How to Perfectly Organize Xiaomi Apps: From Chaos to Order

Your Xiaomi desktop looks like a battleground after a digital battle: icons are scattering, folders are crowded, and the right app has to search for five minutes? You're not alone: Statistically, 68 percent of smartphone users spend up to 10 minutes a day searching for programs in a chaotic interface. But the good news is that MIUI offers far more tools for organizing space than it seems.

In this article, we’ll break down not only basic tricks like folder creation, but also hidden shell features that will turn your Redmi, POCO, or Mi into an example of digital minimalism. You’ll learn how to use gestures for quick access, customize responsive themes, hide unnecessary icons without deleting, and even automate sorting with built-in tools. And at the end, you’ll find a bonus: a list of 5 little-known launchers that will make the Xiaomi interface unrecognizable.

Why Standard App Placement Doesn't Work

Most Xiaomi users are limited to the standard approach of "put where it is." But this method has three critical problems:

• 🔍 Visual noise: The brain spends extra resources processing chaotic colors and icon shapes, which increases cognitive load.
• ⏳ Time loss: According to a Google study, users with an unorganized desktop spend 40% more time searching for the right apps.
• 📱 Inefficient use of space: only 20-25 icons are visible on the smartphone screen at the same time, and the rest are “hidden” on other pages.

The root of the problem lies in the MIUI architecture: by default, the system offers no structure to the user, leaving the organization of space to his discretion, as a result, even owners of flagship models like the Xiaomi 14 Ultra are faced with the fact that their premium device looks like a budget phone with a bunch of cluttered shortcuts.

⚠️ Warning: If you use MIUI 14 or later, some of the features described below may be in other menu sections.

Basic organization: folders and groups of applications

To start with, the basics that most users ignore, folder creation in MIUI works differently than in naked Android:

1. Press the app icon with your finger until it starts to “shake.”
2. Drag it to another icon and the folder will automatically be created.
3. Tap the folder name to rename it (by default, the system offers a name from the first application, for example, "Google and others").

But there are some things that are not mentioned in the official instructions:

• 📁 Application limit: Up to 16 icons can be placed in one folder, but after 9 they become unavailable for quick access (you have to scroll through the list).
• 🎨 Folder color: In MIUI 13+, the folder color automatically adjusts to the dominant icon color inside it. This can be turned off in Settings → Design → Accent Colors.
• 🔄 Sorting inside a folder: Apps are automatically sorted alphabetically, but you can change the order manually by holding the icon and dragging it.

Professional advice: use emoji in folder names to make visual separations, such as:

• 💼 Work
• 🎮 Games
• 📷 Photo/Video
• 💰 Finance

This will speed up the search for the right group by 30% through visual associations.

Advanced Sorting: Themes and Styles of Icons

MIUI offers one of the most flexible theme systems of all Android shells, but most users are limited to standard settings, without even knowing the possibilities:

The most effective way to bring icons to a uniform look is to use the icon style feature, where you can choose from five preset styles or download a package of icons from the MIUI Theme Store, which is especially useful for those who are tired of system applications looking different from third-party ones.

Professional Lifehack: If you don’t like any of the styles, you can use the Icon Pack Studio app (available on Google Play) to create your own icon package and then apply it through the themes settings in MIUI.

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To quickly find an application, even if it's hidden in a folder, swipe down the desktop and this will trigger a search on a system that works even inside folders.

Hidden MIUI features: gestures and quick access

One of the key benefits of MIUI is its advanced gesture system, which allows you to access applications in a single touch, and here are three of the most useful features that few people know about:

• 👆 Double tap to lock: turn on Settings → Screen lock → Double tap to lock to quickly lock the phone by touching the screen twice.
• 🔥 Hot corners: in Settings → Additional → Hot corners you can assign actions (such as running a flashlight or camera) to a swipe from the corners of the screen.
• 📱 Sidebar: activated in Settings → Special Options → Sidebar: Allows you to quickly open frequently used applications with a swipe from the edge of the screen.

A sidebar is especially useful for devices with large screens (such as the Xiaomi 13 Ultra or POCO F5 Pro), which allows you to reach the desired application with one hand without intercepting the phone, while adding not only apps, but also contacts, tools (Flashlight, Calculator) and even notes to the panel.

For maximum efficiency, we recommend the following configuration of the side panel:

1. Messengers (Telegram, WhatsApp)
2. Camera.
3. Google Keep or Xiaomi Notes
4. Lantern
5. Last used application (dynamic shortcut)

Automation of placement: smart folders and sorting rules

If you're too lazy to manually sort dozens of applications, MIUI offers semi-automatic solutions, the most powerful of which is Smart Folders, which group applications into categories automatically.

To enable this function:

1. Open Settings → Applications → Smart folders
2. Turn on the switch at the top of the screen
3. Select the categories you want to see on your desktop (e.g., “Social Networks”, “Games”, “Tools”)

The system will automatically create folders and update their contents when you install new applications.

Another useful tool is the Recommended Apps in the search bar, where the MIUI algorithm analyzes your behavior and suggests the apps you're most likely to want to open at the moment, such as in the morning, the Weather and Calendar, and in the evening, YouTube and Twitter.

For those who want full automation, there's a radical solution: third-party launchers, which allow you to:

• 🤖 Automatically sort applications by category
• 📊 Analyze usage frequency and place frequently used programs prominently
• 🎨 Apply complex design rules (e.g., change the color of icons depending on the time of day)

Hiding Unnecessary Applications Without Deleting

Many MIUI system applications can’t be removed without root rights, but they can be hidden from view, especially for pre-installed software like Mi Video, Mi Music or GetApps, which take up space on the desktop but are never used.

There are three ways to hide apps:

1. Hiding icons from the desktop: Hold the icon → select Remove (the app will remain in the menu of all applications)
2. Disabling applications: Go to Settings → Annexes → Application Management Select Unnecessary Application → "Disable The app will disappear from the menu and stop working, but will not be removed completely
3. Use the "Second Space" mode: Create a second space in Settings → Second space In the main space, leave only the desired applications, and transfer the rest to the second Switch between spaces can be swiped by fingerprint (if configured)

⚠️ Warning: Disabling system applications can cause the phone to run unsettled. Don't disable services called com.android., com.miui. or com.xiaomi. are critical components of the system.

For users who want to get rid of the pre-installed software completely, there is a radical solution - using ADB- commands. For example, to remove Mi Music, you need to perform on the command line:

adb shell pm uninstall --user 0 com.miui.player

But remember: this requires the inclusion of USB debugging in the developer settings and may result in a loss of warranty.

Alternative launchers: when standard features are lacking

If MIUI built-in tools seem limited, you should look at third-party launchers, which not only offer more customization options, but often run faster than the standard interface.

Xiaomi’s POCO Launcher is particularly interesting for devices, because it’s designed specifically for the MIUI ecosystem and offers the optimal balance between performance and customization.

• 🔍 Smart search with prediction of the right applications
• 📁 Automatic sorting by category
• 🖼️ Topics support MIUI (unlike many other launchers)
• 🚀 Optimize for Snapdragon processors, which are used in most Xiaomi devices

If you decide to try a third-party launcher, don’t forget two important points:

1. First, back up your current desktop settings (in a standard launcher, this can be done via Settings → Additional → Backup)
2. Some MIUI features (such as Second Space or Hot Corners) may not work in third-party launchers.

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Side launchers can significantly improve performance on Xiaomi’s budget models (such as the Redmi 9A or POCO M3), where the standard MIUI shell runs with delays.

FAQ: Answers to Frequent Questions