Today we take a look at three of the latest, most up-to-date and best Android-based Chinese ROMs, Xiaomi's MIUI V6, Meizu's Flyme 4.0 and IUNI's IUNI OS.
There was a time in the dark years of Chinese telephony when software was the biggest problem. Poor design, lack of updates and bugs constantly ruined the devices, castrating the performance of the available hardware. Those days finally seem long gone, and many Chinese smartphone makers are making great ROMs, giving users everything they need, including updates.
Flyme 4.0 vs. MIUI V6 vs. IUNI OS
In this article we look at three different ROMs, two of which have recently been updated, and the third, the IUNI OS, which will soon be released with the English language.
Flyme 4.0
Flyme is the custom ROM of the smartphone manufacturer Meizu, which has come to its fourth version. Meizu announced the Flyme 4.0 at the launch event of the Meizu MX4 last week, confirming that the new ROM will arrive on the new MX4, on the previous MX3 and even on the Meizu MX2, news that should please the owners of these smartphones. The Flyme 4.0 present on our sample is based on Android 4.4.2.
At first glance the Flyme 4.0 seems to have really changed poco compared to the previous version, 3.0, but looking beyond the simple graphic aspect we find some new and excellent features.
The design of Flyme 4.0 follows the 'flat' style, currently fashionable, which we saw for the first time on the Flyme 3.0 (yes, before Apple launched iOS7). Now virtually every smartphone maker will follow the minimal style.
Flyme 4.0 offers a pack of Flyme icons that contain hundreds of them, practically for each of the most popular applications. Personally I'm not a big fan of these Flyme icons, since I find them a little too big, but Meizu has foreseen this possibility, so switching to classic icons requires a simple switch.
All installed applications will be shown on the various Home screens as the Flyme 4.0 does not have the application drawer, a feature common to all these ROMs. To keep things in order there is a dock that houses the 4 applications we use most, while other applications can be organized into folders.
The new Flyme 4.0 Notification Tender extends across the screen with a transparent background. In this area, you will also find the Quick settings toggles that are customizable according to your preferences.
Looking at the Flyme's settings, the interface has not changed much more than the Flyme 3, except for some new color.
From the settings you can choose the English, Chinese, German, Spanish, French, Italian, Portuguese and Russian languages. Flyme developers have also added some gestures for the unlock screen, which in settings are called "smart wake". Possible options include double unlock, unlock slide, slide to the left to enter the photo application directly and slide right to open an application of your choice.
Some applications of the Flyme 4.0 have been updated with lighter colors and a simpler design, while the photo application has been completely redesigned to offer new features and a new graphical interface.
With a swipe from left to right the camera app will show you the various options available, including automatic mode, manual, face beauty, panorama, refocus, night, barcodes, slow motion and macro. Moving from one mode to the other will give you access to a set of specific settings for that mode, which will allow you to modify parameters.
Flyme Multitasking is run by a menu that can be reached with a swipe from top to bottom of the display. Applications can be locked all together or one at a time, and can be locked in order to keep running in the background. In Flyme 3.0 there was also the possibility to adjust the brightness from the multitasking section, no longer available.
The Flyme 4.0 for the Chinese market also offers a beautiful weather application with various animated climatic conditions, as well as a SIRI-style voice server (Apple's voice server). These two features are not present in the current version of the international ROM, but we hope that they will be added in the future, or maybe in the final version of the ROM.
At the moment the Flyme 4.0 is only available for the Meizu MX4, but will also be released later for other models of the company. The Flyme 3.0 can also be downloaded for Samsung Galaxy S4, and in the future it will be available for Nexus devices.
MIUI V6
The MIUI V6 was announced during the launch event of the Xiaomi Mi4, but it has not yet been officially released except in the form of a developer preview, which sometimes results poco fluid. The official version will arrive in October, although there is no precise date yet, and will be based on Android 4.4.4. The MIUI V6 will be released for all Xiaomi smartphones over the next few months, but only the most recent models should receive the KitKat-based ROM, while the Xiaomi Mi2, for example, should receive the Android 6-based MIUI V4.1.
Graphically, the MIUI V6 is more beautiful, simpler and more minimal than the previous MIUI V5. However, it is a ROM heavily influenced by iOS, perhaps even more than before, and in general there are poco changes from the previous version.
The icons of the MIUI V6 are very simple and offer bright colors. The general appearance of the interface is very enjoyable and fun, but if you do not like it, you can completely modify it with the application for the themes.
As with Flyme, we still do not find the application drawer, which is arranged in home screens and can be organized in folders. The MIUI dock can hold up to 5 icons, so you keep the most used applications ever-sighted.
Notifications tend to have a transparent background, and with a right swipe you will have access to customizable quick toggles, a bar to adjust the brightness and controls to control music playback.
The MIUI V6, just like the 5 version, allows you to set the keys of your smartphone to perform various actions. For example, you can set the menu key so that with a quick tap, show the multitasking screen.
The action of holding down the home key can be set to use Google Now vocal search, even if you are talking to Chinese speaking users with the Xiaomi voice server. Some gestures for the unlock screen are also available from the keystrokes. There are no unlocking options, but you can choose to hold down the key back to access the camera (reachable by default with a swipe to the right in the lock screen).
The settings interface has been redesigned to look cleaner and 'lighter'. The white background and brightly colored icons make settings easier to reach and find. Even users who have been using MIUI for the longest time will have no problem moving around this new interface. Among the settings we also find the possibility to choose one of the two supported languages, English and Chinese (Italian is supported by the Italian MIUI community). The calendar has also received a rather nice graphic update.
Speaking of system applications, the MIUI weather application has been redesigned and now provides support to cities outside China, good news for international users, as it is one of the best weather applications available (to our opinion).
The photographic application has also been redesigned, and is now dangerously similar to iOS 7. As in the Flyme, even in this app you can swipe to the right, but in this case you will have access to the various filters while the rest is available in the settings window.
MIUI V6 is a very nice ROM, but some users will be removed from similarities with iOS. The ROM itself is very functional and features really interesting features, and even though official languages are just two, the MIUI community quickly releases various translations.
As mentioned earlier, the MIUI V6 is currently only available for developers, while the MIUI V5 is available for hundreds of smartphones from various manufacturers, which we expect will also happen for the V6.
IUNI OS
IUNI OS is the youngest ROM among the three considerations in this article, and has been realized with a completely different approach to MIUI and Flyme. Instead of adding more features to your ROM, IUNI has decided to make the IUNI OS a ROM with no bloatware software (unnecessary preinstalled software) and very light. This means features and features are minimized, but also that the system runs extremely well.
The simplicity of the ROM and its graphic interface has allowed IUNI OS to be already officially available also for 11 Chinese smartphones not produced by IUNI, like all versions of the Xiaomi Mi3, the Oppo Find 7a, the OnePlus One and others.
For less experienced users, the IUNI OS is a fresh air vent, as the limited number of functions translates into a much easier navigation between menus and settings. Lack of functionality also means that we can expect many updates with new features while development continues.
Again, the user interface has a 'flat' design, with a choice of colors in the middle of those of the MIUI and those of Flyme. There is no application drawer in the IUNI OS, while the dock can hold up to 4 icons and applications can be organized into folders.
On the home screen, you can swipe to the bottom of the screen to make the background notification notch transparent, and with a bottom-up swipe you will have access to the shortcut panel, the bar for adjusting brightness and task manager.
Keeping the interface as simple as possible gave IUNI the possibility of inserting small touches of class, which are missing in both MIUI and Flyme. The animations of the IUNI OS are also fast and beautiful to see, and give the ROM a unique appearance. The animated clock icon is really beautiful, as is the image of the unlock screen that changes randomly.
IUNI OS does not have options for 'smart unlock', but you can unlock the smartphone with the classic power button, and with a swipe to the right you can directly open the photo application. Just the camera app is the simplest to use among the three in the ROMs in question, and offers only sound options, HDR, night mode, panoramic pictures, and recording. According to what we've found so far, it's not even possible to change the resolution of photos or videos.
The IUNI OS is a really great ROM that will attract all users who simply want everything to work without confusion. For more experienced Android users, the lack of features and customizations may be a disadvantage.
Flyme 4.0 vs. MIUI V6 vs. IUNI OS
So, three different ROMs for three different manufacturers. Which of these would you like to try? What features do you think are missing? And which other ROMs from Chinese manufacturers would you like to know more about? Let us know via the comments below.
The post Flyme 4.0 vs MIUI V6 vs. IUNI OS - A look at three of the best Chinese ROMs Appeared first on GizChina.it.
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