Xiaomi has launched its flagship smartphones — the Mi 9T and the Mi 9T Pro — as the Redmi K20 and Redmi K20 Pro in India and other neighboring markets. In Europe though where the Mi branding is more popular, the company has launched these phones as the Mi 9T and the Mi 9T Pro. Irrespective of their names though, they are all the same and we have got some great tips and tricks to help you get the most from these phones.
The below tips and tricks will help you know about the little yet useful features on your Redmi K20/Pro or Mi 9T/Pro. They will also help you discover some relatively useful options that are buried deep in the settings menu. Check out the best tips and tricks for the Redmi K20/Pro and Mi 9T/Pro series below.
Best Redmi K20 Pro and Mi 9T Pro Tips and Tricks
1. Camera Shortcut
Despite coming with an impressive rear camera setup, Xiaomi does not offer any kind of shortcut to quickly open the Camera app on the Redmi K20/Pro or the Mi 9T/Pro. There is a camera shortcut on the lock screen but it is not as fast as say double-pressing the power button — a quick launch camera shortcut that’s available on almost every Android device.
MIUI 10 does indeed come with a shortcut to quickly launch the camera app even when the phone is sleeping. The feature is disabled by default though for some reason. Head over to Settings -> Lock screen & password and enable the Launch Camera toggle. You can now quickly launch the camera app on your Redmi K20 or Mi 9/T by simply pressing the Volume down button twice.
The only catch with this shortcut is that it works from the lock screen or when your device is sleeping. It will not work when you are using your Redmi K20/Pro or Mi 9T/Pro which is a bit of a bummer.
2. Customize Always On Display
One of the good things about the Redmi K20 and Mi 9T series is that they come with Always On Display. What’s even better is that this mode can be customized to a great extent. While you cannot control the notification icons being displayed in Always On Display mode, you can at least change the design of the clock. You can also set a schedule for the Always On Display to follow.
You can find all the customization options of Always On Display under Settings -> Display -> Ambient Display.
3. Disable Lock Screen Ads
Most budget and flagship devices have started showing stories on the lock screen which they think would be relevant to the user. Additionally, they also change the lock screen wallpaper every time you unlock your phone. This feature is also found in MIUI 10 on the Redmi K20 and Mi 9T series, with Xiaomi calling it Wallpaper Carousel.
I am not a big fan of this feature as I prefer a clean lock screen with a wallpaper of my own choice. If you are in the same boat as me, you can disable Wallpaper Carousel on your Redmi K20 /Pro or Mi 9T/Pro by going to Settings -> Lock screen & password -> Wallpaper Carousel.
In case you like this feature, you will also find options to customize it from here.
4. Dark Mode
Want to take full advantage of the Redmi K20 or Mi 9T’s AMOLED display? Switch to Dark mode. Xiaomi includes a system-wide Dark mode in MIUI 10 on these devices and it looks stunning on their beautiful AMOLED displays. What’s even better is that using Dark mode will help reduce power consumption thereby increasing the battery life of your K20 or Mi 9T.
Enable Dark mode from Settings -> Display -> Dark mode.
5. Raise to Wake
A useful option that’s disabled by default on the Redmi K20 and Mi 9T is Raise to Wake. As the name suggests, the feature would automatically wake your phone’s display whenever you pick it up. This will allow you to check up on your unread notifications and unlock the device in one swift move instead of fiddling with the power button.
6. Screenshot Gesture
Quickly take a screenshot on your Mi 9T or Redmi K20 by swiping down on the display with three fingers. While the good old method of pressing and holding the Volume Down and Power buttons are also present, this gesture offers a more convenient way to take screenshots.
This gesture is enabled out of the box but in case it is not working for you, ensure that it is enabled from Settings -> Additional Settings -> Gesture.
7. Full Screen Gestures
The Redmi K20 series and Mi 9T series ship with a navigation bar by default. But Xiaomi also offers navigation gestures as a part of MIUI 10. Xiaomi’s navigation gestures, dubbed Full Screen Gestures, can be enabled from Settings -> Full-screen display.
Xiaomi’s take on navigation gestures is better than what Google offers in Android 9.0 Pie. The former completely does away with the navigation bar at the bottom and replaces them with useful gestures.
8. Expandable Notifications
You can expand notifications on your Redmi K20 or Mi 9T by swiping down on them using a two-finger gesture. But did you know what you can expand notifications using a simple one-finger swipe down gesture as well? Yep. It is far more convenient to use compared to the two-finger gesture.
9. Use Second Space
Keep your personal and work profiles separate on your Redmi K20/Pro or Mi 9T/Pro by using the Second space feature in MIUI 10. The feature creates a ‘second’ space for your apps and Google accounts. This way, you can essentially have two different workspaces on the same phone for your personal and work needs.
Set up Second space from Settings -> Second space.
10. Customize Camera Pop-Up Effect
The Redmi K20 and Mi 9T series come with a pop-up selfie camera. The pop-up mechanism might not be the best in the market but it is still relatively good and should easily last a few years of use. Xiaomi has added a bit of bling to the pop-up camera mechanism by adding some nice sound and LED effects to it. The good thing is that these effects are customizable and in case you do not like them, there’s an option to disable them as well.
Go to Settings -> Additional Settings -> Front camera effects. You will find six different sound and light effects for the pop-up camera along with the option to individually turn the sound and visual effects off.
11. Dual Apps
The Redmi K20 series and Mi 9T series come with Dual Apps feature which allows one to run two copies of the same app on the phone that are completely independent of each other. This is a useful feature to have if you want to run two copies of WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, or any other app on the phone.
You can enable a ‘dual’ copy of any installed app on your Mi 9T or Redmi K20 from Settings -> Dual apps.
12. Quickly Access Google Assistant
If you use the navigation gestures on the Redmi K20 or Mi 9T series, accessing Google Assistant can become a task since you lose access to the long-press home button shortcut. Thankfully, there is another way to quickly access Google Assistant – a long press of the Power button. You will first have to enable this shortcut from Settings -> Additional Settings -> Button and gesture shortcuts.
