How Xiaomi frees Apple users from iOS: everything new in HyperOS 3

HyperOS 3 is here, Xiaomi’s new user interface, and it brings some cool features. I’m looking at all the new things on my Xiaomi 15T Pro, which has already received the update. The first and, for me, most exciting new things are quite Apple. I think Xiaomi is pursuing an interesting strategy with this: paving a way out for people who are trapped in the Apple ecosystem. I think that’s a clever move.

Hyper Island

The Xiaomi Hyper Island does the same thing as the Dynamic Island on the iPhone. The Xiaomi 15T Pro’s round notch turns into a quick-start control center when, for example, Spotify, YouTube or a timer is running and you hide the app. You can also switch between apps in the Hyper Island. I find it quite practical, but a nice gimmick, nothing more.

Connection to iPad, MacBook and iPhone

More than gimmicks are the new features for anyone who has a MacBook, iPad or iPhone and would like to use an Android smartphone. I was on the road with a MacBook and an Android smartphone myself for a long time and would have really wanted these features back then. With HyperOS 3, the Xiaomi 15T Pro fits into the Apple ecosystem almost like an iPhone. Through the Xiaomi Interconnectivity app, which has to be installed on both devices, the following works:

• Xiaomi Share: Transfer files and photos between the devices, basically AirDrop between a Xiaomi smartphone and Apple products.
• Mirroring: The Xiaomi smartphone can be mirrored to an iPad or MacBook and controlled from there.
• Unlocking: With Face ID, Touch ID or a password.
• Finding: The smartphone can be located, analogous to Find My.

All of this works quickly and smoothly. I find the mirroring especially great, because you can put it to the side in split screen and keep your desktop and smartphone in view. For anyone who wants to keep their MacBook or iPad and still use an Android smartphone, this is a game changer.

Design

There are small design adjustments in apps like Gallery, Settings and third-party apps, which you can see compared with HyperOS 2 on my Xiaomi 15T, where I haven’t installed the update yet. In some system apps, such as the Weather app, there’s a transparent design that some would call Liquid Glass. It’s a small makeover that looks snappier and more modern. Many widgets have also been reworked, such as the cute animal widgets we know from smartwatches. Probably nobody needs them, but they’re cute.

Lock screen and AI wallpapers

You can now customize the lock screen even more extensively: design, font and 3D effect. Your own photos are shown off well. We know that to some extent from Apple and other Android interfaces. A highlight is the dynamic, AI-generated wallpaper from your photos:

1. Open Settings and go to Personalization.
2. Choose dynamic AI wallpapers and tap the plus sign.
3. Pick the picture that should be animated.
4. Tap “Generate”.

That gives you an individual look for the lock and home screens. I’m impressed by how well the AI animates the pictures.

Home screen search with AI

You can now activate a home screen search that lets you search AI-based for anything. It searches the smartphone, external apps and content from the web. I don’t find it quite as clear. In the search field there’s an AI icon that leads to an AI agent you can ask questions, similar to Gemini or ChatGPT. Next to it is a camera icon you use to identify objects, for example a plant. Search and image recognition fall back on Google Gemini. That feels a bit redundant, because Gemini with Gemini Live is on the Xiaomi smartphones anyway.

What’s new in the Xiaomi apps

• Gallery: Improved search with smart search suggestions, for example to narrow down to a certain flower or place faster. On the very first search it can take a while, because the entire gallery is analyzed by the AI.
• Calendar: At the bottom you can now choose between year view and week view. Before, there was only a three-day view.
• Notes: The new Google Deep Think mode is integrated here, an extended thinking and problem-solving mode. Several solution approaches and hypotheses are analyzed in parallel so that more complex tasks are solved better and the answers are more on point. You can watch the AI think, which perhaps creates more transparency.
• Workout tracking: With a Xiaomi smartwatch, you can use the Mi Fitness app to create a video during a workout in which the live workout data is shown as an overlay. So far only in landscape, not in portrait, so it’s not yet ideal for sharing on Instagram. That might come with an update.

Verdict

HyperOS 3 is a nice, modern upgrade that offers a lot of personalization, and a help for Apple users who no longer want to be exclusively that. A cool move by Xiaomi.