You’re out of MiBi, says the system when a user attempts to download a paid theme in the new theme store, before prompting them to purchase the virtual currency.
Xiaomi’s MIUI platform has been totally free since its inception. And while the OS itself remains free, the company has taken its first step towards monetization, launching a new version of its theme store in which designers can opt to charge money for their themes. Themes, which are downloadable skins for the Android-based MIUI OS, had previously all been free, but now some themes will cost money. Or rather, they will cost “MiBi,” a virtual currency that Xiaomi users can purchase with real money via Alipay or by adding the charge to their phone bill.
There has been some user backlash over this change already (although part of this is also because the new version of the store is quite buggy, something that Xiaomi says it is working to fix). And indeed, some themes that previously were free may now cost money, as whether or not a theme is free is now up to its designer. Xiaomi itself has promised that all of the themes it designs will remain free, but third-party designers can now opt to charge. Xiaomi takes a 30 percent transaction fee, just like the Apple App and Google Play stores.
The introduction of a virtual currency suggests that the move to monetize MIUI may not stop here, and that other aspects of the mobile operating system could also become a bit less free. It’s a change that was likely inevitable given the low price of Xiaomi handsets — they have to make money somehow, after all — but it does pose a danger to the “cool factor” the brand has been carefully cultivating over the past year. Xiaomi will have to tread carefully here, as while it appears that most users aren’t all that upset about the change as yet, taking something that was free and charging money for it is always a risky proposition.
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