Xiaomi HyperOS 3 announced: Check out what’s new and eligible devices

Xiaomi has announced HyperOS 3 in China and it arrives riding Android 16 with a stack of visual updates, tighter device pairing, and deeper Super Xiao AI. Let’s check out its features and when it will actually land in India.

Super Island, dynamic wallpapers, and closer ties to Mac

The headline feature is Super Island which looks and behaves a lot like Apple’s Dynamic Island. It perches at the top of the display and expands into mini widgets that show live flight updates, music controls, timers, navigation, and messages.

The rest of the UI also gets a noticeable facelift. Icons and the status bar borrow heavily from iOS 18 design language and homescreen grids are now adjustable. Lock screens gain one tap editing, cinematic effects, and AI wallpapers that add depth to people and pets.

The control centre moves toward rounded toggles and a more familiar layout that will feel instantly recognisable to iPhones users.

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Xiaomi is also pushing Super Xiao AI deeper into system tasks for on screen content recognition, smarter suggestions and camera tricks. Leica branded phones get extra colour and editing modes. The Photos app has been reworked with custom sorting and a paste feature that lets users move images between albums and even between Xiaomi phones and iPhones.

Yes, cross-device functionality with Apple devices, particularly Macs, appears to be a big focus with the new update. You’ll be able to sync notifications with your Mac, run mobile apps on it, and even use its Touch and Face ID to unlock your Xiaomi phone.

Behind the polish, Xiaomi points to HyperCore optimisations that reduce CPU load and improve energy efficiency while claiming an 18.9 per cent drop in frame loss for window animations.

All in all, the update reads more like careful refinement than a dramatic reinvention. Beta builds start on August 19 in China for the Xiaomi 15 family, Redmi K80 series, and select tablets with a stable rollout planned for Q4 2025 in China.

There’s no hint of a global rollout as of yet. But going by HyperOS 2, expect the update to start landing for the Xiaomi 15 series either in late 2024 or early 2025. Stable should roll out not long after. It’s also highly likely that many of the previewed features will not make it globally, again going by previous releases.