MIUI to cut intrusive ads says Xiaomi CEO

While known for their hardware devices, Xiaomi actually relies heavily on its internet services to stay afloat. According to the company’s 2018 financial report, internet services racked in CNY 16 billion ($2.38 billion) with CNY 10.1 billion coming from ad revenue.

While Xiaomi users have complained on numerous occasions about intrusive ads across MIUI, its apparent that ads are important for the company's bottom line. The company is likely to stick to this model, but CEO Lei Jun promises Xiaomi will make changes to ad placement.

Xiaomi’s CEO has reportedly been in talks with the MIUI team to improve user experience, including dialing down on intrusive and inappropriate ads. In a Weibo post, Lei Jun detailed some of the new key features coming to MIUI. Users can expect call recording in the QQ social media app, local recycle bin for recently deleted photos, magnifying glass, and ultra-low-power mode.

While displaying ads will certainly remain a part of Xiaomi’s business strategy, this is a solid move to help improve user experience. We can expect the new features and toned down ads in the upcoming MIUI 11.

Source (in Chinese)