LineageOS 23 Feels Too Plain After MIUI: The Ultimate Guide to Minimalist Customization

Transitioning from a feature-rich, heavily skinned OEM operating system like Xiaomi’s MIUI to a custom AOSP-based ROM like LineageOS 23 often results in a jarring user experience. While MIUI bombards the user with visual flair, proprietary features, and aggressive theming engines, LineageOS adheres to the “stock Android” philosophy—prioritizing performance, stability, and privacy over visual extravagance. For users migrating from a Redmi Note 10 Pro or similar devices, the sudden absence of superimposed notifications, aggressive blur effects, and the MIUI control center can make the interface feel almost “unfinished.”

However, this perceived plainness is actually the greatest strength of LineageOS. It serves as a pristine canvas. The goal of the customization enthusiast is not to replicate the heavy resource usage of MIUI, but to enhance the visual hierarchy and functionality while maintaining the lightweight nature of AOSP. At Magisk Modules, we believe that true customization lies in strategic system-level modifications rather than installing cluttered launcher apps that merely mimic aesthetic changes. This comprehensive guide details how to transform the LineageOS 23 interface into a refined, personalized masterpiece without compromising performance or battery life.

Understanding the Aesthetic Shift: From MIUI to AOSP

Before applying customization layers, it is vital to understand the architectural differences between MIUI and LineageOS. MIUI relies on a heavy framework overlay that modifies system UI elements at the root level, often resulting in increased RAM usage and background processes. LineageOS, conversely, strips these layers back to the Android Open Source Project (AOSP) baseline.

The “plain” look of LineageOS 23 is defined by:

• Monochromatic System Icons: LineageOS uses a strictly utilitarian icon pack that prioritizes recognition over style.
• Vanilla Status Bar: The status bar lacks the dynamic island features or grouped notification shadows found in MIUI.
• Standard Quick Settings: The pull-down shade uses a grid layout without the blurred transparency or gradient backgrounds inherent to MIUI 14.
• Roboto Typography: System fonts are clean but standard, lacking the customized typefaces found on OEM skins.

To elevate this experience, we will modify these elements using root-based tools available in the Magisk Module Repository, ensuring that every change is modular and reversible.

System-Level Theming: The Substratum and Loud Approach

The most profound visual changes come from altering the SystemUI and Framework resources. While LineageOS has a native “Theming” section under settings, it is limited to accent colors and icon shapes. To achieve a look that rivals or surpasses the depth of MIUI, we must look toward overlay managers.

Using the Native LineageOS Theme Engine

For users who prefer to keep things strictly within the ROM’s boundaries, the built-in customization is the starting point.

• Accent Colors: Navigate to Settings > Style > Accent color. While the palette is limited compared to MIUI’s expanded palette, selecting a darker shade (like “Black” or “Dark Blue”) immediately reduces visual noise and saves battery on AMOLED screens.
• Icon Shape: Under Settings > Style > Icon shape, changing the standard squircle to a circle or teardrop can break the monotony of the stock launcher grid.

Advanced Overlays via Magisk

For deeper customization, we utilize the Loud (Runtime Resource Overlays) system, which operates at the system level without modifying the system partition.

• SystemUI Roundness: We can modify the radius of quick settings tiles and notification cards to match the softer curves of MIUI or the sharp edges of Pixel UI.
• Status Bar Icons: Replacing the standard Wi-Fi, signal, and battery icons with vector-based alternatives creates a cleaner header.

By using the Magisk Module Repository, we can install overlay modules that persist across updates, unlike the traditional Substratum method which requires re-compilation on every OTA update. This ensures that your LineageOS 23 retains a unique visual identity without the instability risks associated with Xposed Frameworks.

Revolutionizing the Lock Screen and Ambient Display

One of the biggest “downgrades” users feel when leaving MIUI is the lock screen. MIUI 14 offers rich clock styles, magazine arts, and dynamic wallpapers. LineageOS offers a functional, static lock screen. However, LineageOS 23 includes robust Ambient Display (AOD) features that can be leveraged for a premium feel.

Customizing Always-On Display (AOD)

LineageOS natively supports AOD, but the customization is sparse. To mimic the elegance of premium skins:

• Ambient Music Visualizer: Utilizing specific Magisk modules, we can enable audio-based visualizers on the lock screen, a feature notoriously missing from stock Android.
• Notification Pulses: Configuring Settings > Display > Ambient display > Pulse on notification allows for a breathing light effect on the edges of the screen (for supported devices), adding a layer of interaction without waking the full display.

Clock Styles and Fingerprint Animations

The stock lock screen clock is a digital sans-serif font. To change this without bloating the system:

• Magnetic Clock Positioning: LineageOS settings allow moving the clock position. Placing it at the top (iOS style) or center (Pixel style) alters the entire balance of the screen.
• FOD (Fingerprint on Display) Animations: If your device has an in-screen fingerprint sensor, the default green ring can feel utilitarian. We can replace this with custom particle effects or wave animations using lightweight resource overlays found in the Magisk Module Repository.

Elevating the Stock Launcher: Lawnchair and Quickswitch

The default Trebuchet launcher in LineageOS is functional but lacks the “smart” features of MIUI’s POCO Launcher. It lacks drawer categories, blur effects, and granular icon sizing. We do not recommend installing heavy third-party launchers like Nova if the goal is to keep the device “clean,” as they often introduce their own background processes.

Installing Lawnchair 14

We recommend Lawnchair as the direct replacement. It is an open-source launcher that provides a Pixel-like experience but with deep customization.

• Integration with LineageOS: When Lawnchair is set as the default launcher, it respects the system-wide icon pack and font settings, ensuring visual consistency.
• App Drawer Categories: Unlike Trebuchet, Lawnchair allows automatic categorization of apps (e.g., Social, Games, Productivity), cleaning up the app drawer significantly.

Utilizing Quickswitch for Recents Provider

To truly elevate the multitasking experience, we utilize Quickswitch, a Magisk module that allows LineageOS to use the Google Pixel recents provider (Overview) instead of the stock Android list.

• The “Fluid” Effect: This changes the vertical scroll of recent apps into a horizontal card stack with live thumbnails and smooth animations. It mimics the fluidity found in high-end skins without the resource overhead.
• Ghost Mode and Transparency: We can tweak the recent tasks stack transparency, making the background wallpaper visible even when multitasking, creating a sense of depth.

Status Bar and Notification Management

MIUI users are accustomed to a packed status bar with network speed indicators, second-time-zone clocks, and notification icons. LineageOS 23 keeps this area sparse.

Network Speed Meter

In Settings > Status bar > Network speed, we can enable a real-time upload/download speed indicator. This is a functional aesthetic addition that provides utility while looking sleek in the status bar.

Icon Blacklisting

LineageOS allows you to hide specific icons. To achieve a minimalist look similar to the “Notch” style phones:

• Hide the VPN, Alarm, and Bluetooth icons if they are not actively in use.
• This creates a “clean” top bar that focuses on essential information: Time, Signal, and Battery.

Smart Battery Icon

The standard battery icon in AOSP is circular. We can change this to a text-based percentage or a landscape bar within the settings. A popular tweak is to remove the icon entirely and only show the percentage text, saving vertical space in the status bar.

Visual Feedback: Animations and Transitions

The “feel” of an operating system is defined by its animations. MIUI uses distinct, bouncy transitions. LineageOS uses linear, quick transitions. While stock LineageOS is faster, it can feel rigid.

Modifying Animation Scales

Using the Developer Options (accessible by tapping Build Number 7 times in Settings > About phone), we can adjust the animation scales.

• Window Animation Scale: Set to 0.5x for instant responsiveness or 1.0x for smoothness.
• Transition Animation Scale: Setting this to 0.85x provides a snappy feel that mimics the speed of MIUI without the stuttering often associated with heavy skins.

System-Wide Blur Effects

One of the defining features of modern Android skins is blur (Glassmorphism). LineageOS 23 includes “Blur everywhere” in the development settings.

• Enabling Blur: Go to Settings > System > Developer options and enable “Blur everywhere.” This applies a frosted glass effect to the notification shade, app drawer, and recent apps.
• Performance Impact: While this uses slightly more GPU, on devices like the Redmi Note 10 Pro (Snapdragon 732G), the impact is negligible and significantly enhances the visual depth, making the UI feel premium.

Typography and Fonts: The Overlooked Detail

Changing the system font is one of the easiest ways to personalize a device. MIUI allows easy font downloads from the store; LineageOS does not.

System-Wide Font Replacement

To change the font in LineageOS 23 without installing bloated font apps:

• Magisk Font Modules: The Magisk Module Repository hosts various font modules (e.g., Google Sans, San Francisco, Roboto Condensed). These modules inject the font files into the system partition at boot time.
• LineageOS Native Option: Some LineageOS builds include a “Fonts” section in settings. If available, we recommend using “Simple Sans” or “Rubik” for a modern, legible look that deviates from the standard Roboto.

Scaling the Font

In Settings > Display > Font size and Display size, we can adjust the UI density. Reducing the font size slightly allows more information to be displayed on screen, a tactic often used by power users to maximize screen real estate.

Boot Animation and Shutdown Screens

The boot sequence is the first interaction with the device. MIUI has a highly polished, animated logo. LineageOS uses a static lineage ribbon or a simple animated boot logo.

Customizing the Boot Animation

We can replace the default boot animation with a high-resolution, silent animation.

• High-Res Boot Animation: We recommend a dark-themed, abstract geometry animation that matches your system accent color.
• Shutdown Animation: Equally important is the shutdown animation. A clean fade-to-black is preferable to a jarring cut-off. Custom resource overlays can provide a smooth fade-out effect when the device powers down.

Haptics and Audio: The Sensory Experience

Visuals are only half the equation. The “feel” of the phone is also tactile and auditory.

Vibration Intensity and Patterns

MIUI offers extensive vibration customization. LineageOS offers basic options.

• Vibration Intensity: In Settings > Sound & vibration > Vibration intensity, we can adjust the strength of notifications and touch feedback. On the Redmi Note 10 Pro, finding the “sweet spot” (usually around 50-60%) ensures the haptics are crisp, not mushy.
• Advanced Haptics (Root Required): For users with root, we can modify kcal or vib calibration files to tighten the motor response, mimicking the sharp haptics of the Pixel or iPhone.

Audio FX

LineageOS includes a built-in Audio FX panel (similar to Dolby Atmos but open source).

• Equalizer Settings: We can tune the system-wide EQ. A common configuration for clarity is boosting the mids slightly and adding a small bass boost.
• Bass Boost and Virtualizer: Enabling these adds spatial depth to media playback, compensating for the lack of proprietary audio drivers found in MIUI.

Gesture Navigation and Interaction

MIUI’s gesture navigation is distinct: swiping from the left and right edges goes back, while swiping up goes home. LineageOS follows the standard AOSP gesture navigation, which is less forgiving on the edges.

Edge Gestures

To improve navigation without third-party apps:

• Navigation Bar Tweaks: We can hide the navigation bar completely and rely on gestures. To make this feel more natural, we can increase the “sensitivity” of the back gesture in Settings > System > Gestures.
• Fullscreen Immersive Mode: Using a Magisk module, we can hide the status bar and navigation bar in specific apps (like the Gallery or a Note app) for a truly immersive experience.

Privacy and Security Visuals

While not purely aesthetic, the visual indicators for privacy in LineageOS 23 are clean and worth highlighting. Unlike MIUI, which sometimes buries permissions, LineageOS uses active status bar indicators (green dots) when an app uses the camera or microphone.

Microphone and Camera Toggles

We can customize the “Privacy Dashboard” shortcuts. By placing these quick toggles in the Quick Settings panel, we gain immediate visual feedback on app activity. This enhances the “clean” feel by knowing exactly what is running in the background.

Conclusion: Achieving the Perfect Balance

Customizing LineageOS 23 is not about replicating the heavy skin of MIUI; it is about refining the canvas to suit your specific workflow and aesthetic preferences. By leveraging the native settings for blur and accent colors, and utilizing the Magisk Module Repository for deep system-level changes like fonts, boot animations, and recents providers, we can transform a “plain” interface into a sophisticated, personalized environment.

The key to maintaining the “clean and minimal” philosophy is restraint. We avoid installing massive theme engines that slow down the system. Instead, we focus on surgical strikes: changing the font, adjusting the blur, and refining the animations. The result is a device that runs faster than MIUI, offers superior battery life, yet feels visually distinct and premium.

At Magisk Modules, we provide the tools necessary to unlock this potential. Whether you are looking for a dark mode theme that truly blacks out the UI or a font module that improves readability, the repository offers stable, community-vetted solutions. Your LineageOS 23 experience does not have to remain plain; it can become a curated, minimalist masterpiece.