Xiaomi is testing Android 7.0 Nougat-based MIUI 9 on the Mi 5, Mi 4c, Mi 4s and Mi Note smartphones

Android 7.0 Nougat will be coming to Xiaomi devices in the near future. Beta testing of Android 7.0-based MIUI 9 is already underway for certain handsets.

These details were leaked by the Weibo account of Xiaomi’s MIUI Operations Manager, reports PhoneArena. Various screenshots and posts on the account suggest that MIUI 9 beta testing is underway on the Xiaomi Mi 5, Mi 4c, Mi 4s and Mi Note. Apparently, these will be among the first devices to receive the update.

There’s no word on MIUI 9 coming to newer devices like the Redmi Note 3, but these devices are sure to get the update around the same time as the older ones.

While it is nice to hear that Xiaomi is bringing Android 7.0 to their smartphones, it’s worrying to hear that the company’s first tests are being conducted on its older devices.

We’ve always been happy with Xiaomi’s devices but the company is notorious for stripping out modern, useful Android features (like tweaks to notifications, Google Now functionality and app permissions) to accommodate older devices.

Considering the number of features that were stripped out in the Android 6.0-based MIUI 8, we were left with an experience that was more akin to Android 4.4 than Android 6.0.

Hopefully, Xiaomi is seeing sense this time around.