These older Android phones just got a fantastic free software upgrade

At an event in Barcelona yesterday, Xiaomi launched their newest range of smartphones. The Xiaomi 13 and Xiaomi 13 Pro have received rave reviews so far, thanks to a fantastic camera system and a premium Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor.

It's enough to leave users of older devices feeling somewhat left out. But they're about to get a great software upgrade, too, in the form of MIUI 14. Xiaomi's take on Android 13, MIUI 14 is simply brilliant, with a familiar appearance coating a whole host of new software features.

Users will now get widgets for health data and smart folders which automatically increase the size of your most commonly used apps. Plus, optimisations have been made to the storage on MIUI 14, allowing users to make better use of all the storage space available to them. Required space for system software has been decreased, and rarely used apps have their data compressed to minimise the space they take up.

These benefits will come out of the box on new models, but aren't confined to only those models. Users of older Xiaomi handsets will also be able to get the update, bringing the benefit to a much wider group of users. Handsets from as far back as the Redmi Note 10 Pro will get the update, as well as more recent releases like the Xiaomi 12 and the Xiaomi 12 Pro.

It's a great upgrade for users of older Xiaomi handsets. The new 13 series is certain to be in the conversation for best Android phone this year, and, while older handsets can't match hardware prowess like the Leica camera system, they can benefit from the software improvements.

Regardless of what you desire in a smartphone, extra layers of security and usability are always welcome. That's exactly what users can enjoy with this update.