Xiaomi‘s upcoming HyperOS 3 software platform will receive quite a lot of innovations from the new Android 16 operating system (details), but there is still very little information on thematic icons.
Themed Icons were originally part of the idea of Material You and appeared back in Android 12, but at that time this feature was very primitive, and the list of supported application icons was severely limited.
This made it much less flexible and functional than if it really supported a wide range of icons. It was even labeled as a “beta version” because it was more of a proof of concept than an actual system feature.
But then Android 13 came along and provided a proper API for themed icons, which finally allowed developers to make their app icons compatible with system-wide themes, although the feature remained in beta in the settings.
However, with the release of Android 16, the “beta” label is no longer applied to the Theme Icons toggle in the Wallpapers and Styles section. This may be a very minor change, but it is quite an important milestone for that function.
What does this mean for the future Xiaomi HyperOS?
Xiaomi, Redmi, and Poco devices running on HyperOS 2 have already adopted many features from Android, such as dynamic themes and customizable user interface components, but the theme icon feature has not yet been implemented in the Xiaomi ecosystem.
Now that Google has stabilized this feature, its integration into HyperOS is highly likely. It is possible that themed icons will appear in later builds of HyperOS 2.2 on Android 16 for compatible Xiaomi, Redmi and Poco devices, but they will most likely appear in HyperOS 3.
What are HyperOS themed icons for?
Unified aesthetic experience: Themed icons allow application icons to change color according to system-wide color schemes for a harmonious and beautiful interface. This will help complete the look and feel of HyperOS for Xiaomi, Redmi, and Poco users who value consistency in design.
More Customization: Xiaomi has been pushing personalization for a long time, allowing users to customize themes, font types, wallpapers, and the look of lock screens, and themed icons would add another aspect of the same, fitting perfectly into Xiaomi’s approach.
Android Standards Compliance: With the help of themed icons, Xiaomi ensures that HyperOS remains competitive and conforms to Android design standards to provide users with the best of both worlds – Google innovation and Xiaomi optimization.
