If you are going to buy a Xiaomi you must know some of its identifying characteristics. A priori, it is an Android smartphone, right? But the truth is that it is a different smartphone. There are some of its features that are different from a standard Android mobile, so you should know them before buying a smartphone from this brand.
1.- It looks like an iPhone
Reducing it all to saying that the mobile looks like an iPhone is certainly wrong, but we will say it that way so that everyone understands it easily. The smartphone looks like an iPhone in its interface. Instead of having an application drawer, we have all the applications on the desktop, just as if it were an iPhone. And we only have one instance of each of the apps. Thus, we will have a mobile that looks more like an iPhone, with a key difference, and that is that the smartphone will have the possibility of adding widgets. That is, some iPhone and some Android.
2.- Notifications are not those of Android
Something similar happens with notifications. When I receive notifications on a pure Android mobile, I can display them, and I can interact with them. That does not happen to me with the Xiaomi. It is a characteristic of these mobiles. I think they will improve in the future, with new versions, but for now, it is what it is and it is a matter of getting used to that format.
3.- Updates have nothing to do with Android
There is talk of Android 7.0 Nougat, right? Perfect. There is also talk of MIUI 8, which is the new version that will come to Xiaomi smartphones. MIUI is based on Android, and the versions are based on different versions of Android, but updates come much later. Not those of MIUI, but those of Android. Let's say that each version of MIUI is based on an Android version, but this does not have to be the last, Xiaomi can include the news it wants because after all it is a custom firmware version, which can even count with more features than any later version of Android. The only thing to keep in mind is that Android updates are not relevant to you, but MIUI ones will be.