Owners of modern Xiaomi smartphones often face a situation where a standard keyboard takes up too much useful space on the screen. This is especially true for devices with large diagonals, where one-handed text input becomes a real challenge. Fortunately, the MIUI operating system and built-in input tools provide flexible options for customizing the interface.
Changing the dimensions of the virtual input tool allows not only to increase ergonomics, but also to open access to interface elements that were previously hidden. In this article, we will discuss in detail how to reduce the size of the keyboard on Xiaomi using standard system tools and third-party utilities. You will learn to adjust the height, width and position of the input panels for maximum comfort.
The setup process does not require root rights or deep technical knowledge, and all the necessary features are available in the settings menu or through special gestures, which we will discuss below. It is important to understand that the appearance and location of options may vary slightly depending on the version of Android and the HyperOS shell.
Standard settings in Gboard
Most Xiaomi smartphones use Google’s Gboard keyboard by default, which has the most extensive personalization functionality. To change its size, you need to go to the settings of the input application itself. This can be done by clicking on the gear icon directly on the keyboard bar or through the Settings System menu → Additional settings → Language and input.
In the settings menu, find the section that tells you what you like or look like, and that's where the sliders that regulate the height of the rows are hidden, and as you move the slider around, you'll see in real time how the size of the buttons changes, and that's the perfect balance between the size of the font and the space you're taking up.
Why is Gboard better than standard?
It's worth noting that changing the height affects the total area occupied by the input tool, and if your goal is to make the keyboard more compact for one-handed control, lowering the height is the most effective solution. Also in this section, you can disable a number of functions that visually enlarge the panel, for example, the emoji panel or GIF-animation.
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The optimal height of the keyboard for one-handed input is about 40-45% of the height of the smartphone screen.
Use of one hand mode in MIUI
The MIUI shell and the new HyperOS feature a one-handed mode that automatically reduces the size of all interface elements, including the keyboard. You can activate this feature through the Control Panel or in the Settings menu → Additional settings → One-handed mode.
When this mode is enabled, the smartphone screen shrinks, leaving free margins at the edges, while also scaling, becoming much smaller than the standard, a solution ideal for owners of devices with a diagonal of more than 6.5 inches, which often type in transport or on the go.
- 📱 Activate by gesture: swipe the lower navigation bar left or right (depending on settings).
- ⚙️ Configure via menu: turn on the switchboard in the system settings for permanent access.
- 🖐 Usage: The reduced keyboard shifts to a handy part of the thumb screen.
It is important to consider that one-hand mode affects the entire interface, not just the keyboard. Some applications may not display correctly in a reduced window, so it is recommended to use this feature situationally. For a quick switch, you can set the mode to triple press the power button or a special gesture.
Customization of the width and position of the keyboard
In addition to height, users often want to change the width of the layout or move it to the side, which is implemented in standard Gboard settings through the function "Share Keyboard" or floating mode. To activate it, click and hold the emoji icon or menu until the corresponding sentence appears.
In floating mode, the keyboard becomes a small window that can be moved around the screen and resized by pulling corners, giving you maximum freedom of action: you can make the input panel miniaturized and position it anywhere you want, leaving the rest of the screen free to view content.
☑️ Checking the ergonomics settings
To split the keyboard into two parts (relevant to landscape orientation or very wide screens), you need to select the option "Separate" in the theme settings or additional functions, which will push the buttons left and right, freeing up the center of the screen, which is especially convenient when typing with two thumbs on tablets or smartphones of the Mi Max series.
⚠️ Note: When using floating mode, some applications may block text entry into security fields or payment forms for security reasons.
Comparison of popular keyboards for Xiaomi
If you don't like Gboard's standard tools, you can always install an alternative solution from Google Play. Different apps offer unique compression and interface customization algorithms. Below is a table comparing popular options.
| keyboard | Size flexibility | Resource consumption | Features |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gboard | Tall. | Average. | Integration with Google, Translator |
| SwiftKey | Medium | Low. | Best Prediction of Text, Theme |
| Facemoji | Maximum | High. | Lots of emojis, customization |
| Typewise | Low. | Low. | Hexagonal layout, compactness |
When choosing a third-party keyboard, pay attention to the permissions it requests. Any input application needs access to the system to work properly, but unnecessary requests for access to contacts or geolocation should be alarming. Data security when entering passwords and cards is a priority.
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Before installing the new keyboard, take a screenshot of the current Gboard settings to quickly return to the usual configuration if necessary.
Solving interface scaling problems
Sometimes users want to shrink the keyboard by changing the overall interface scale in the developer's hidden settings, a technique that allows for a global reduction in the size of all elements, including fonts and indentations, which indirectly affects the keyboard, but should be used with caution.
To access these settings, you need to click seven times on the build number in the About Phone section to activate the developer menu. Then, in the Additional → For developers, look for the Smallest width section. Increasing the value of this parameter will reduce the scale of the elements.
Changing the minimum width setting can cause some interface elements to become too small for comfortable reading, and in rare cases, to incorrectly display system windows. If after changing the values you can not interact with the screen normally, the device will have to restart in safe mode or reset settings.
⚠️ Note: Do not change the minimum width by more than 20-30% Too high a value can make the interface unreadable and require data resetting.