Xiaomi has begun teasing the upcoming release of MIUI 12 already. This new major update of the manufacturer’s skinned Android operating system expects to bring many enhancements.
The main areas of focus are performance and user experience.
An exciting feature and probably the most notable one is Always-On Display, or AOD in short.
MIUI AOD was originally introduced on MIUI 11. The newer version will come with a bunch of improvements.
What is AOD
Always-On Display is a feature allowing users to show animated image of their choice along with some useful information (such as app notifications and date) while the phone screen is locked.
On other words, AOD is a replacement for the usually dark blank screen.
Unlike a lockscreen, AOD does not appear and use the whole screen pixel. Shortly, when activated, some parts of your phone screen is still dark and blank while the middle of the screen displays animation.
Let’s talk a little bit geeky. AOD works by keeping light up on specific pixels without having to turn on the entire screen’s pixels.
Due to this nature, AOD is an exclusive feature compatible for phones sporting OLED/AMOLED display.
Do not expect for this feature to come to devices with IPS-based LCD screen.
New in MIUI 12 AOD
There are some exciting new features introduced in this new release including support for MAML animation, new stickers, 1000+ new animations, support for non-linear animations, and new stickers from popular titles such as Mi Bunny, PUBG Mobile, Kings of Glory, and more.
MIUI 12 AOD Preview
The Chinese company teases the anticipated MIUI 12 AOD on its official Weibo posts.
Here are some of its official posters, a courtesy of Xiaomi’s Weibo posts.
How to Enable MIUI 12 AOD on MIUI 12
Xiaomi is also generous enough to let its users know that the anticipated MIUI 12 AOD is applicable on MIUI 11. There is a catch though.
This trick only works on supported devices only. That said, only Redmi and Mi phones having AMOLED display are compatible.
How to enable it? The company posted a working trick on its Weibo acccount.
The guide is in Chinese. To sum up, it should be something like this:
- Download MIUI Themes Manager app v1.7.6.0 or newer here.
- Download MIUI AOD+ app v1.19.387 or newer here.
- Install both apps on your phone.
- Open Mi Themes app.
- Navigate to the AOD section.
- Choose and download the AOD styles of your choice.
- Apply/enable the AOD animation style you want.
- Close the Themes app then open Settings.
- Go to Always-on display & Lock screen, then turn on Ambient display.
- Finally, go to Style, then customize the applied AOD style as per your choice.
Supported Devices
All Xiaomi and Redmi phones having OLED/AMOLED display as part of its specifications are compatible to use MIUI new AOD+ feature.
In addition to that, the phone should already run latest version of MIUI 11 with Android 9.0 Pie or 10 Q as its base. MIUI 11 based on Android 8.1 Oreo or lower is not yet supported.
Example devices: Redmi K20, Redmi K20 Pro, Mi 10, Mi 10 Pro, Redmi K30 Pro, Mi 9, Mi 9T, Mi 9 SE, Mi Note 10, Mi Note 10 Pro, and so on.
Tried? How it goes for you?
