How to turn Xiaomi into an iPhone: from launcher to animations in 10 minutes

You’re the owner of Xiaomi, but you dream of a minimalist iPhone interface? MIUI You can use iOS without root rights and complicated manipulation. This article isn't about surface wallpaper change, but here you'll find unique ways to mimic even the little things like a swipe for returns or a notification style that 90 percent of guides miss. We tested all the ways on the Redmi Note 12 Pro.+, POCO F5 Xiaomi 13T — results exceeded expectations.

The main secret: a combination of launcher, themes and hidden settings MIUI It's a native iOS effect, and you don't have to sacrifice performance or basic Xiaomi features. 2020-2022 In the years where we advised to use outdated launchers like Lawnchair, we will focus on the latest solutions. 2026 Years that support Android 13/14 And the new HyperOS chips.

1. Launcher choice: which will replace the iPhone screen by 95%

The platform will be the launcher, which is the desktop look and feel, and three things are critical to simulating iOS:

• 📱 No app drawer (all icons on screens, like in iOS)
• 🔄 Horizontal swipe for switching between screens (not vertical as in standard) MIUI)
• 🎨 Transition animations identical to iOS (smooth scaling when opening apps)

We tested 7 launchers and settled on the three best options for Xiaomi:

For maximum effect, choose iLauncher, which even copies the paralax effect (shifting the wallpaper when tilting the phone) and the search bar as in iOS.

1. Open the launcher and go to its settings (Long tap on the screen) → Settings)
2. Enable the option “Hide the search bar” (in iOS it is not on the home screen)
3. Set the Grid. 4×6" For icons – the standard for iPhone
4. Activate "IOS gestures" in the Control section

2. Icons and themes: how to achieve the "Apple" style

Even with the right launcher, standard icons MIUI It's going to give you the Android origin of your Xiaomi, and it's going to be icon packs and dark themes with minimalist design:

• 🎨 iOS 17 Icons – an exact copy of the icons of the latest version of the iPhone (5000)+ icon)
• 🖼️ Borealis – Minimalist icons with depth effect
• 🌓 Dark iOS Theme – Dark Theme with a focus on contrast (like in the iPhone settings)

Installation of icons:

1. Download the icon package from Google Play
2. Open the launcher settings (iLauncher) → Topics → Icons)
3. Select the downloaded package. If the icons do not apply, restart the launcher.

For a complete transformation, change the font to San Francisco (iOS font):

1. Download the San Francisco font (file.ttf)
2. Put it in the Download folder
3. Go to Settings. → Display. → Font and select the downloaded file

Don't forget the wallpaper! iOS uses dynamic depth wallpaper. Download the official iOS 17 wallpaper here and install through Settings → Wallpaper. For paralax effect, select the "Live Wallpaper" option in the launcher settings.

Control Panel and Notification Center: Secrets MIUI

One of the key differences between iOS and Android is the control panel (swipe down on the right) and the notification center (swipe down on the left). MIUI You can do the same thing, but it will require:

1. Install Control Center iOS 17 from Google Play
2. Enable the resolution “Overlaid on top of other apps” in Android settings
3. Assign a swipe gesture down to the right to call the panel (in the application settings)

For a precise simulation:

• 🔋 Hide the standard panel MIUI through settings → Notification panel → Panel style → Minimalist
• 📶 Install switch icons (Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, iOS style) through the QuickSwitch app
• 🕒 Configure the time display in the format of "9:41" (as on a locked iPhone) in Settings → Display. → The clock

💡

To open the control panel smoothly (as in iOS), turn on the Control Center iOS 17 option "Animation 60" FPS" and turn off "Quick Open" in the gesture settings MIUI.

For the notification center, use the standard settings MIUI, but:

1. Turn off message preview (Settings) → Notifications → Confidentiality)
2. Set the notification style “List” instead of “Tile”
3. Hide unnecessary notifications from system applications (Settings) → Annexes → Management of notifications)

4.Gesturals and animations: how to swipe like on iPhone

The gesture system in iOS is radically different from MIUI. So that swipes work like apples":

1. Go to Settings. → Display. → Full screen mode
2. Select “Iphone Gestures” (if you don’t have one, use the Fluid Navigation Gestures app)
3. Set up the swipe sensitivity in Additional settings → Sensitivity of edges

Key gestures for imitation:

• 👆 Swipe up and pause – opening multitasking (like in iOS)
• 👇 Swipe down from the top edge - Notification center
• 👉 Swipe from right to left – back (instead of the “back” button")

For smooth animations:

1. Turn on "Window animation" 1x" In Settings → Special facilities → Animation of the system
2. Install the L Speed app and activate the “Smooth Transitions” option.

Swipe up opens the main screen|Swipe up and pause shows multitasking|The swipe from right to left works as "back"|Double tap on the screen blocks the phone (optional)|-->

If gestures are not working smoothly, check for conflicts with other apps through Settings. → Annexes → Permits → Special access → Continuous execution. Turn off permission for unnecessary applications.

5.Sounds and tactile response: details that are noticeable

Sound design and Taptic Engine are the little things that create the premium effect of the iPhone. On Xiaomi, you can customize this too:

For sounds:

1. Download iOS 17 sounds (notifications, locks, photos)
2. Set them up through Settings. → Sound. → Notification sounds
3. For system sounds, use the Ringtones for iPhone app

For vibration:

• 📳 Install Vibrator for iOS (imitates Taptic Engine)
• 🔊 Enable the option "Exact vibration" in the application settings
• 🎵 Set up vibration patterns for notifications in Settings → Sound. → Vibration.

To simulate it completely:

• 🔕 Turn off the camera shutter sound (Camera settings) → Sounds. → No sound)
• 🎧 Set up the equalizer to the sound of the iPhone: increase the average frequencies (1-3 kHz in Settings → Sound. → equalizer

💡

Sound and vibration are 30 percent of the perception of Apple's interface, and without it, even with the right launcher, the phone will feel Android.

6. Camera and gallery: interface as in the iPhone

Standard appendix Camera in MIUI It's very different from iOS. To get closer to the iPhone interface:

1. Install the Camera app MX ProCam X – they copy the location of the controls iOS
2. In the camera settings, turn on "Simple Mode" (hidden extra buttons)
3. Set up your gestures: 📸 Swipe left/right – switch between photos/video 👆 Swipe up - access to additional modes

For the gallery:

• 🖼️ Use Simple Gallery with Grid setting 4×4" (iOS-like)
• 🔍 Turn off automatic albums (Settings) → Albums. → Hide the automatics)
• 🎞️ Set the theme “iOS Photos” in the gallery settings

For the Live Photos effect (like Live Photos on iPhone):

1. Take a 3-second video
2. Use Google’s Motion Stills app to convert to Live Photo
3. In the gallery, turn on the option "Animation when pressed"

7. Hidden settings MIUI finish-stroke

Even with the right apps, some elements will give out Android. MIUI:

For the status bar:

Enter the phone code in the app: ##4636##


Go to "Phone Information" → "Battery Settings"




Turn off the percentage of battery charge (in iOS it is displayed only in the control center)

For multitasking:

• 📱 Install Taskbar to simulate the dock panel as in iPadOS
• 🔄 Enable “Horizontal Scrolling” in Multitasking Settings
• 🗑️ Turn off the cleanup. RAM swipe (Settings) → Battery → Cleanup RAM → Turn it off)

For the keyboard:

• 🔠 Install Gboard with the theme "iOS Dark"
• 🔤 Turn on the keys sound like in the iPhone: Gboard settings → Pressed sound → Classical.
• 🌐 Turn off Predictive Text: Gboard Settings → Text input → Show suggestions → Never.

💡

To hide the Google Discover icon to the left of the main screen, in the launcher settings, enable the option “Hide Google Page” in the Desktop section.

8 Problems and Solutions: What to Do When Something Doesn't Work

When you convert Xiaomi to iOS, you can have typical problems. Here's how to solve them:

If after all the settings remain artifacts interface:

1. Check the version. MIUI — on MIUI 14+ HyperOS and some launchers are unstable
2. Reverse to factory settings through Settings → The phone. → Resetting settings (save data in advance!)
3. Use alternative launchers like Nova Launcher with iOS setup

💡

Before resetting, save the current launcher configuration via the export settings (usually in the "Backup" menu inside the launcher application).

⚠️ Note: On HyperOS devices (Xiaomi 14 Series), some launchers may not support iOS gestures due to a modified system architecture. OS17 Launcher with disabled system gestures.

FAQ: Frequent questions about the transformation of Xiaomi into iPhone