Xiaomi has only been around for a few years yet it has made waves in the Chinese smartphone market. It success in that market has been widely covered by major publications. Its very well known in tech circles, something it can leverage as it looks to expand beyond China. Just like other Android OEMs, Xiaomi’s devices come with customized skins. Users have been porting the MIUI software for a variety of Android devices but now the company itself has released a new app suite which brings the experience over to pretty much every Android device powered by version 4.0 or higher.
The Mi Launcher has already been available in the Play Store for quite some time, though it didn’t offer the same experience as the new MIUI Express suite does. The beta version is out today and it brings the MIUI look without needing a rooted phone or an unlocked bootloader. Thus users who never felt like tinkering with the software on their device can enjoy the MIUI experience as well.
Its much more than a home screen launcher. The suite includes a new phone dialer, SMS and contacts app, a new lock screen, home screen and a few other applications. There’s no app drawer in MIUI, it places all apps on the home screen, but lets users organize icons and widgets. The app suite is available as a free download from Xiaomi’s website.