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Xiaomi has been in custom Android Skin space for a while now with their MIUI skin while the Realme UI is a relatively new entrant. Both the brands have been mostly using the same hardware in various price categories with the only difference in the software. Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO smartphones rely on MIUI while the Realme smartphones get Realme UI. It is interesting to note that Realme has its core based on ColorOS with a different UI on top to differentiate between the two skins.
Both UIs have their pros and cons and while MIUI tends to get more features crammed into it, Realme UI has been mostly a mix between stock Android and custom skin. In this post, we are going to compare MIUI to Realme UI. The comparison will mostly revolve around UI, customization options, features, theming engine, and more.
User Interface
This is the one area that differentiates custom skins from stock Android. Starting with MIUI, we had our first rodeo with this skin back in 2016 when it was both heavy and too flashy. Things have toned down a lot since then and now with the current MIUI 12.5 build, the skin is more stable, buttery smooth on most devices and feature-packed up to the brim. To a first time user, the UI might look similar to iOS but Xiaomi has never shied away from the fact that their inspiration comes from iOS.
On the other hand, Realme UI is more neutral with its mix of custom skin and stock build. All their basic elements like notification panel, notification toggles, settings menu, and the app drawer look very identical to stock android. It is a matter of personal preference but we are okay with both the layouts here.
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- nano SIM 1 + Hybrid (nano SIM or microSD)(No Esim supported), 5G: 1/2/3/5/7/8/20/28/38/40/41/48/66/71/77/78 4G: LTE FDD: B1/2/3/4/5/7/8/18/19/20/26/28/66/71 4G: LTE TDD: B38/40/41/42/48 -3G: WCDMA::B1/2/4/5/6/8/19 - 2G QUAD BAND
- 6.77" Flow AMOLED display172.1mm Flow AMOLED displayResolution: 2392 x 1080Refresh rate: Up to 120Hz*Refresh rate can be adjusted to 120Hz for supported apps.Touch sampling rate: 240HzInstant touch sampling rate: 2560Hz*2560Hz instant touch sampling rate is activated under Game Turbo Mode.16x super-resolution touchBrightness: 3200 nits peak brightness, 800 nits (typ)Color depth: 12-bit (68.7 billion colors)Contrast ratio: 8,000,000:1DCI-P3 wide color gamutSunlight displayReading mode3840 PWM dimming | 16,000 (Hardware Solution) | TÜV Rheinland Circadian Friendly Certification | TÜV Rheinland Flicker Free CertificationScreen-to-body ratio: 92%
- 50MP main cameraLight Fusion 4001/2.88"1.22μm 4in1 Super Pixel5P lensf/1.82MP depth cameraRear camera video recording4K at 30fps1080p at 30fps720p at 30fps --- 20MP front camera1/4" sensor sizef/2.24P lensFront camera video recording1080p at 30fps720p at 30fps
- NFC - GPS: L1 | GLONASS: G1 | BDS: B1I+B1C | Galileo E1 - Virtual proximity sensor | Ambient light sensor | Accelerometer | Electronic compass | IR blaster | Gyroscope - In-screen fingerprint sensorAI face unlock
Customization
Both MIUI and Realme UI offer loads of customization options. To change most of the basic settings, the process on both skins is the same. We’ll start off with MIUI, just do a long tap on the homescreen and a window will open wherein you will see the options to change the icon layout, homescreen layout, icon size, change wallpaper, etc. This is where you can also change the transition effects, choose a default launcher and more.
Moving on to the Realme UI, it also gets the same treatment. Right from your homescreen, you can change mode, layout, app startup, close animations, gestures, and even enable the double-tap to lock option. There are also features like changing the colour temperature that is not seen on MIUI. So for this round, our vote will go towards Realme UI.
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- 【4K UHD Audiovisual Experience】Xiaomi 4K UHD resolution delivers exceptional clarity, while support for HDR10+ and Dolby Vision delivers cinematic picture quality. Dolby Atmos and DTS:X also create a cinematic audiovisual experience.
- 【Powerful 6nm Platform Performance】Powered by a 64-bit 6nm high-performance platform, featuring a quad-core A55 CPU (up to 2.5GHz) and large memory (2GB + 32GB), it ensures smooth operation.
- 【High-Speed Wi-Fi 6 Connectivity】Supports Wi-Fi 6 (requires a Wi-Fi 6-enabled router), utilizing OFDMA and MU-MIMO technologies to provide greater bandwidth and significantly improved transmission speeds, enabling instant playback of online content.
- 【Smart Google TV Entertainment Center】Built-in Google TV integrates personalized recommendations for movies, shows, and more from various apps and subscriptions, along with powerful cross-app search for a customized entertainment experience.
- 【Convenient Voice Control】Use the voice button on the 360° Bluetooth remote to use Google Assistant for voice search, playback control, and smart home management. Easily cast content from your phone/tablet to the TV via Google Cast. Easy to install.
Theming Engine
MIUI for that matter has the biggest theme store right now. The theming community used to be quite active on the Global versions but it has died down a bit. But you can see the theme store thriving in the Chinese market. The theme store is where Xiaomi makes money in their home country by selling themes, custom fonts, wallpapers and more.
Realme UI has the same going on their side of the fence. The Global store has some really good themes, fonts and wallpaper choices. With a single install button, you can change the app icons, wallpapers, and overall UI of the homescreen. Both theme stores ultimately get the same selection options and are equally well decked out.
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- Dual SIM (nano SIM 1 + nano SIM 2) (NO MICRO SD OR ESIM) 5G: n1/2/3/5/7/8/20/26/28/38/40/41/48/66*/71/77/78 4G: LTE FDD: B1/2/3/4/5/7/8/18/19/20/26/28/66*/71 // 4G: LTE TDD: B38/40/41/42/48 -- 3G: WCDMA: B1/2/4/5/6/8/19 - 2G QUAD BAND
- 6.83" CrystalRes AMOLED displayResolution: 1.5K (2772 x 1280)447PPIRefresh rate: Up to 120Hz*Refresh rate can be adjusted to 120Hz for supported apps.Touch sampling rate: Up to 480HzInstant touch sampling rate: 2560Hz*2560Hz instant touch sampling rate is activated under Game Turbo Mode.16x super-resolution touchBrightness: 3200 nits peak brightnessBrightness: HBM 1800 nitsColor depth: 12-bit (68.7 billion colors)Contrast ratio: 8,000,000:1DCI-P3 wide color gamutOriginal color PROHDR10+ | Dolby VisionCorning Gorilla Glass Victus 2Sunlight display
- 50MP main cameraLight Fusion 8001/1.55"2.0μm 4-in-1 Super Pixel6P lensf/1.6OIS8MP ultra-wide cameraf/2.2Rear camera video recording4K at 30fps1080p at 30/60fps720p at 30fps - 32MP front camera1/3.6" sensor sizef/2.24P lensFront camera video recording1080p at 30/60fps720p at 30fps
- GPS: L1 | GLONASS: G1 | BDS: B1I +B1C | Galileo E1 | QZSS:L1 | A-GPS supplementary positioning | Wireless network | Data network | Sensor Assisted Positioning - In-screen fingerprint sensorAI face unlock - Proximity sensor | Ambient light sensor | Accelerometer | Electronic compass | IR blaster | Gyroscope
Smart Features
MIUI has a leftmost pane on the homescreen with a custom universal search type menu that can be replaced with the Google Assistant feed. This feed menu has integrated smart action shortcuts such as clear cache, calling a cab, checking PNR, installing apps and more. There are widgets here as well using which you can check Cricket score, calendar events, Twitter feed, Stocks data, etc. In the previous MIUI builds you could also control the connected IoT products from this very window but now this option has been moved to the toggle section.
In the case of Realme, they have added a Smart Assistant function in the side drawer. This region has the recommendation engine feeding you ads, Quick functions and Favorite contacts. Quick functions let you access tools like scanner, translator, Google search while the other sections include Games, Online orders tracking and more.
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- Dual SIM (nano SIM + nano SIM or nano SIM + eSIM) (NO MICRO SD) 5G: 5G SA: n1/2/3/5/7/8/20/26/28/38/40/41/66*(70M)/71/77/78/485G NSA: n1/3/5/7/8/20/28/38/40/41/66*(70M)/71/77/784G LTE TDD: B38/40/41/42/484G LTE FDD: B1/2/3/4/5/7/8/18/19/20/26/28/66*(70M)/713G WCDMA: 1/2/4/5/6/8/192G GSM: 2/3/5/8Supports 4x4 MIMO*5G SA/NSA N66(70M) and 4G B66(70M): UL 1710MHz～1780MHz, DL 2110MHz～2180MHz*5G connectivity may vary based on region availability and local operator support.
- 6.83" 1.5K 120Hz ultra-bright AMOLED displayResolution: 2772 x 1280Contrast ratio: 8,000,000:1Refresh rate: Up to 120Hz*Refresh rate can be adjusted to up to 120Hz for supported apps.Peak brightness: 3500 nits covering 25% display areaHBM brightness: 2000 nitsTypical brightness: 800 n: 2560Hz*480Hz touch sampling rate is activated under Game Turbo Mode.*2560Hz instant touch sampling rate is activated under Game Turbo Mode.12-bit color depth, 68 billion colorsDCI-P3 wide display 2.0HDR10+TÜV Rheinland Low Blue Light (Hardware Solution) CertifiedTÜV Rheinland Flicker Free CertifiedTÜV Rheinland Circadian Friendly CertifiedDolby VisionCorning Gorilla Glass 7i
- MediaTek Dimensity 9500s3nm manufacturing process1 x Cortex-X925, up to 3.73GHz3 x Cortex-X4, up to 3.3GHz4 x Cortex-A720, up to 2.4GHzImmortalis-G925 MC11NPU 890 - 8500mAh (typ)100W HyperChargeUSB Type-C charging portUp to 27W reverse chargingSupports PD3.0/PD2.0Smart charging
- Wi-Fi Protocol: Wi-Fi 7/ Wi-Fi 6/ Wi-Fi 5/ Wi-Fi 4 and 802.11a/b/g*Wi-Fi 7/Wi-Fi 6 capability may vary based on regional availability and local network support. Wi-Fi connectivity (including Wi-Fi frequency bands, Wi-Fi standards and other features as ratified in IEEE Standard 802.11 specifications) may vary based on regional availability and local network support. The function may be added via OTA when and where applicable.WLAN frequency: 2.4G Wi-Fi | 5G Wi-FiSupports Multi-Link Operation, 2x2 MIMO, 8x8 Sounding for MU-MIMO, Wi-Fi Direct, MiracastBluetooth 6.0, Dual-BluetoothSupports SBC / AAC / LDAC / LHDC 5.0 / LC3 / ASHA / AuracastNFC
Gestures and Multi Window
Both the UIs give you varying degrees of gestures, in the case of MIUI there are three options. You can go back to the classic Android buttons, use Android 11 gestures. The multitasking menu here is card-based with the options to pin apps to memory, launch multi-window, close apps and more.
While the Realme UI gets the Android 11 gestures with the ability to go back to the standard Android buttons for navigation. The multitasking menu is the same as the default Google. The options in the multitasking menu here are all the same from app pins, to multi-window and more.
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- SIM 1 + Hybrid (SIM or microSD)2G: GSM: 850 900 1800 1900MHz3G: WCDMA:1/2/4/5/84G: LTE FDD:1/2/3/4/5/7/8/12/13/17/20/26/28/664G: LTE TDD:38/40/41Bluetooth 5.3Wi-Fi Protocol: 802.11a/b/g/n/ac
- 6.67" AMOLED displayResolution: 2400 x 1080Refresh rate: Up to 120HzBrightness: 1800nits peak brightnessBrightness: 500 nits (typ), HBM 1200 nits (typ)Color depth: 10-bitContrast ratio: 5,000,000:1DCI- P3 wide color gamutCorning Gorilla Glass Victus 2Sunlight displayReading mode1920Hz PWM dimming｜TÜV Rheinland Low Blue Light (Hardware Solution) Certified | TÜV Rheinland Flicker Free Certified | TÜV Rheinland Circadian Friendly Certified
- Helio G100-Ultra6nm manufacturing processCPU: Octa-core processor, up to 2.2GHzGPU: Mali-G57 MC2
- 200MP main camera OISf/1.6516-in-1 binning into one large 2.24μm pixel1/1.4” sensor size7P lens8MP ultra-wide cameraf2.22MP macro cameraf2.4Rear camera video recording1080p at 60fps1080p at 30fps720p at 30fps / 32MP front cameraf/2.2Front camera video recording1080p at 30fps720p at 30fps
Bonus Features
Some of the bonus features include Clone apps that make duplicate apps on the phone. With its help, one can use multiple accounts on Facebook, Messenger, and more. Another nifty feature is the Second Space on MIUI that lets you create a separate profile on the device with added apps and files. Other functions include a built-in screen recorder, dark mode, rich screenshot tool, Reading mode, and Screen recorder.
For Realme UI, the implementation of the Clone apps is a bit different. On Realme UI apart from cloning work apps and social media apps, you can also clone apps like Amazon, Google Pay, Skype and more. There is also a sidebar function, which allows you to pin most-used shortcuts such as screenshots, record screens, and apps. There is also the Smart Driving function, which switches to DND when driving, blocks in-app voice and video calls, and auto-sends a message after rejecting a call.
Which Skin is Better
We will rate both skins as equal. There are some features and options that one has that the other doesn’t but then there are some customization options on one that you won’t find on the other one. Like MIUI has better gestures, a multitasking menu, while Realme UI has the smart driving mode, sidebar functions, and a stock like user interface.
Quick Recap
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