Floating Windows on Xiaomi: what it is and how to use them

Modern smartphones have long since ceased to be just devices for calls and have become powerful handheld computers that can perform many tasks at once. Owners of Xiaomi, Redmi and Poco devices often face the need to quickly switch between applications without shutting down the current process. It is for such scenarios in the shell of MIUI and its current version of HyperOS that the floating window feature, also known as Multitasking or soaring mode, is provided.

This technology allows you to run an app in a separate, sizeable window over the main interface. You can watch YouTube videos while you write a message in a messenger, or copy text from a browser while you write a document in Word. Understanding how floating windows work greatly improves productivity and ease of use of the gadget in everyday life.

Unlike standard split screens, where the display is split exactly in half or in a predetermined proportion, a floating window gives the user complete freedom of action. It is not tied rigidly to the edges of the screen and can be moved to any corner, rolled up in the sidebar or closed with a single touch, which makes navigation more flexible and adaptable to the specific needs of the smartphone owner.

What are floating windows in MIUI and HyperOS?

The floating window feature is a multi-tasking feature that allows the app to be displayed as a thumbnail over an active screen. In the Xiaomi ecosystem, this option is implemented through the FreeForm system service, which manages the rendering of secondary applications. Unlike the standard split-screen mode, where two applications share the display equally, one application remains full-screen and the second one runs in floating mode.

Technically, this means that the system allocates CPU and RAM resources to keep both processes active, but visually priority is given to the main window. This is especially useful on smartphones with large screen diagonals, where using only half of the display would be inefficient. The floating window can be freely moved, resized and even opened several such windows at the same time, if the amount of RAM allows.

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A floating window is an independent application container that runs on top of the main interface without taking up the entire screen and allowing you to interact with other programs.

It is worth noting that implementation of this feature has changed with the release of new firmware. While older versions of MIUI needed special codes or third-party launchers, MIUI 12, 13, 14 and the new HyperOS feature is built deep into the system and is available out of the box. However, not all applications support this mode correctly, since software developers can block the display of their content in a floating window for security reasons or interface layout.

The main advantages of using Multitasking

The use of floating windows opens up new possibilities for content management, and the main advantage is the ability to simultaneously perform tasks that previously required constant switching between tabs, for example, you can take a survey in your browser while a video stream or video call is streamed against a background in a small window.

For students and office workers, it's an indispensable tool, so you can open a calculator or notebook in a floating window and make calculations or notes without folding the main document or table, and it saves time and reduces cognitive load, because the context of the task is not lost, and floating windows allow you to quickly copy text or an image from one application and paste it into another by Drag-and-Drop.

• 🚀 Enhancing multitasking: The ability to work with three or more applications simultaneously without losing context.
• 📺 Comfortable media viewing: video can be watched in the corner of the screen, while corresponding in chats or flipping through the social media feed.
• 📝 Easy to copy data: fast transfer of text, links and images between different programs without a clipboard.

Another important aspect is customization of the workspace, where the user decides how much screen space the secondary application will occupy, and the window can be stretched over almost the entire display, or, conversely, made minimal, leaving it as a widget to control the process, for example, when downloading files or tracking delivery.

How to activate a floating window in different ways

You can turn on the hover window mode on Xiaomi smartphones in a number of ways, depending on the firmware version and the user’s personal preferences. The most common method is through the menu of recent apps. To do this, you open the application you want to run in floating mode, then swipe from the bottom up to hold your finger to get into the menu of running tasks.

In the multitasking menu, click on the app icon from the top (or make a long click on the app card, depending on the version of MIUI). In the context menu that appears, select the window or icon that resembles two rectangles. After that, the application will fold into a floating view.

The sidebar is a handy tool that is called by a swipe from the edge of the screen, you can add frequently used apps to it, and to float the app through the panel, you just click on the icon when another app is open, and there's a hidden gesture: if you pull the app from the recent task menu down, it can go to free window mode, although this gesture does not work on all models.

For advanced users, launch via ADB-commands if standard methods don't work for a particular application:

adb shell am start -n com.android.systemui/.recents.RecentsActivity --activity-clear-top

However, for most users, standard interface settings are sufficient.

Configuring and managing floating windows

Once the mode is activated, a number of window controls are opened to the user. At the top of the floating window, there are usually three elements: a closing button (cross), a folding button (minus), and a marker to resize. Pulling the lower right or left corner, you can change the geometry of the window to make it larger or smaller.

If you pull a window over the top center (header), you can move it anywhere on the screen, and if you drag the window to the left or right edge of the display, it can automatically lock into split screen mode, taking up exactly half the area, which is a hybrid of modes that is also useful for work.

⚠️ Note: Some games and applications with protected content (DRM) They can block the display in a floating window or show a black screen instead of an image.

In Settings → Special Features → Floating Windows (the path may differ in different versions of MIUI), you can find additional options. You can allow or prevent certain applications from running in this mode, and you can adjust the behavior of the sidebar, for example, you can turn off the automatic appearance of the panel when you start a video if it interferes with the view.

Control also includes the ability to roll a window into a bubble or thumbnail in the corner so that it doesn't take up space, but the process continues. When you touch that thumbnail, the window will turn again, which is convenient for timers, stopwatches or waiting for a response from the interlocutor in the messenger.

Application compatibility and possible limitations

Not all apps are equally good at floating windows. Optimizing interfaces for different screen sizes is a challenge for developers, and not everyone pays attention to it. Social networks, instant messengers, browsers, and video players are usually stable because they have adaptive layouts.

Problems can arise with banking applications, which may require full-screen and block work on top of other windows for security reasons, and some heavy games may be forced to close or go into the background when trying to roll them into a floating window to free up GPU resources for the main application.

If an application doesn't want to float, you can try to find it in a list of recent apps, click on the icon and force it to select the Window option. If that doesn't work, then the developer has rigidly blocked this feature in the application manifest, in which case only split-screen mode remains.

Addressing problems and failures

Users may experience floating windows that are unstable, such as spontaneously closing, freezing or not resizing after rebooting, often due to the aggressive MIUI energy saving system, which kills background processes to save battery life.

To fix this, you need to go to the battery settings, find the problem application, and select No Limits mode. It is also recommended to enable auto-run for applications you plan to use in floating mode, which will give the system a signal that the process is important to the user and does not need to be completed.

Another cause of failure can be a crowded cache of a system or a particular application. Clearing the cache through the memory management menu or standard Android tools often helps to return functionality. If the problem is systemic and is observed after a firmware update, you may need to reset the interface settings or wait for a patch from developers.

⚠️ Attention: When you use multiple floating windows at the same time, the device may start to heat up and the speed of the interface may decrease.

In some cases, rebooting the interface service helps, but it requires ADB skills. For the average user, the best solution is to control the number of heavy applications running and regularly clean RAM.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

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If you frequently use the same app in floating mode, add it to Favorites in the recent task menu to activate the desired startup mode faster.

Using floating windows on Xiaomi is a powerful skill that turns a smartphone into a true multitasking tool. By mastering window management, setting up the sidebar and understanding the limitations of the system, you can significantly speed up everyday tasks and make interaction with the device more comfortable.