MIUI 12, the latest version of Xiaomi's custom Android interface, improves greatly upon the functionality and the visual features as compared to MIUI 11. Xiaomi has already started rolling out the stable MIUI 12 update to a slew of devices globally. In the meantime, the MIUI development team is testing a lot of new features in beta builds like the Sound assistant and a partial screenshot editor. The latest improvement being tested in MIUI 12 is a new Reading mode which will add a paper-like texture to the display to help cut down eye strain further as compared to regular night mode.

In the code of MIUI 12 China beta ROM from June 30th (version 20.6.30), Polish blog MIUI Polska – run by XDA Senior Member and frequent Xiaomi tipster kacskrz – found underlying references to the upcoming "Paper" option in Reading mode settings. As per the strings that refer to the Paper mode, the display will get a coarse paper-like texture to all the elements on display that will make it look like a (faux) e-paper display.

The feature isn't working as of now but the fact that it is available in MIUI 12 beta's code indicates Xiaomi might add the functionality in the near future.

Additionally, the improved Reading mode gets also gets new settings to adjust the temperature of the display's colors. Along with this, MIUI 12 also adds the ability to choose among three different options –

  • Full colors – without any reduction in color saturation apart from the regular yellow overlay in Reading mode
  • Light colors – faded colors similar to the "Chromatic" reading mode in OxygenOS introduced with the OnePlus 7T
  • Black & White – as the name suggests

MIUI Polska remarks that since these features have not been activated by Xiaomi yet, it is difficult to ascertain which smartphones are they intended for. A reverse-engineered version of the ROM was tested for a wide range of Redmi and Mi branded devices but these features weren't active for any of those. We hope to learn more about the supported devices when Xiaomi flips the switch itself.