Xiaomi’s MIUI is among the more popular 3rd party firmware, right up there with the likes of LewaOS and the mighty CyanogenMod. However, instead of going minimalistic, the Xiaomi system instead adds a host of features which make the device a lot more functional than a regular AOSP Android install.
With the rising popularity of the MIUI ROM (pronounced as ‘mi-you-eye’), Xiaomi took up to the idea of porting the Android overlay to other popular devices. This list now includes more than a hundred devices, including those from manufacturers such as Samsung and HTC to Jiayu and OPPO.
However, the number of devices being released each day is far too high for a limited set of engineers to port MIUI to all of those. So, Xiaomi are now offering the ‘MIUI Express’ installer that lets you take a dig at the MIUI system without having to change ROMs/void warranty, etc.
The app package comes with a host of Xiaomi-specific tools such as the launcher, dialer, etc. which give your device a complete Xiaomi makeover. This might not give you all the bells and whistles of the actual ROM, but as far as I’m concerned the MIUI Express tool is worth giving a shot.
The tool is in its beta stage now, so you’re advised to not be too harsh on the Chinese maker if things don’t work as advertised.
You can download the MIUI Express installer here. Those interested only in the launcher can search ‘Mi Home’ on Google Play; Xiaomi has been offering its launcher for download for quite some time now.