As Xiaomi enters India with Mi 3, it's important to understand what it brings to a market which is dominated by Samsung, Nokia and Micromax. When it come to hardware, the Mi 3 is a clear winner. Top of the line hardware at one-third the cost of a Samsung S5 is a no brainer. But what's really going to make it successful is the software it carries. MiUi V5, while inspired, is a clear winner; using the best of iOS and stock Android. It has something for both the Average Users and the Power Users. For more details, check: IdeasMaverick Blog - http://www.ideasmaverick.com

1. Xiaomi Mi 3
The ‘Maverick Detail’ Review

3. Lock Screen :|
‣ Shortcuts to the most used features:
Call, Messaging and Camera!
‣ Double Tap on the centre, reveals the
next screen

4. Music Player :)
‣ Double Tap on the Lock Screen to
access Music Player!
‣ Simple controls for Play/Pause,
Previous and Next

5. Home Screen :)
‣ Looks like a combination of iOS 6
(icons/folders) and Android (search
bar)!
‣ Unlike in most Android devices, and
like in iOS, there isn’t a back layer of
apps. All installed apps are on the home
screens. There’s no system of shortcuts. !
‣ I like this way better [Personal Opinion]

6. Folders :)
‣ Folders have a similar look to iOS!
‣ You can add both apps and web page
shortcuts to folders!
‣ The ‘full screen’ blur effect is far
better than iOS 7’s boxed effect
[Personal Opinion]

7. PageTransitions :)
‣ You can change the ‘effect’ on page
transitions of the home screen!
‣ Screen shot shows the ‘Tumble’
effect, which gives the transitions a
View Master feel!
‣ Page transitions on both iOS and
Android are a basic slide, making it
quite predictably boring

8. Contacts :|
‣ Searchable!
‣ Scrub-able with alphabets on the
right!
‣ Maverick Detail: Shows the total
contacts on the search bar and not
towards the end of the directory (iOS
stupidly does this to date)

9. Contact Detail :)
‣ Shows call log!
‣ Maverick Detail: Shows call specific
details. Interestingly, shows the
number of times the phone rang
before the caller disconnected.

10. Edit Contacts :|
‣ Simple 5 field reveal-able form, as
opposed to a uselessly exhaustive
iOS or Android Contact details form

11. Calling Pad :)
‣ Basic Features: Speakerphone, Dial
Pad, Additional Features Drop Out!
‣ Additional Features: As seen on first
two rows on the screenshot!
‣ Maverick Detail: Record.
That’s right, you can now record
conversations. Expect more Comcast
Customer Service like recordings to
surface!

12. Call Settings :)
‣ Maverick Detail: Record all calls or create
a custom list!
‣ What’s awesome is that it compresses these
calls in MP3 format and uses up just 1KB/
second. So an hours’ worth of recording is
just 3.6 MB. Basically, a user can record all
their calls without utilising much space.!
‣ Expect more more ‘viral’ call recordings to
flood Social Media, and well, more
lawsuits

13. Camera :(
‣ When compared to S5 or iPhone, this
is the only part that’s a little
disappointing!
‣ Features like anyone else, with
nothing exceptional to write about,
except when you switch to the front
camera…

14. Selfie Camera :|
‣ Maverick Detail: Predicts the gender
quite accurately, but not much can be
said about age. Clearly I’m not 28 :)!
‣ Just a nice little fun feature

15. Notifications :|
‣ Simple notifications and system
toggles, are side by side!
‣ As in any Android, Notifications can
be removed with a swipe!
‣ System toggles can be customised
based on what you most use, making
it quite handy

16. Home Screen Edit :|
‣ Moving Apps has never been easier. I
would suggest using this any day
instead of iOS’s lame hold, move and
drop!
‣ Quick access to Widgets, Wallpaper
and Page Transitions Effects as well!
‣ You can move page positions (like in
most Android devices and unlike on
iOS devices)

18. Power Panel :|
‣ Long press of the Power button gives
you quick access to the most basic
deice features!
‣ The one thing I still miss, is a simple
physical switch to toggle between
Silent and Ringer modes. I suspect
Apple’s patented this :(

19. Themes :)
‣ The Killer Feature, where Xiaomi sets
itself apart, enters the big league and
kicks some serious a$$!
‣ Choose from a wide array of stable,
fully-integrated themes!
‣ Maverick Detail: The level of detail
in any of the themes you select will
be astounding

20. Calendar :)
‣ Clean elegant look and feel!
‣ Love this more than I love the
calendar on my iOS or stock Android
OS

21. Clock :)
‣ The attention to detail on this one is
fabulous!
‣ Maverick Detail: When on the
selection, the device has a slight
vibrate for every second of the
ticking. Bring it close to your ears
and you’ll discover the whirring and
tick tock of old table clocks.

22. Alarm :|
‣ Under the Clock app!
‣ No jazz, Simple and elegant.!
‣ Loud alarm, with a ‘tap to snooze’
and ‘slide to silence’ options

24. Weather :)
‣ Graphical movement represents the
weather in your area!
‣ Maverick Detail: Area level detail
(where available, AccuWeather) and
not a generic city-level detail!
‣ Love the look and feel of the
expected forecast

25. Compass :)
‣ Maverick Detail: It’s important to
note that MiUi follows an elegant
combination of Skeuomorphic and
Flat design principles!
‣ Shows, Lat, Long, Altitude and
Atmospheric Pressure

26. Radio :)
‣ Maverick Detail: At first glance,
you’ll think this is a Dieter Rams
radio, but then you’ll realise it’s not!
‣ While MiUi has definitely been
inspired by Apple, Apple’s
Skeuomorphic design was in turn
inspired by Braun’s Dieter Rams

27. Transfer :|
‣ Device to device transfer is easy!
‣ Maverick Detail: Device pairing is
done using ‘audio’, making the
process simpler and faster!
‣ Look and Feel is definitely inspired

28. Memory Management :)
‣ Simple icon based purge!
‣ Way better than multi-screen
scrolling as in the case of iOS!
‣ Maverick Detail: Tap on the brush to
purge all apps and clear memory

29. Security Management :)
‣ Maverick Detail: Visualisations are
fantastic!
‣ Each section provides a detailed
understanding of what’s under the
hood!
‣ Allows users to change settings in
order to manually better optimise
their systems (essentially just for
power users)

30. Data Management :)
‣ With data transfer on mobile devices
having limitations, it’s important to manage
your data!
‣ Maverick Detail: Personally love the
depleting water level visual that shows
how much data has been used and how
much is left!
‣ Manage data transfer app wise after getting
to understand which apps use the most
data. WLAN stands for data over WiFi.

31. Power Management :)
‣ Maverick Detail: Provides you with
both App level and Hardware level
details of power usage!
‣ Unsurprisingly, it’s Screen, WiFi and
Mobile Standby that use the most
power (here in Singapore, we don’t
make too many calls from our
mobile)

32. Drive Management :|
‣ Simple interface which shows what
kind of media is using up the most
space!
‣ Not too impressed with the interface,
but it does make it easy for users to
access categories and remove files if
and when needed