Bad news for Xiaomi fans? HyperOS 4's best new feature might not work for you at all

The HyperOS 4 redesign is clearly riding the wave started by Apple some time ago – we last wrote about the “glassy” transparent look, known from Apple as Liquid Glass, in connection with Xiaomi’s upcoming overlay during the leak of the first real photo. Now, however, a detail has emerged from the code that may disappoint many owners: the most appealing visual effect might only be available on the most powerful phones.

Cheaper phones might miss out

According to XimiTime, which reported the findings, the leaked source code of the overlay specifies which chipset platforms will receive advanced glass effects. Currently, only Snapdragon 8 Elite and newer, Xiaomi’s own XRING O1 and O3 chips, and MediaTek Dimensity 9500 and higher are fully on the list. If this concern indeed materializes, you might not get the most interesting new feature of the overlay with a cheaper phone.

This doesn’t necessarily mean that older phones will miss out entirely. On unsupported hardware, the manufacturer might implement a simplified version with fewer real-time calculated effects.

Why would a glass design require such performance?

The limitation aligns with earlier leaks. Leaker Digital Chat Station previously described that HyperOS 4 is based on real-time light field rendering, glass materials, and AI-powered color blending. This is significantly more demanding than the static background blur that the overlay uses today – the system must continuously recalculate colors, transparency, and light behavior based on how you navigate the interface.

Moreover, according to other leaked images, transparent areas will not be limited to just menus. Widgets, icons, and the so-called device center, where connected products are displayed in semi-transparent cards adopting color from the wallpaper, are also expected to get a glassy touch. The more such elements are rendered simultaneously, the more work the graphics chip performs.

Would it bother you if HyperOS 4 arrived on your phone without the full Liquid Glass effect?

Source: XimiTime