Xiaomi unveiled MIUI 8 during the announcement of the Mi Max back in May 2016. The company had announced that many smartphones in the Redmi and Mi series of smartphones would receive MIUI 8 update with Android 6.0 Marshmallow. The beta version of the ROM was released as scheduled in China first, but the international schedule seems to be behind schedule. The most popular smartphone from the company this year, the Redmi Note 3, is still running Android 5.1 Lollipop. This is quite a shame, especially since Google has released Android 7.0 Nougat recently.
The MIUI 8 update was supposed to be based on Android Marshmallow, but that isn’t the case with the Redmi Note 3. The update includes the revamped notifications and quick settings toggles with a bright and colorful UI as seen on Samsung smartphones. The company has also used new icons that are more colorful. The calendar and calculator app have received new designs as well. Camera and Gallery apps have received makeovers as well.
MIUI 8 also brings dual apps, a way to run two instances of the same app. A new Quick Ball feature also improves one-handed usage for large screen smartphones. There’s a new photo and video editor in MIUI 8 ROM. The current update has some bugs, the battery life is lower than expected. Currently, the company is prepping the launch of the Xiaomi Mi 5s and the Xiaomi Mi Note 2, both of which are high-end smartphones.
