Everything You Need to Know About Xiaomi HyperOS

Posted on February 8, 2026

Xiaomi HyperOS is the company’s replacement for MIUI, designed to unify phones, tablets, smart home devices, and even electric vehicles under a single operating system. It launched on October 26, 2023, with the Xiaomi 14 series and started rolling out globally in early 2024. The system goes beyond what a typical Android skin does by using a dual-kernel architecture that allows different types of devices to work together seamlessly.

Why Xiaomi built HyperOS?

After years of using MIUI, Xiaomi needed something more flexible. MIUI worked fine for phones and tablets, but the company expanded into IoT products, wearables, and cars. Managing separate operating systems for each category became inefficient. HyperOS solves that by creating a unified platform that lets a phone control a smart speaker, pull footage from a car’s camera, or sync with a smartwatch without switching between different software ecosystems.

This mirrors what Huawei did with HarmonyOS. Both systems aim to make cross-device interaction feel native rather than tacked on.​

How does HyperOS work differently?

Unlike standard Android skins that sit on top of the Linux kernel, HyperOS uses two kernels depending on the device. Phones and tablets run on a modified Linux kernel combined with Android frameworks. Smart home devices, wearables, and IoT products use Xiaomi Vela, which is based on the lightweight NuttX RTOS kernel.

The architecture has five layers:

  1. Hardware layer: The physical components of each device
  2. Kernel layer: Either Linux for high-power devices or Vela for low-power IoT products
  3. Framework layer: A mix of Android services and Vela frameworks
  4. HyperConnect layer: The bridge that lets different devices communicate despite using different kernels
  5. operating systems: The user interface that adapts to different screen sizes

The HyperConnect layer is what makes the system special. It allows a smartphone to recognize a smart lightbulb as if it were a built-in hardware component, not an external accessory. In 2026, this enables features like using your car’s high-resolution cameras for a video call through your phone.

What changed from MIUI?

HyperOS feels cleaner and runs faster than MIUI. The system firmware takes up less storage space. MIUI 14 occupied 12.53GB, while HyperOS reduced that footprint significantly. Over-the-air updates also shrink by up to 80% in memory usage, meaning you do not need to clear as much space before updating your phone.​

Performance improvements come from better resource management. The system analyzes which tasks are critical and schedules processor time more precisely. This reduces lag when switching apps or opening the camera quickly. The file system also degrades more slowly over time. After 50 months of use, HyperOS storage performance drops by just 0.5% compared to 76.4% degradation without optimization.​

Visual changes include redesigned icons, a new status bar, and a feature called Super Island. Super Island works like iPhone’s Dynamic Island but stays in the notification panel instead of the top of the screen. It shows real-time information about app activities, media playback, appointments, and deliveries.​

The control center got simplified, and lock screen customization options expanded. Camera shortcuts became easier to access, and split-screen management improved for multitasking.​

Device compatibility and rollout

HyperOS initially launched in China in December 2023 before expanding globally in early 2024. The first phone to ship with it was the Xiaomi 14, followed by models like the Xiaomi 14T, 14T Pro, and various Redmi and POCO devices.

HyperOS 2.0 arrived on October 29, 2024, starting with the Xiaomi 14 series in China before reaching global markets in November 2024. HyperOS 3.0, based on Android 16, was announced in August 2025 and brought more AI features and interface tweaks.

Not every Xiaomi phone receives the update. Older models or budget devices with limited hardware may stay on MIUI. Xiaomi releases update schedules regionally, with India and other major markets getting phased rollouts over several months.​

Cross-device features

The real strength of HyperOS shows up when you use multiple Xiaomi products together. The system supports distributed computing, where devices pool their processing power for demanding tasks. A tablet could offload some workload to a nearby phone if needed, or a smartwatch could rely on a phone’s stronger processor for complex calculations.​​

File sharing between devices happens faster because HyperOS treats them as part of the same ecosystem rather than separate gadgets. Notifications sync across devices, so dismissing an alert on your phone also clears it on your tablet. Calls can transfer between devices mid-conversation without dropping.​

For people who own Xiaomi TVs, smart home products, or plan to buy a Xiaomi electric vehicle, HyperOS creates a more integrated experience than MIUI ever could. The system is built to scale across 200+ processor platforms and supports over 20 different file systems.

Sumant Singh
Latest posts by Sumant Singh (see all)

You May Also Like