Xiaomi is one of the leading smartphone manufacturers in the world with a total market share of about 8 per cent (as of Q1 2019). This implies that there are effectively 100+ million Xiaomi devices running the MIUI. Hence, any update will impact a large number of people. According to reports, Xiaomi is planning on providing the MIUI with an app drawer which will be seen for the first time ever since its launch.
The Chinese company’s UI has always lacked the aforementioned feature, and users looking for one had to turn towards third-party app launchers. However, this may very well change soon. Xiaomi is currently testing an app drawer in its stock MIUI launcher along with app shortcuts. POCO launcher was the first to include app drawers with the POCO F1 when it released in 2018.
The latest alpha build of the Xiaomi MIUI launcher, version 4.10.6.1025-06141703, is testing out the new feature. Users will now be able to tap on the middle button in the app bar found in the bottom of the home screen to open the app drawer. This is unlike any other current gen Android device that requires a swipe from the bottom. Furthermore, this addition to the user interface will probably be very well received as more customizability to consumers is always a good deal.
MIUI in its latest version also receives a new app shortcuts feature. These are programmable commands that pop up when an app icon is long-pressed. This was initially seen with the release of Android Nougat 7.0 and allowed users to launch a specified part of the app directly. The upcoming Xiaomi MIUI launcher is in its early stage of development and testing, meaning there is still time before it will go live.
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For those interested, it should be noted that due to it being in the alpha stages it is not likely to be polished or stable. Incidents like crashes during use will be probable, hence, it is not recommended to be downloaded and used by default immediately. The new launcher will be available to all that are devices running MIUI. Xiaomi has listened to its community that had longed for this feature since the POCO F1.
