How to Open an App in a Small Xiaomi Window: The Complete Guide

Xiaomi’s modern smartphones have screens and processors so powerful that it’s a waste of time to use them for just one app at a time. The floating windows, or “small windows,” feature makes it possible to turn your gadget into a real multitasking center where you can text in a messenger while watching a video, or keep your navigator in sight while working with documents. It’s not just a convenience, but a way to significantly increase personal productivity without constantly switching between tabs.

MIUI and its new version of HyperOS have several ways to activate this mode, each with its own features: some methods require customization in the developer menu, others are available immediately out of the box through gestures or a sidebar. Understanding the nuances of floating windows will help you avoid application conflicts and system failures, ensuring smooth interface operation even when you run heavy tasks.

In this article, we will take a look at all the available methods for activating miniature mode, find out which applications are best optimized for working in the background, and consider hidden settings that not all users know about. You will learn how to manage the size of windows, fix them on top of other programs and quickly switch between active tasks, using the full potential of your device.

Basic methods of activation of floating mode

The easiest and most obvious way to run an app in a small window is to use the built-in sidebar. This tool is hidden by default, but it's easy to activate in the system settings. Once turned on, a translucent marker or bar will appear on the screen that calls up a list of favorite applications. Just drag the desired program from this list to the desktop, and it will instantly open in floating mode.

An alternative method that users often ignore is to manage open applications through the multitasking menu. If you run the application in the usual way, and then go to the menu of running tasks (a swipe from the bottom up with a delay or a button "Menu"), you will see special icons next to the window thumbnails.

It's worth noting that the new versions of the HyperOS shell have changed the way it works, so it's now offering to run a second application in a small window, when you fold one application while you're in another, and it's an intelligent feature that analyzes your actions and offers you the optimization of your workspace without any extra settings. However, if automation is not working properly, you can always go back to manual control through the settings.

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For quick access to frequently used mini-applications, add them to the Favorites inside the sidebar – this will save time searching for the right utility.

Setting up the sidebar and managing windows

To work properly, you need to properly configure the list of applications that will be available to run in a small window. Not all programs support this mode natively, but Xiaomi system tools allow you to force even unsupported applications to run in a floating format. Go to Settings → Special features → Sidebar to see the full list of available options.

In this menu, you can not only select applications, but also adjust the transparency of the panel itself, its position on the screen and how you rotate the device. It is important to understand that activating too many programs in this list can lead to increased memory consumption, since the system will keep them in the background in a state of readiness.

The window is already open by simply touching. At the top of the small window are buttons to resize, roll up into an icon ball and close. Double tapping the top of the window often turns it on the entire screen, which is a convenient way to quickly switch between viewing modes. If the application is stuck or does not respond to touch, try rolling it up into a ball and turning it back around — this often solves the problem of the interface freeze.

⚠️ Note: Some banking applications and programs with high security requirements may block the operation in a floating window or screenshot the screen in black.

Using the Developer Menu for Extended Functions

For advanced users who don't have the standard functionality, you can activate hidden modes through the developer menu, and you can find settings that allow you to force any application to run in split-screen or small window mode, even if the software developer did not provide this option. To get into this menu, you need to click on the build number several times in the About Phone section.

Within the developer menu, we're interested in the section that deals with minimum widths or specific debugging flags, and changing these parameters requires caution, because incorrect values can lead to incorrect display of fonts and interface elements throughout the system. Before making changes, we recommend writing down the original values so that if necessary, you can return everything as it was.

One of the useful features for older versions of MIUI was the ability to run apps in tablet mode, which automatically activated window support. In newer versions of HyperOS, this feature has transformed into more flexible multitasking settings, using these tools allows you to turn the smartphone into a kind of desktop operating system, where each application lives in its own isolated container.

Application compatibility and system limitations

You don't expect any application from Google Play or GetApps to work perfectly in a small window. Problems most often arise with heavy games, navigation systems and video editing software. Android has limits on the number of simultaneous active processes, and running a third or fourth heavy application in the window can cause the background tasks to be forced to close.

Below is a table of compatibility of popular categories of applications with floating windows mode on Xiaomi devices:

While it is technically possible to run a game in a small window, it is extremely inconvenient to manage in this format, and the touch interface may not keep up with your actions, and some anti-cheat systems may regard running a game over other windows as an attempt to use third-party software, which will lead to the blocking of the account.

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The ideal candidates for small windows are text editors, instant messengers, calculators and video players. 3D-Games are better to run on the full screen.

Optimizing memory and performance

Running multiple apps simultaneously puts a strain on the device’s RAM (RAM).If your Xiaomi smartphone has less than 6GB of RAM, the system may begin aggressively unloading background apps to free up resources for an active window, which can manifest itself in constant reboots of browser tabs or stopping music playback.

To improve the situation, you can use the memory expansion feature, if it is available on your model, which allows you to use some of the internal flash memory as virtual RAM, activates it in the Extension of Memory in the main settings, but requires you to restart the device, and it is also useful to periodically clear the cache of applications that you use in the background.

Another important aspect is energy saving: floating windows continue to consume the power of the processor and screen, even if they are rolled into a corner. If you plan to run long-term from the battery, limit the number of active background processes. In battery settings, you can set limits for specific applications so that they do not consume charge when in small window mode.

⚠️ Attention: Constant operation of the navigator or video stream in a small window can cause significant heating of the case of the smartphone.

Troubleshooting and troubleshooting

Users often experience a small window that will spontaneously close or not open at all. First, check whether Do Not Disturb mode or special energy saving modes are on, which can block background activity, and make sure that a particular application is allowed to display over other windows – this is the permission requested by the system when it first starts in this mode.

If the window interface is floating or doesn’t respond to touches in certain areas, try changing the orientation of the screen or running the app in full screen mode, and then rolling it back up again. In rare cases, cleaning the system application’s cache helps or resetting the launcher settings, although the latter will lead to a return of the desktop design to the factory look.

Keep an eye out for system updates, as Xiaomi engineers regularly release patches to correct errors in the window manager, and if the problem is widespread, information about it can usually be found in official communities or on the forum.