Comparing HyperOS and MIUI: Assessing Xiaomi’s Android OS User Interfaces

In recent news, Xiaomi has introduced a new Android user interface named HyperOS, aiming to eventually replace their long-standing MIUI software. Initially rolled out on Xiaomi's latest flagship phones like the Xiaomi 13 series, HyperOS brings several notable changes and improvements to the user experience.

In this comprehensive guide, we will delve into the intricacies of HyperOS compared to MIUI 14, exploring various interface elements, customization options, features, and overall performance. Our objective is to provide an impartial, detailed, and easy-to-understand comparison to assist Xiaomi users in discerning the changes and determining whether transitioning to HyperOS is worthwhile.

Key Differences Overview:
To provide a snapshot of the differences between MIUI 14 and HyperOS, here are some high-level distinctions:

Design and Layout: HyperOS introduces subtle design modifications such as new icon styles, themes, and layouts, aligning more closely with stock Android.
Performance: Early assessments indicate that HyperOS offers improved performance and efficiency over MIUI, occupying less storage space.
Features: HyperOS enhances MIUI with additional functionality like scroll gestures and a revamped music control panel, although some tools like the Calculator are scaled back.
Customization: HyperOS provides more extensive theming options and the ability to uninstall more bloatware, offering greater customization freedom.
Inspiration: While MIUI draws inspiration from iOS, HyperOS incorporates aesthetic elements from ColorOS and OxygenOS as well.
Interface Comparison:
We will now systematically compare various interface elements between MIUI 14 and HyperOS to illustrate their differences.

Lock Screens:
Both MIUI 14 and HyperOS allow extensive customization of lock screen wallpapers, styles, and widgets. However, subtle differences include refined tap animations and the addition of an iOS-style notification preview in HyperOS.

Home Screens:
The layout of the home screen remains largely similar between MIUI 14 and HyperOS, with key aspects like icon packs, widgets, and customization options retained in HyperOS. Notable differences include new icon designs and enhanced gestures like the two-finger swipe-down to access notifications.

App Drawers:
Both MIUI 14 and HyperOS offer various ways to organize apps, with clean and simple layouts allowing alphabetical, most used, or categorized arrangements.

Notifications:
The notification shade in HyperOS retains a familiar layout but introduces subtle tweaks such as cleaner notification cards with tighter spacing and enhanced gestures like the two-finger swipe for notifications.

Pre-Installed Apps:
HyperOS addresses the frustration of bloatware by allowing more system apps to be fully uninstalled, including MIUI Gallery, MIUI Video, Themes, App Vault, among others. This provides immediate benefits for system storage efficiency and clutter reduction.

Camera App:
The camera interface in HyperOS gains helpful enhancements like a redesigned camera icon, the addition of a "Slo Mo" camera mode, and separate listings for "Portrait" and "Selfie" modes, simplifying navigation and accessibility.

Gallery App:
Similarly, the Gallery app in HyperOS benefits from quality-of-life improvements such as a cleaner tab layout, surfacing "Portrait", "Selfie", and "Slomo" albums on the home screen, and the introduction of a "People" album based on face detection.

Calculator App:
One surprising change is the scaling back of functionality in the Calculator app in HyperOS compared to MIUI 14. Advanced tools like the BMI calculator, age calculation, and currency conversion are omitted, offering a more basic calculator experience.

Themes & Customization:
HyperOS introduces major improvements in theme support compared to MIUI 14, offering more theming options to customize system elements like the control center style, fonts, icon shapes, animations, and even boot animation.

Performance & Stability:
Early assessments suggest that HyperOS brings performance and efficiency gains over MIUI 14, including faster animations and transitions, lower memory usage and storage footprint, and increased fluidity when multitasking. However, stability remains to be fully evaluated.

Conclusion:
In conclusion, HyperOS retains the core foundations of MIUI while introducing thoughtful refinements across the interface. It strikes a balance between familiarity and enhancement, without radically transforming the user experience. Key advantages of HyperOS include reduced bloatware, smarter customization tools, efficiency gains, and subtle usability improvements throughout.

While MIUI 14 still holds certain advantages, such as richer apps in specific areas like the Calculator, HyperOS represents an iterative improvement that moves the user experience forward in helpful ways. It sets the stage for faster updates and brings a touch more polish across the board, aiming to provide enough extra utility without sacrificing the familiar MIUI feel. Whether it can compete with dominant Android skins like Samsung's OneUI or OxygenOS remains to be seen, but for loyal Xiaomi fans, HyperOS appears to be a promising upgrade.