Pie update roadmap for Xiaomi devices surfaces

Xiaomi has a reputation for slow OS updates. The company is great with weekly, stable MIUI updates and patches but major OS updates are an entirely different matter for the second-largest Chinese smartphone brand. This year, though, it would appear that things may take a turn for the better, as a new leak detailing Xiaomi’s Android Pie roadmap surfaced earlier.

According to the leak, the Mi Mix 2, Mi 8 SE, Mi 8, Mi 8 Explorer, Mi 8 Pro, and Poco F1 are all set to receive the updates to Pie before the end of the year, with a Q4 2018 rollout being specified. The Mi 8 SE has already been seen running on Pie on Geekbench, so this leak appears to have some substance to it.

The Mi 8 Lite, last-gen Mi 6 flagship, Mi Max 3, Redmi Note 5, and Redmi Note 6 Pro, Mi Pad 4, and Mi Pad 4 Plus are all billed for a Q1 2019 rollout. Rather unfortunately, the Mi A1, Mi A2, and Mi A2 Lite are apparently also scheduled for a Q1 2019 rollout. Those three devices are all Android One phones, and one would expect them to get faster updates than the regular Xiaomi phones running on MIUI. That is not the case here, however.

Current-gen budget phones like the Redmi S2, Redmi 6, Redmi 6 Pro, and Redmi 6A are penned in for a Q2 2019 rollout, while older devices like the Mi Note 3 and Mi Max 2 will have to wait till Q3 2019. The last two devices on the list don’t make any sense, we’d say, with the Mi Note 3, in particular, being a sub-premium phone when it was launched just about a year ago. Having it at the bottom of the priority looks a tad ill-considered.

Devices like the Redmi 5 Plus, Mi Max, Mi Mix, and Redmi Note 4 will not be receiving any major updates, although patches will continue.