By Duy Nguyen
Android 12 recently reached Beta 4.1 as a bug fix release over the Beta 4 release that finalized the platform APIs and app facing behaviors. This year, OEMs did join the party, but we saw their presence only around the initial release through unskinnned, vanilla Android builds, with most choosing to not release further builds based off the Android 12 Beta.
As we inch closer to the public release of Android 12, we’re now seeing OEMs test out their skinned releases of Android 12. Xiaomi is rejoining the Android 12 party, this time with MIUI 12 in tow, as it tests its first MIUI 12 beta with Android 12 for the Mi 11.
Xiaomi has now released MIUI 12 beta (China only) with Android 12 as the base for the Mi 11. Remember that this is a closed beta build targeting the Chinese variants of the Mi 11, so you won’t find Google Play Services or any pre-installed Google apps inside them. Compared to the Android 11-based MIUI 12/MIUI 12.5 builds, some features might be incomplete or missing altogether in this Android 12-based build. Lastly, the language options are very likely limited to Chinese and English only.
Warning: The builds linked below are strictly meant for developers only. They are likely to be very unstable for daily usage scenarios. Users are advised to exercise caution before flashing. Xiaomi has also not yet detailed any rollback procedures to downgrade.The update packages are regular recovery flashable ZIP files, but an authorized Mi Account for Beta testers is still required to sideload them. The restriction can theoretically be bypassed by flashing via TWRP. Transitioning from one major Android version to another is an utterly complex process, so it is highly recommended that you back up your data before proceeding.
Download MIUI 12 beta (China) based on Android 12 for the Mi 11 (venus)
It’s not yet clear if other devices in the Mi 11 family will also receive these Android 12-based builds in the coming days. The unskinned Android 12 Beta was made available to the Mi 11 Ultra (star), and the Mi 11i/Mi 11X Pro/Redmi K40 Pro (haydn), so we’re hoping for builds for those to show up too. As is the case with Xiaomi smartphones, the base version of Android does not matter as much as the top version of MIUI, so users are unlikely to see any noticeable changes right away. We’ll test the build soon and bring out the features.
Thanks to XDA Members @kacskrz and @yshalsager for the download link!
