What you need to know about Dual Apps in MIUI 8

One of the headlining feature additions in MIUI 8 is Dual Apps, which allows you to run two instances of an app at the same time. The feature is especially handy if you have two social media accounts and are looking to access them from the same device.

And yes, with Dual Apps, you can run two WhatsApp accounts on the same phone. The feature is pretty straightforward: head into the phone's settings to toggle dual app functionality for the app you're looking to clone, following which you'll see a separate icon for the app on your home screen.

Each instance of the app is siloed and runs independently of the other. Here's how you can set up and start using Dual Apps in MIUI 8.

How to enable Dual Apps in MIUI 8

  1. Open Settings from the home screen.
  2. Navigate to Dual apps.
  3. Toggle the app you want to clone.

That's it! Once you clone an app, you'll see two icons for that specific app on your home screen, with the cloned version featuring an indent that indicates that it is the secondary app.

Each instance has its own data and settings, but uninstalling the original app will result in the cloned app being deleted as well. The corollary isn't true: if you want to revert to a single instance, you can delete the cloned version without it affecting the default app in any way.

With the feature enabled, I was able to run two WhatsApp accounts on the Mi Note 2. I use a single WhatsApp account (which in itself is tedious), but if you rely on two accounts regularly, Dual Apps is a nifty addition.

What do you guys use Dual Apps for?

Harish Jonnalagadda
Senior Editor - Asia

Harish Jonnalagadda is a Senior Editor overseeing Asia at Android Central. He leads the site's coverage of Chinese phone brands, contributing to reviews, features, and buying guides. He also writes about storage servers, audio products, and the semiconductor industry. Contact him on Twitter at @chunkynerd.

10 Comments
  • So it's just another app cloner... It's not like there's not plenty of those in the Play store. How is it in comparison to 3rd party app cloners? Anything special? Or just another push by Huawei to con people into thinking that their ecosystem has value over others.
  • While there are many third party alternatives, not many OEMs have it built in. Also this isn't Huawei, Huawei makes EMUI not MIUI, two different skins on android. MIUI is by Xiaomi and is a much more popular ROM with ports for many devices.
  • SKOOLED!!
  • Also, some 3rd party app cloners aren't compatible with WhatsApp, so I was surprised to see this working. (On my Mi Max it actually recommended cloning WhatsApp in the DualApps menu!)
  • Hey, can you email me and tell me how you got the update? I have the 4GB RAM 128GB ROM MI MAX but I can't get the update. Please help me. My email is werners95@gmail.com
  • Werners95@gmail.com please help me get the update for my MI MAX
  • Yep, I'm using 2face for this multiple accounts thing. It's not perfect but useable.
  • I would use it for Snapchat. One for my Snapchat, one for another account and/or keeping people's streaks
  • I have enough problem keeping track of one WhatsApp account.... Why would one want two? Emails maybe... One to throw at spam types
  • You can already add 2 email accounts in the same email app like Gmail, Outlook etc. No need for cloning.