HyperOS 3 update reportedly hurts game emulation performance on some Xiaomi devices

The HyperOS 3 update promises a handful of improvements over its predecessor. Among the highlights are a lighter operating system, better system responsiveness, and enhanced performance. Xiaomi also seems to be doing a good job when it comes to rolling it out to compatible devices. So far, many phones and tablets have already received the Android 16 update.

However, it seems that HyperOS 3 might not be a good pick for those who are into emulated games. As reported by a user on r/EmulationOnAndroid, the emulation performance degraded after the Android 16 update. The device under the spotlight is a Xiaomi Pad 6S Pro, and per the shared video, it seems that there are flicker issues.

That specific user doesn't seem to be the only one who is facing issues while trying to emulate games after upgrading to HyperOS 3 (emulation-friendly 8Bitdo mobile controller curr. $39.99 on Amazon). Others have chimed in, and they have also reportedly faced degraded emulation performance after updating. One thing to note here is that they are using a different set of devices.

Of course, some noted that they are playing emulated games without any problems after the update. That suggests the issues might be affecting specific Xiaomi devices. A potential solution could be the Turnip v25.3.0 - Revision 5 driver. This custom GPU driver can seemingly fix stuttering and other emulation performance issues on Xiaomi devices that are on HyperOS 3.

But then again, Turnip drivers are not available for devices that are powered by the Snapdragon 8 Elite or newer flagship SoCs. This is something to consider before upgrading to HyperOS 3.