Multitasking has become an integral part of the modern smartphone, and Xiaomi brand devices offer a powerful built-in tool for this.The split-screen feature, often called Split Screen, allows you to run two apps simultaneously and work with them without switching between windows constantly. This is especially true for owners of large-diagonal models, where the display space allows you to comfortably place the messenger and browser or video and notes.
MIUI has several ways to activate this mode, from standard gestures to hidden settings. Understanding the interface's nuances will help you to significantly improve productivity. In this article, we'll go into detail all the on-boarding methods, application compatibility, and possible problems.
It's worth noting that the appearance of the menu and the location of the buttons may vary slightly depending on the version of the shell and the model of the device, but the basic principles of navigation remain the same throughout the manufacturer's ecosystem.
Activate through the menu of recent apps
The most common and intuitive way to start split-screen mode on Xiaomi and Redmi smartphones is to use the task menu, which works on most devices with button navigation or gestures, if the appropriate option is enabled in the system.
To start, open the first app you plan to use. Then swipe from the bottom up (or click Menu, depending on your navigation settings) to the list of recent apps. Find the card of the app you want, but don't click on it to unfold.
In the top corner of the application card or if you press it for a long time, a special icon will appear, it can look like two horizontal strips or a separation symbol, and clicking on this element will automatically press the application to the top or bottom of the screen, after which the system will prompt you to select a second program to run.
- 📱 Click on the “Separate Screen” icon in the corner of the app card in the task menu.
- 🖱️ Use a long press on the preview of the application if the icon is not visible immediately.
- 🔄 Select the second app from the list of recently used apps or find it in the menu.
Once you select the second program, the screen will be divided by a horizontal or vertical line, and you can move that line by changing the size of the active window of each application as you wish, allowing you to tailor the interface to specific tasks, for example, making the video player window larger than the chat window.
☑️ Verification of separation readiness
Use of gestures and side panel
For users who prefer to manage without unnecessary touches of the menu, MIUI offers more advanced methods. the Sidebar is a handy widget that provides quick access to frequently used applications and functions, including split screen mode.
To activate this feature, you must first enable it in the settings. Go to Settings → Special features → Sidebar and activate the switch. After that, when you swipe from the edge of the screen (top or bottom, depending on the firmware version), a floating menu will appear.
Inside the sidebar, you can set up a list of apps that will always be at hand. When you run the first app in the usual way, call the sidebar and click on the icon of the second application. The system automatically prompts you to open it in split-screen mode or in a floating window.
⚠️ Warning: The sidebar may overlap part of the game interface or video, so it is recommended to manually disable it while playing or watching movies in full screen mode.
There is also a three-finger swipe method, but it requires pre-setting in the feature section, which allows you to instantly activate splitting the screen if you are already in the interface of one of the applications.
Separation settings in MIUI
Deep window behavior is available in the system menu, where you can determine how apps will behave when switching between them and what the dividing strip will look like, and these settings are critical for comfortable use on screens with cutouts or bangs.
In Settings → Advanced Settings → Split screen (the path may vary) you can enable the display of the split button in the task menu for all compatible applications. By default, this button can be hidden for some programs to avoid cluttering the interface.
Special attention should be paid to the orientation of the screen: in the horizontal position of the smartphone, applications are usually side by side, and in the vertical position they are on top of each other. Some versions of firmware allow you to force the orientation of specific applications, which is useful when working with documents.
| Setup parameter | Description of function | Recommended value |
|---|---|---|
| The button in the task menu | Displaying the separation icon in preview | Included. |
| The sound of the switch | Audio response when changing windows | If you wish, |
| Transition animation | Visual effect of opening windows | Standard |
| Preservation of condition | Remembering the last couple of applications | Included. |
Remember that activating too many visuals can slightly increase battery consumption. If you notice a decrease in autonomy, try simplifying animations in the developer settings or in the basic design menu.
Application compatibility and limitations
Not all programs support split-screen operation, due to the interface and content display requirements of developers, most often with respect to games, vertically-oriented applications and some banking services.
Android and MIUI automatically detect compatibility. If an application does not support splitting, when you try to open it in the second window, it will either turn on the full screen or display a message that it is not possible to work in this mode. In the list of recent applications, incompatible programs may not have a split icon.
The most stable in Split Screen mode work:
- 🌐 Browsers (Chrome, Mi Browser, Yandex).
- 💬 Messengers (Telegram, WhatsApp, Viber).
- 📺 Video services (YouTube, Netflix, Kinopoisk).
- 📝 Office packages and notes.
There is a way to run split-screen applications, even those that don't officially support this feature, through the developer menu, but this can lead to incorrect display of interface elements. Use such methods with caution only if the standard methods do not work.
How to turn on support for all applications?
Decisions and errors of work
Users may experience split screens that don't turn on or are not working properly. Often the problem is a crowded cache or a conflict of application versions. If the split icon is gone or inactive, try restarting the device.
Sometimes, after updating MIUI, special features settings are reset, check if the "Share Screen" option is activated in the special features menu, and make sure that specific applications do not have background restrictions that can block them from running in the folded window.
If one of the applications freezes or closes when switching to the second, this may indicate a lack of RAM, in which case the system forcibly unloads the background processes, closing unnecessary tabs in the browser and heavy games before starting the split mode can solve the problem.
⚠️ Note: When handling sensitive data in one of the windows (e.g., a banking application), make sure the second application does not have access to the clipboard or screen recording function to avoid leakage of information.
In rare cases, cleaning up the security cache or resetting special features can help, but before drastic measures are taken, it is worth checking for updates for the shell itself and problematic applications in the GetApps store or Google Play.
Alternatives: Floating windows and tablet mode
If the classic split screen seems uncomfortable due to the reduction of usable area, pay attention to the floating windows function. Unlike Split Screen, applications in this mode hang over the main interface and can be moved to any point of the display.
A floating window is ideal for quick responses to messages or viewing widgets, so to activate it, run the app through the sidebar and select "Floating" mode instead of "Separate," which can be resized and folded into a small icon in the corner of the screen.
Some Xiaomi Pad and large-screen smartphones have a “Planchet” mode that automatically adapts the application interface to horizontal orientation and allows you to open up to three windows at once, which turns the smartphone into a full-fledged workstation when you connect the keyboard.
💡
Use a combination of a floating window and a split screen: run two applications in split mode, and open a third (such as a calculator or translator) in a floating window on top of them.
Xiaomi’s ecosystem thus provides flexible multitasking tools. By combining different display modes, you can customize your smartphone workspace to your individual needs, whether it’s work, study or entertainment.
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The optimal configuration for the job is to use split screen for basic tasks and floating windows for secondary notifications.