A Detailed Comparison of Homescreen Editing: MIUI 8 vs MIUI 9
While MIUI 9 is yet to leave the development pipeline completely and released to the public in Stable ROMs, today marks the release date of Beta ROMs for the second batch of devices. Users who have yet to experience the 9th iteration of MIUI are treated to previews of upcoming features, so you'll know what to expect when it's finally released for everyone. Today, I'll be showcasing the new homescreen editing suite introduced in MIUI 9, which is now redesigned and the icon arrangement function optimised to provide users a smarter and more convenient editing mode.
Homescreen Editing
The first change evident to the eyes will be a near-complete revamp of the editing suite. Rather than tapping on the icon to select it, users will now be tapping on the circle on top right corner of the icons; the bottom menu of functions have now reduced to three instead of four with the replacement of Effects by Homescreen Settings and the removal of Themes. The move is a rather interesting and justified move, as the Theme option can be seen as a repetition to the Theme app on the homescreen.
MIUI 8
MIUI 9
The Wallpaper option has seen a "downgrade", as users will now be led to the same wallpaper selection menu in Settings rather than the slew of preview icons as seen in previous MIUI versions. While it certainly is understandable as users will be able to view more wallpapers immediately, it does lead to extra steps if the user wishes to preview the wallpaper in action with the icons overlaying it. Not a good call, developers.
MIUI 8
MIUI 9
The Wallpaper option has seen a "downgrade", as users will now be led to the same wallpaper selection menu in Settings rather than the slew of preview icons as seen in previous MIUI versions. While it certainly is understandable as users will be able to v
Application arrangement receives a revision for an optimised user experience. When users select the app icons, the menu below automatically switches to a page view of the homescreens available. Users will only have to drag and drop the icons onto the desired homescreen instead of having to press-and-hold onto the icons then drag the homescreen with another finger to move them across. Users can now preview the arrangement of the icons on the grids, and shuffle their positions according to their own liking. This sure makes the whole process easier and faster.
MIUI 8
MIUI 9
Next thing to talk about will be the homescreen widgets, with the main change we'll see being an optimised widget preview. The version we're used to have a secondary menu for each application when we're choosing the widgets. The extra step is omitted in the new version, instead a complete preview of widgets from different applications will be listed out for users to choose them faster. Also, the size of the widgets when placed on the homescreen can also be seen directly from the menu so users doesn't have to go through trial-and-error for the best one.
MIUI 8
MIUI 9
Homescreen Settings is, essentially, just an addition and regroup of features based on the exiting suite of functions. "Effects" is grouped into the submenu, along with the addition of "Fill Empty Cells", "Lock Homescreen Layout" and a shortcut to access "Settings > Home Screen". Instead of having to head into Settings everytime should users wish to change the homescreen settings, they can now change it directly from the homescreen or have a shortcut to the complete setup options.
MIUI 8
MIUI 9
The last change to talk about will be the Effects settings. As mentioned before, it is grouped under Homescreen Settings to serve the purpose of simplifying the setup process, along with a slight change in appearance. While the simplication is a welcomed change, it does lead to a slower and less "straight-to-the-point" experience. Another notable change is the design of the effect icons. Instead of directly presenting how the effect will look like as in older versions, the new version ditches it for a more abstract design that shows only a symbol or icon to represent the transition.
MIUI 8
MIUI9
The last change to talk about will be the Effects settings. As mentioned before, it is grouped under Homescreen Settings to serve the purpose of simplifying the setup process, along with a slight change in appearance. While the simplication is a welcomed
The overall user experience seems to be a mixed bag of new advantages and disadvantages, however the new design language for MIUI 9 does aim at becoming simpler and more refined than previous versions of MIUI.
