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Yeah but does all this stick after the next major OS update?

THat's why I avoid all these top bang for the buck Chinese phones with amazing HW. Fighting the bloatware and spyware is too much hassle.

> THat's why I avoid all these top bang for the buck Chinese phones with amazing HW

I mean Apple and MacOS is not much different. Can you i.e. delete Apple Stocks application without disabling SIP?

I hate that this is still a reality in 2026.
the trick I use is that `adb disable-user` still works without root and it works on anything, including even the most privileged system-level apps. some phones detect this and actually brick themselves (looking at you Samsung Knox), but a lot of phones don't notice at all.

Downside of course is that if you use multiple users, you'll have to repeat it for each user.

Are the pics that good?
If you don't like the Xiaomi experience, don't buy a Xiaomi phone. Xiaomi ships an intentional set of features and apps that deliver what they believe is a best-in-class smartphone experience.
If you bought the device, then you have the right to do what you want with the device (modify, tweak, repair).
It says they're freezing at Android 16 because Android 17 has more tracking and that kind of stuff, but then they go on to recommend Nova Launcher which sold out and has ads and who knows what else?
Nova version 8.1 no ads at all, way better than native junk
They should probably explain that, though, since right now they've simply got a link to the website that's hawking the current version.
as Nova Launcher user for more than 10 years I can recommend Lawnchair Launcher, no issues with switching or missing features

https://lawnchair.app

there is no point recommending Nova Launcher for years, it is like recommending QuickPic...

Xiaomi openly violates GPL too. If you email them for source code they won't provide it and if you press it they will just say haha sue us, or ghost you.
Something pretty crazy is that, in its early days, Xiaomi gained traction as a smartphone manufacturer because its devices offered incredible hardware for the price. At the same time, Xiaomi provided its own Android skin with virtually zero bloatware, while giving users an insane level of customization to make the experience fit their needs perfectly.

But that was before, now they pack more bloatware than samsung devices.

that's just not truth, MIUI was always bloated, but Xiaomi had great VFM + unlockable bootloader so nobody cared, nowadays is very difficult to unlock the bootloader, though you can achieve similar result with Shizuku and other tools which take advantage of Shizuku, the VFM ain't that good anymore, same goes for now discontinued OnePlus
Wrong in the first one I got, maybe something like note 3 pro and so, there was absolutely no useless preloaded or ad apps
redmi note 3 pro ain't xiaomi though, but redmi, I still have one, though physical buttons are gone

but anyway I though you are talking about different bloat, like system bloated with features and Xiaomi apps, if we talk about preinstalled apps in general then yes, there are more of them, but same goes even for "clean" Pixel ROMs, all phones have in general way more apps than they used to

as for the apps, honestly never seen an app in Xiaomi system, just disable bunch of options in settings and you are good, doesnt require much hacking, just regular user available settings

if you dont like useless apps, especially the ones from Xiaomi, you can disable them through Shizuku + Canta, though need to be careful, some can cause bootloop, so always read description

Wasn't Redmi a brand of Xiaomi since the beginning?
I was just clarifying distinction between brands since they can have a litle bit different approach to preinstalled apps and ads, the chaper the model the more lieky to have ads and preinstalled apps, though in times of RN3 Pro they were pretty much same, the MIUI was already bloated back then which was actually bigger problem than nowadays since HW was weaker than now, when the bloated system doesn't matter that much, but yeayh, in that times there were less 3rd party apps preinstalled, but already at that time I used Lineage or other custom ROM to replace bloated MIUI
the whole article is unreadable, so I will write here my whole article with same content in headline:

"How to debloat your Xiaomi phone: Install Shizuku + Canta and read Canta descriptions"

that's all, much shorter and better readable than that horrible website