How to use Sky filter on Xiaomi phones

Xiaomi recently started rolling out its latest iteration of MIUI – MIUI 11. Built primarily for its phones under the Mi, Redmi, and Poco branding, the newest version of MIUI brings a ton of changes including an Always-on display, system-wide dark mode, Dynamic Clock and more. Like any other major update, MIUI 11 also came with a handful of issues.

Sky Filter on MIUI 11

Of all the new changes to the UI, one thing went unnoticed. There’s a new feature inside the default Gallery app on Xiaomi phones. This feature allows you to modify pictures with skies with new sky patterns and color tones. The new Sky filter appears to be present on Poco F1 units for now and you could soon find this on your Mi or Redmi smartphone. We tested the Sky Filter on our Poco F1 and here’s an example:

Left: Original Picture; Right: With Sky filter – ‘Dusk’

The changes between both the pictures are outright different. The Sky Filter on MIUI 11 completely clears out the clouds from the original image and adds hues of blue and red to the sky while applying a dark tone to the building on the front. The filter changes the patterns in the sky accordingly when selecting a different setting.

How sky filter works

There’s a chance that Xiaomi’s Sky Filter works on a similar principle as that of the Moon mode on Huawei P30 Pro. The AI algorithm implemented is recognizing and optimizing details within an image over different scenarios. It’s also worth noting that even with the application of AI, the modified picture retains minute details including objects like towers and hills and applies the filter accordingly, making the resulting picture look as real as possible.

How to use Sky filter on Xiaomi phones

Ensure that your Xiaomi device is running on MIUI 11. You can download the MIUI 11 update here for your smartphone.
Open the Gallery app from the home screen or the app launcher.
Select the picture you want to edit and open it in full screen.
From there, click on the Edit tile (second from the left) at the bottom.
A new set of tools will pop up and now you tap on the Filter tool.
- Inside this page, you’ll see a total of five categories of filters including Landscape, portrait, food, Film, and Sky.
Click on Sky and you’ll be greeted with six different filters – Sunny, Cloudy, Rainbow, Glow, Dusk, and Sunset.
- If the filters don’t load up, click on the download icon adjacent to it.
- The new filters will load up automatically when download is complete.
Select the filter of your choice.
Now click on the filter thumbnail again to adjust the intensity of the filter.
- For the filter to replace the sky in the original picture, drag it to 100.
- You can mix and match depending on your preference.
When your image is ready, click on the tick mark on the bottom right.
In the next page, tap on Save.

That’s it! You can now experiment the Sky filter on all your photos of the sky and see it for yourself.

Note:

This is an MIUI 11 feature and will work on your Xiaomi phone only after you’re done installing the MIUI 11 update. If you don’t see the Sky filter on your phone, wait till you get the latest MIUI update on your device.