lock screen (configurable in Wallpaper) → Wallpaper setting).
• 🎨 Castom wallpaper: Upload your images in resolution at least below 1080×2340 full-screen.

For devices with AMOLED-screens (Xiaomi) 12T, POCO F4) We recommend dark wallpaper with minimalist elements, which reduces power consumption. AMOLED.

4. Optimization of the notification panel and curtains

The notification panel in MIUI can be configured to your needs:

• 🔔 Fast switches: Edited by long tap on icon ⚙️ You can add up to 12 elements.
• 🎨 Transparency: In Settings → Notification panel → Select the panel style Transparent or Blurred.
• 📱 Curtain split: Some models (Xiaomi 13 Pro) have left/right menu splits (like iOS).

MIUI 15 has a Smart Notification feature, which automatically groups messages from a single sender and hides unimportant alerts in a folded form to set priorities: Settings → Notifications → Smart Grouping.

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If the icons in the curtain are missing after the update, reset the settings: Settings → Notification Panel → Reset to factory. This will return the standard set of switches.

For devices with always-on display (AOD), you can configure the notifications directly on the locked screen. Option is in Settings → Lock screen → Always-on screen.

5. Hidden MIUI features for advanced customization

Few people know, but MIUI has hidden settings that open up additional design options:

• 🔍 Developer Mode: Activated by 7-fold pressing on the Version MIUI It gives you access to animation settings (Developer settings). → Window animation).
• 🎭 Hidden topics: Enter the #miui code in the search for themes – exclusive design options will open.
• 🔄 Alternative launchers: In Settings → Annexes → You can choose Nova Launcher or Lawnchair as your main launcher.

For devices with a Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor (Xiaomi 13 Ultra, POCO F5 Pro), Deep UI Optimization is available. It speeds up animations and smooths transitions between windows. Included in Settings → Additional → Special Features → UI Optimization.

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Using developer mode to change animation speed (Window animation: 0.5x) makes the interface visually faster, but can increase the load on the processor.

Another little-known feature is color filters in special features settings, which can make the interface monochrome or apply sepia to the original look.

Minimalist design: how to remove excess

If you are more like the style of iOS or Pixel Experience, you can remove most of the “Chinese” elements in MIUI:

• 🗑️ Removing unnecessary widgets: Long-pressed widget → Delete.
• 📵 Disabling Advertising: Settings → Memory. → Cleanup → Settings → Disable recommendations.
• 🔕 Hiding System Applications: Use ADB-command: adb shell pm hide com.miui.weather (replace com.miui.weather with the desired application package).

For complete minimalism, turn off:

• Screen lock animation (Settings → Lock screen → Animation)
• MIUI Tips (Settings → Additional → MIUI Tips)
• Vibration upon touch (Settings → Sound and vibration → Vibration upon touch)

⚠️ Note: Disabling system applications through ADB This can cause some functions to function unstable (such as weather in the curtain or camera) before you back up through Settings. → The phone. → Backup.

7 Additional tools: from widgets to sounds

The final touch in the design is small things that create a holistic image:

• 🎶 Interface sounds: In Settings → Sound and vibration → System sounds can be selected for alternative tunes to block, alerts and alarms.
• 📊 Widgets: Weather widget with animation or Minimalist calendar add functionality without overloading the screen.
• 🔋 Charging animation: On some models (Xiaomi) 12S) When you connect the charging, an animated indicator appears. The animation style changes to Settings → Battery → Charging animation.

For devices with Dolby Atmos support (POCO X5 Pro, Xiaomi 13T), you can adjust the sound profile for the phone design. For example, the Cyberpunk theme fits well with the Cinema profile, and the minimalist design with Clean Sound.

Don't forget to set the display always on (AOD), where you can choose the style of the watch, add a date, or even your own image, which will be displayed in standby mode.

FAQ: Frequent questions about Xiaomi