MIUI 10 experience: Can Mi fans be satisfied without drastic changes?

On May 31, Xiaomi released its new flagship smartphone, Xiaomi Mi 8, at the Shenzhen Universiade Center. It also launched its latest AI-powered full-screen operating system, MIUI 10. At first glance, the new generation of MIUI does not look much different from the previous one, but is it really so? Please follow our perspective to see how MIUI 10 performs on Xiaomi's latest flagship, Xiaomi Mi 8.

Visual changes that are barely visible to the naked eye

The overall look and feel of the new generation of MIUI has not changed much, and the icons have not been redrawn. The main changes are reflected in the drop-down notification bar, multi-tasking interface, and some commonly used system-level software.

▲ MIUI 10 on the left, MIUI 9 on the right.

Pull down to call out the notification bar. Compared with MIUI 9, the modular design has been removed, replaced by a background that fills the entire screen and a rounded rectangular card floating above the background. It not only fits the rounded screen of the phone, but also enhances the sense of hierarchy and unity. When the module is removed, the intervals between different information in the notification bar are also removed, further improving the unity of the look and feel.

▲ MIUI 10, right MIUI 9.

Another big change is the multitasking interface. Instead of the horizontal arrangement and left and right sliding design of MIUI 9, the multitasking interface of MIUI 10 has been changed to a vertical waterfall flow and up and down sliding. Compared with the previous design, the multitasking interface of MIUI 10 can display more background applications at the same time, and the screen utilization rate has been improved.

▲ MIUI 10 on the left, MIUI 9 on the right.

In addition to the relatively large changes in the pull-down notification bar and multi-tasking interface, the interfaces of some system-level applications such as the clock have also changed. However, since the changes and impact are not significant, they will not be introduced here one by one.

Easy-to-use full-screen gesture interaction

In addition to gesture operation, MIUI 10 still retains virtual navigation keys for users to choose from in terms of system interaction operations. Of course, in order to further leverage the advantages of the full screen, gesture operation is obviously a better choice.

The specific interactive gestures have not changed much from the previous generation. Swipe from both sides to the middle to return to the previous level, and hover to switch to the previous application. Swipe up from the bottom to return to the main interface, hover to call out the multitasking interface, and at the same time, long press the application view in the multitasking interface to call out quick operation options such as split screen and lock. In actual experience, the whole set of gesture interactions is more in line with the user's operating intuition and habits. The system will also provide corresponding teaching during setting, which effectively reduces the learning cost of new users.

▲ Gesture operation settings and teaching

Faster than lightning

Xiaomi described MIUI 9 as lightning fast, and now with the latest generation of MIUI, Xiaomi has gone a step further and called it faster than lightning. Xiaomi said at the press conference that MIUI 10 will use AI to predict the apps that users are about to use and preload them in the background, thus achieving the effect of "0 second startup".

In actual experience, MIUI 10 on Xiaomi Mi 8 is better than MIUI 9 in terms of system tracking, fluency, and speed of opening applications, especially commonly used applications. (Due to different hardware, the results are for reference only) In addition, we also found that even if MIUI 10 preloads commonly used applications in the background, they will not appear in the multitasking interface and will not affect users when switching applications.

A more capable classmate Xiao Ai

Currently, MIUI 10 supports four ways to wake up Xiao Ai (voice assistant), including tapping the information assistant button, long pressing the Home button (only for models equipped with a Home button), long pressing the power button or voice wake-up.

After updating to MIUI 10, users' operations on the phone through Xiao Ai are no longer limited to system applications, but third-party applications are also included.

For example, users can operate the designated App by "using Gaode Map to navigate to Guangzhou Tower", "using JD.com to search for Mijia Mosquito Repellent", "sending WeChat to mom", etc.

Of course, you can also directly say "take the bus to the sports center" or "book me a flight from Guangzhou to Beijing at 3 pm tomorrow" and let Xiao Ai decide which app to use to help you solve your needs.

Through experience, we also found that if you tell Xiao Ai that you want to watch a certain movie or TV series, Xiao Ai will directly present the content provider that owns the copyright of the film and television resources, saving users the trouble of finding out which app owns the copyright in advance.

In addition, with the establishment of Xiaomi's quick application ecosystem, users no longer need to install applications to obtain third-party application support for Xiao Ai. In other words, you don't need to install the Ctrip App, and you can also use Xiao Ai to help you book flights and hotels on Ctrip.

Since everyone has different usage habits, MIUI 10 also adds an AI training plan for Xiao Ai, which allows users to personalize Xiao Ai. Users can give Xiao Ai exclusive skills by setting specific replies, setting up control of smart hardware, and recording screen teaching. In addition to being able to "train" Xiao Ai by themselves, users can also let Xiao Ai learn skills added by others in the Skill Center, which greatly improves playability.

▲ AI training camp

MIUI Labs Features

In MIUI 10, Xiaomi upgraded the "Portal" function to version 2.0. In addition to being able to long press English sentences and words for global translation, long press Chinese words such as movies, TV series, Taobao passwords, restaurants, hotels, tourist attractions, etc. for external search and link jumping, Portal 2.0 also adds image recognition. The recognized content includes picture text, business card content, animal and plant species, celebrity faces, and famous Chinese and foreign paintings.

However, Portal 2.0 is still a function in MIUI Labs, and its recognition accuracy and reliability are not ideal, so there is still much room for improvement. Interested users can enable it in the Labs settings and try it out.

After the new driving mode is enabled in the MIUI Lab, users can enter the driving mode by pulling down the shortcut menu or using Xiao Ai's voice. Once in driving mode, users can use voice to navigate, make and receive calls, etc.

In addition to the above functions, after entering driving mode, users can also send and receive WeChat messages through Xiao Ai. If you receive a WeChat message in driving mode, Xiao Ai will broadcast the content of the message through voice, and you can also reply by instructing Xiao Ai to use voice.

Currently, driving mode, like Portal 2.0, is still a feature in MIUI Labs. It is still not accurate enough in voice recognition and has certain requirements for the use environment. Users who want to try it can keep the windows closed and the car quiet as much as possible.

It is worth noting that the current MIUI 10 driving mode still fails to achieve "zero disturbance", and some software pop-ups will still pop up, distracting users' attention.

Intelligent hardware control integration

IoT has become an integral part of Xiaomi's development since the company began to engage in smart home in 2013. Now, MIUI 10 integrates the discovery, addition, and operation of mobile phones and smart devices directly at the system level.

When the phone searches for nearby Mijia smart devices that have not been activated or reset, a pop-up window will automatically pop up to remind you to connect. After clicking "Connect", users can directly add and set up new smart devices on the system.

In the negative one screen of MIUI 10, users can also operate the added smart devices directly in the smart home card without opening the client.

In addition, after users create a smart scene in the Mijia App and set a series of smart hardware actions for it, they can complete the corresponding complex control by speaking the scene name to Xiao Ai. From now on, "turn on the living room lights, turn on the air conditioner and set it to 26 degrees, play relaxing music, and turn off the sweeping robot" can be easily achieved after I come back.

Summarize

After nearly 8 years and 10 generations of iterations, it is time for MIUI to make drastic changes. Although MIUI 10 has not changed much in appearance, it better demonstrates the advantages of full screen. The comprehensive support of AI and the integration of smart hardware operations make daily use easier and more comfortable. Even if the laboratory application has not yet reached a usable state, it can still make the future MIUI more promising. I believe that even if such a MIUI is not an eye-catching version, it is enough to satisfy Mi fans or ordinary users with the ease and pleasure it brings.

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.