Xiaomi, the Chinese smartphone maker, is often associated with affordable smartphones and other innovative products. However, not many know that it was initially a software company and MIUI – a custom Android skin was its first product.
To date, MIUI remains Xiaomi’s one of the key products that not only can be found on all Xiaomi, Redmi and Poco branded phones but helps Xiaomi generate revenue from its features. As the latest MIUI 12.5 is being rolled out to phones across the globe, the company is also reportedly working on a secured MIUI Pure Mode that will help protect devices from malicious applications.
According to a report, Xiaomi feels that since Android allows you to sideload applications, the majority of the applications that users end up installing directly are the ones that have never been audited for security. This could also result in a large number of applications carrying malware bypass the security tests and could steal your data.
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To counter this, Xiaomi has started testing the Pure Mode that will safeguard the phone from security threats like these and will disable sideloading of applications. Since a lot of third-party apps are found to be installing other malicious apps automatically in the background, Pure More is expected to stop this well.
A beta test with a handful of users has already started in China and the company is adding 1000 testers a day to check out this new feature. That said, it is not a new MIUI skin but is just an additional feature that could be soon released to users outside China as well. Users who still prefer sideloading apps will have an option to disable the feature whenever they want to.
Analysis: Focus on improving user experience
MIUI offers, without an iota of doubt, one of the best custom Android experiences. It is preferred by smartphone users -especially the ones with the budget and mid-range devices, as it offers a lot of customizations that are not found in vanilla Android.
That said, this experience has been diluted to a certain extent because of the ads that MIUI shows. These ads can be a source of malicious third-party apps getting installed on the phone. With Pure Mode, Xiaomi seems to be trying to douse the fire that it has ignited. Xiaomi, however, may never stop showing ads in MIUI because of the revenue it generates.
Additionally, the company had earlier set up a Pioneer Team that aims at addressing issues faced by the users and improve the overall user experience. Both these steps are critically important for a brand like Xioami that is no longer another Chinese brand selling cheap android devices but is now the world’s leading smartphone maker that aims to position itself as a premium smartphone brand going ahead.
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