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LineageOS 18.1 Review: Android 11, coming to an old phone near you
Instead of ditching your old phone, keep it running with LineageOS 18.1, a custom ROM based on Android 11. Here's a review of what it's like.
LineageOS was created in 2016 as a stock-like Android custom ROM, following the collapse of the corporate-backed CyanogenMod project. It has gone through several major updates since then, but LineageOS has continued to bring a stock-like Android (and optionally Google-free) experience to dozens of phones and tablets. The most recent release — LineageOS 18.1 — was finally released at the end of March, offering Android 11 to over 50 devices.
How EAS helps make the Google Pixel the fastest Android phone
The Google Pixel smartphones are among the fastest Android phones on the market. Energy Aware Scheduling (EAS) is partly why the phone is so smooth.
Far back in the past when Linux was just an idea in the mind of Linus Torvalds, CPUs were single-core entities which required an immense amount of energy for little power. The first ever commercially available processor, the Intel 4004, ran at a clock-rate of 740kHz on a single core. Back then, there was no need for a load scheduler. Load scheduling was reserved for the dual-core "behemoths" such as the IBM Power 4 which came out some decades after. These ran at a beastly 1.1GHz to 1.9GHz and required programs and the system to utilize these cores correctly. How did we get from these machines to software algorithms that make use of multiple cores? You may have heard of Energy Aware Scheduling (EAS) on our forums before. It's part of the reason why the Google Pixel smartphones perform so well. What's so great about EAS and how did we even get to this point? Before we can explain that, we need to talk about Linux load schedulers.
Hands-on with unofficial LineageOS 15.1 GSI for the OnePlus 6
People are figuring out how to boot a Generic System Image of unofficial LineageOS 15.1 for the OnePlus 6. We've installed it to see how well it runs.
Before Project Treble, it sometimes took several weeks or months after a new smartphone came out for a stable, functional custom ROM to be developed for that phone. With Project Treble, ideally, it should be possible to flash a generic system image (GSI) to a Treble-enabled device on the day of its launch and have it be mostly functional. While we don't expect it to take a lot of time for custom AOSP-based ROMs to arrive on the newly released OnePlus 6, we wanted to see how well a LineageOS Generic System Image (GSI) would run on OnePlus' first device with Treble support.
Pixel Experience brings Google Pixel features to Project Treble supported devices
The Pixel Experience ROM has brought Google Pixel features to Project Treble devices, thanks to being released in a Generic System Image form.
Project Treble has done a lot of good for Android devices. It has allowed devices to use many different flavors of Android that would otherwise not be available, and often with more functionality than early ROMs can offer. Now, there's another ROM you can install on your Treble-supported device if you wish, and it will bring a little Pixel flavor. It's called Pixel Experience.
PACEficator Project Includes Mods and Tweaks for the Amazfit Smartwatch
XDA Senior Member Saratoga79's PACEficator Project is packed full of mods, tweaks, and enhancements for Amazfit PACE devices.
The Amazfit PACE is one of the more affordable smartwatches on the market with a heart rate sensor and GPS, but those aren't the only impressive things about it. Huami's $160 fitness watch boasts a ceramic scratch- and water-resistant IP67 body, 22mm watchband lugs, an always-on display, 2.4GB of internal storage, Bluetooth 4.0 LE, and a battery that lasts up to 11 days on a charge. The only downside? It doesn't run Android Wear. But that didn't discourage XDA Senior Member Saratoga79 from working on a suite of mods and tweaks -- the PACEficator Project -- for the Amazfit PACE.
Just a little more than a month ago, Paranoid Android made a grand reentrance to the ROMing world with builds of the ROM built off of 7.1.2 Nougat. Paranoid Android introduced a heap of new features with its last version, and the fine folks over at the PA team are back at it again with their latest release. The ROM is still based off of Android 7.1.2, but the version for PA is now 7.2.0.
Pure Nexus vs Resurrection Remix ROM (Nexus 6P)
There are many great ROMs out there for the Nexus 6P, but it's not easy choosing one suited for you. Hopefully this video will help!
There are many ROMS available out there for the Nexus devices, so it is not always easy choosing the best one. In this video Eric shows us his two favorite ROMs for his 6P, Pure Nexus and Resurrection Remix.
In order to make Android boot on most devices, developers have to mix the open source code with proprietary files delivered by the vendor. For those users who value a truly free operating system, Android is actually not as free as they would like it to be. Developers have no access to the source code for many hardware components and have to ship their custom software with so-called proprietary blobs.
EFIDroid: A Second-Stage Bootloader Using UEFI Firmware to Multiboot [XDA Spotlight]
Multi-booting is a complicated subject, and to enable it often requires patches to your kernel or recovery. EFIDroid is a tool that works around that.
Dual booting and multi-ROM implementations have been a major challenge for Android developers for quite some time. Previous solutions have typically needed substantial device-specific development and further support from ROM developers. Even then, they’re often more complicated than they’re worth for the average ROM user. EFIDroid seeks to remedy all of this.
In this video, Miles shows us one of the most customizable ROMs available for the Pixel XL. Pure Nexus is one of the hottest ROMs for Pixel XL right now and it's definitely ready to be your next daily driver.
CM14.1 on the OnePlus 3T
A CM14.1 ROM is available for the OnePlus 3T. Check out this video to see the ROM in action, Download and flash this ROM on your device.
OnePlus 3T owners will be excited to know that the first CM14.1 ROM has appeared for this device. In this video, Miles will be taking a look at how this ROM runs and if it's ready to be your new daily driver.
Android 7 ROM for the Nexus 5
Get Android Nougat on your Nexus 5 devices with this custom AOSP ROM from XDA. Check out the full video review and download this ROM for yourself.
Along with the Nexus 7, the Nexus 5 was also dropped from Google's update list. Luckily XDA-Developer recognized user Santhosh M has created an ASOP ROM that will bring Nougat to your Nexus 5 device.
Get Android Nougat on the Nexus 7
Get Android Nougat on your 2013 Nexus 7 tablet. This XDA TV Video reviews the first AOSP Nougat ROM available for the Nexus 7.
Miles is back with another awesome video for XDA TV. This time we are looking at how you can get Android Nougat on your 2013 Nexus 7. Google dropped support for the device so it has been left up to the developer community to take it from here. An AOSP ROM has been put together to get Android 7 on the device. So if you're looking for something like that, then this is a solution for you.
How To Flash Grace UX (Note 7) ROM
Flash the Grace UX Note 7 ROM on your Galaxy Note 5 using the simple tutorial. This XDA TV video will show you how to get this ROM running on your device.
A few days ago, Zach showed us his review for the Grace UX ROM which can be seen here. Today we have another video for you. This time you can learn how to flash this awesome ROM on your own device, using this step by step guide. For this tutorial you will need a Galaxy Note 5 that is rooted with a custom recovery installed. If you aren't rooted yet, check out this tutorial here.
How to Automatically Check the MD5 Sum of a Download!
This awesome tasker script will help you spot corrupt files ahead of flashing them onto your phone, potentially saving you from a nasty brick!
Back in the middle of March, we dedicated an entire week to many awesome Tasker tips and tricks that you've likely never seen elsewhere to best enhance your smartphone's utility. Hopefully, you've learned a bit about how to work with Tasker having played with some real-world examples.
Old But Gold: Sony Ericsson Devices From 2011 Get Marshmallow Support
Sony Ericsson Xperia Line from 2011 gets the newest CyanogenMod 13 builds.
Before making a whole bunch of "Z" devices, Sony, or rather Sony Ericsson, was focused on bringing up some really good and affordable devices. In 2011, Sony released about a dozen mid-range devices that are still quite popular, and not only on XDA.
SkyDragon ROM: First Sense 7 ROM for the HTC One M8
Bring Lollipop and Sense 7 to your HTC One M8 with the latest build of SkyDragon ROM. Themes, smart widgets, a new Camera UI, and better battery life await!
The HTC One M8 is frequently lauded as a standout among last year's smartphone offerings, boasting a sleek metal design, and a gorgeous software experience. But with the updated UI of this year's lookalike M9 set to hit store shelves later this month, industrious XDA Forums members have been hard at work bringing the latest software advances to the phones we already own. Nowhere is this push for Lollipop and Sense 7 felt stronger than with the previously featured team behind the SkyDragon ROM for the HTC One M8.
Here on XDA, we love our custom ROMs. Some of us install nightly builds every morning, and some even change ROMs multiple times per day. With all these changes, it is often nice to have a box full of tools to help you out with the minutiae of flashing ROMs.
Spotlight: Resurrection Remix (5.0.2) for GT-I9300
Check out our thoughts on the Resurrection Remix ROM for the popular Galaxy S3 (GT-I9300). Find out if this could be your ROM-to-get on your veteran phone.
The Galaxy S3 was a massive success for Samsung and even today it remains their most popular phone, and one of the most popular Android phones of all time as well. At the time of its release, it packed more muscle than the usual smartphone, and with the Exynos (GT-I9300) version being one of the first quad-core mobile chipset carriers out there, it began the trend of the "quad-core or nothing" buying habit many users have today when reading spec sheets.
Development doesn't always quite feel like development without the custom ROMs. They're such a pivotal part of our mobile experience that a proper Android experience would be hard to come by without flashing a few first. So if you just happen to be contemplating building your own, XDA-University is a great place to start your journey at.