Summary

EMUI 11, the new interface for Huawei smartphones, is finally official. Like every year, it brings a whole lot of relevant novelties. Currently available in beta test, we were able to play with it a bit. To know everything about EMUI 11, it's here that it happens.

Sometimes called fork, overlay or simply interface, a "customized" environment is present on all Android smartphones, with a few rare exceptions. On the Samsung side, there is, for example, One UI. At OnePlus, it's OxygenOS that makes all the brand's smartphones throb, while at Xiaomi, we take advantage of an interface called MIUI. Each of them offers many features not found on stock Android: they allow you to customize the environment, use the components specific to a smartphone model, etc.

Intended for Huawei smartphones and tablets, EMUI is the interface specific to the Chinese brand which is currently experiencing so many setbacks. Despite the ban on doing any type of business with Google, and the resulting restrictions on Android and Google Mobile Services, Huawei does not forget its users. The brand continues to improve its overlay and now offers it in version 11 for its devices. EMUI 11 is coming! We have already had the opportunity to test it, so we take stock of all its new features, its date of availability and the models that will be able to take advantage of it.

When is EMUI 11 coming out?

The new interface is already available to beta testers. If we refer to the calendar usually observed by Huawei, the finalized version should be deployed on all compatible smartphones by the end of the year / very beginning of next year.

Which smartphones are compatible with EMUI 11?

At the moment, only a few devices are compatible with the EMUI 11 beta. Here is the list:

Huawei has made it clear to us that only these devices are able to receive the EMUI 11 beta, and no others for the moment. On the other hand, we can reasonably hope that other smartphone models will benefit from EMUI 11 once the overlay is completely finalized. Fingers crossed that the P30 range (for example) will soon benefit from the new interface.

An interface based on Android 10

As Google has just announced the availability of Android 11 in a finalized version, the question arises: is EMUI 11 based on the entire latest edition of Google's OS or has Huawei been forced to turn to the old version? The answer may not please those who hope to take advantage of the many innovations brought by Android 11 to their Huawei smartphone: whether it is the beta version or the finalized version, EMUI 11 is based on Android 10. Why such a choice, when Android 11 has been available in beta for several months and the finalized version has just been released?

A few days before the final release of Android 11, we therefore posed the question to Huawei, and got the following answer: “Android 11 is currently in beta. It is not finalized and we have therefore fully developed the new version of EMUI on Android 10. The final edition of EMUI 11 will also be based on Android 10, we do not intend to redevelop everything. We will therefore have to wait for the next version of EMUI to take advantage of Android 11.

This choice remains surprising since at the same time last year, Huawei was already starting to release a beta-test version of EMUI 10… under Android 10. A timing problem, is that of course?

List of what's new in EMUI 11

The Always On Display becomes customizable

The AOD mode (called Screen off theme on Huawei phones) is enriched a small feature that allows you to better customize the screen display. We can now integrate an image, a video or an animated GIF into this screen. If Huawei offers some default images, it is possible to add your own photos or videos.

To access this new feature, simply go to Settings, then select Home screen & wallpaper > Off screen theme.

The Gallery application is enriched with a small novelty

The Gallery application is improving: the albums now benefit from a new display mode in 4:3. Huawei also explains that the Photos tab now has a view mode by month or day (pinch the screen with two fingers, as you would to zoom in or zoom out on a photo). For our part, this feature was already present on older versions of EMUI and the Photos application.

Transitions are getting better

Huawei has optimized its system dedicated to animations, this time taking into consideration “the human factor”. This makes transition animations smoother and more discreet, so as not to distract the user's attention when an element moves on the screen.

More animated icons

With EMUI 11, no less than 17 icons benefit from a new look and new animations. Among them are 5G icon, microphone, dial icon, night mode, etc.

The vibrate mode is synchronized with the ringtone

You have certainly noticed that when the vibrate mode is activated and the phone starts ringing, the vibrations emitted by the smartphone are always the same. Huawei decided to change all that and synchronize the vibrator on the ringtone. The vibrations are therefore set on the ringtone selected by the user, which is rather a good idea. Lack of luck, this is the only new feature that is not available on our test model at the moment. Whatever happens, we will update this article as soon as a new beta or the finalized version of EMUI 11 is deployed.

A better thought-out multi-window mode

As Huawei describes, multi-windowing makes it "easy to multi-task with floating windows, screen partitioning, or a combination of the two With EMUI 11, developers have redesigned the way apps can be displayed next to or on top of each other. Until then, under EMUI 10, it was possible to place an application in a window, rather than displaying it in full screen. What offer the user a multi-window mode and allow him to perform several tasks on the screen. On the other hand, it was not possible to ensure that an application is displayed by overlapping another, without interfering with the use of the one below.

Huawei has finally found a solution to this thorny problem: it is now possible to display an application like the one dedicated to SMS in a small, discreet and semi-transparent bubble. Therefore, if you are playing, you can consult all your messages without interrupting your games. And you even have the means to respond to the message you have just received, even the operation requires good eyes and a little dexterity.

Second novelty: it is now possible to adjust the display size of an application in windowed mode. To do this, simply press one of the left or right corners at the bottom of the application window.

Displaying several smartphone windows on the PC screen is possible

Here again, with EMUI 11, Huawei is refining features already present in the previous edition of its overlay. Thus, the Multi-screen Collaboration mode is now in version 3.0 and now allows multiple windows from the smartphone to be displayed on a single screen of a PC.

For example, you can launch a video and open your browser on your Huawei phone, and have the two applications appear in two separate windows on your computer.

Note that this feature is exclusive to Huawei PCs, in this case MateBooks.