Following the customary period of leaks and teasers, Xiaomi finally lifted the covers off its latest flagship Mi 11 earlier today. With the brand new Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 SoC, a smooth 120Hz AMOLED display, 55W wired/50W wireless charging support, improved cameras, MIUI 12.5 skin on top of Android 11, and an attractive starting price, the device should face no issue convincing potential buyers. However, it's not just the aggressive pricing strategy that makes Xiaomi so popular among enthusiasts. Part of the appeal also comes from the company’s dev-friendly nature. Speaking of which, Xiaomi has already posted the kernel sources for the Mi 11 (code-name "venus") on its official GitHub page.
The kernel source release has a lot of potential that developers would surely be able to make use of. For those of you who are a fan of vanilla AOSP experience rather than the MIUI skin on the Mi 11, then you will be happy to know that the kernel source will allow developers to bring TWRP to the device and open it up to custom ROMs such as LineageOS. If you're planning on purchasing the Mi 11 and are interested in pushing the device to its limits, you should head over to our Mi 11 forums from the link above and keep a tab on the third-party development for the device.
In case you are in the mood for compiling a kernel for a new, top-of-the-line device even though you don’t have it in front of you, head on over to Xiaomi’s GitHub repository and access the source code. Obviously, you won’t be able to test out the source right now, but it can provide a good indication of what the Chinese OEM has planned for a device that is slated to be the big one for Xiaomi in 2021.