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Chinese smartphone vendor Xiaomi has released the latest iteration of its custom Android ROM, MIUI 6, for its entry-level Redmi 1S smartphone, according to latest reports. The ROM is built over Android 4.4 KitKat, and according to Xiaomi, will be available for users to download OTA within the next few days. The firmware (JHCMIBL56.0 V5) is also available to download from the company’s official website for the DIY types. Xiaomi has decided to release the stable version of the firmware after an extensive round of beta-testing, which began in April this year. The update comes with the version number 6.6.1.0 and is 528 MB in size. The latest firmware update will reportedly add a new notification center with toggles for the media player, along with notifications for new messages, missed calls and reminders.
The Redmi 1S is the company’s entry-level handset, which was released last year. The phone has since been replaced by the Redmi 2, which was released earlier this year by the company in its global markets. The Redmi 1S features a 4.7-inch display, with a resolution of 1280 x 720. The phone is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 SoC, which comes with a quad-core 1.6 GHz Cortex-A7 processor and an Adreno 305 GPU. The phone comes with 1 GB of RAM and 8 GB of internal storage, which can be further extended with the help of a microSD card. The phone comes with an 8-megapixel rear camera with 1080p recording, and a 1.6-megapixel front camera capable of recording 720p videos at 30 fps. The phone comes with a 2,000 mAh battery and is offered in multiple colors including Black, Chinese Red and Metallic Gray. One of the only drawbacks of the phone happens to be its lack of support for LTE, something which was rectified by Xiaomi with the launch of its LTE-enabled Redmi 2.
While custom ROMs in general, are more resource hungry than the pure, stock Android firmware, MIUI 5 was said to work smoothly enough on the entry-level Redmi 1S. Now, with the release of MIUI 6, it remains to be seen whether Xiaomi will be able to deliver the same smooth and stutter-free performance that’s its users have become used to, with its customized ROMs thus far.