With so many devices in the wild, I wonder if the Pixel 3 will become our generations HTC HD2 (which got community support for seemly an eternity).
Most devices never get custom ROMs any longer than you would get regular updates anyway (since newer Android versions would not run on this chip).
Custom ROMs are a mess anyway:
- Untrusted sources
- Random annoying bugs (What, you need a camera?? Pff)
- Flaky "Android-Experience" (Yeah, you might be able to install Google Apps... after the 6th try)
- Device is "untrusted" - no Google Wallet or banking apps without yet another hack
- "Security Updates? You can get a full image every 2 weeks if you want that, but no idea what is included and what will break, sorry"
- Performance and stability of the device usually takes a big dive
Most importantly: You cannot build AOSP for a device, if there is no support from the firmware (Qualcomm), which is the main reason why there are no Android updates in the first place - at least that's the problem nowadays.
Why would all the Android Java stuff actually require a newer chip?
e.g. OnePlus 3 started with 7.x, was officially updated only to 9.x, but with LineageOS it runs 11.x currently.
> Untrusted sources
As if the vendors are super trustworthy…
> you might be able to install Google Apps... after the 6th try
Google services are "just one more zip to flash" and I've never heard of having to retry multiple times.
> no Google Wallet
Not too hard to carry the actual physical cards, or use a separate device (smartwatch).
> or banking apps
Complain to your bank / switch to a better bank.
> no idea what is included
LineageOS shoves the commit log right in your face, you can have a pretty good idea when it's really important to update.
> Performance and stability of the device usually takes a big dive
Really? Performance and stability are typically the reasons to switch to custom.
CyanogenMod/LineageOS have been, in my experience, the most performant and stable Android experiences by far, since the 4.x days at least.
I used to ROM-hop a lot, but nowadays, I just stay on whatever the official LineageOS build is (for my OnePlus Nord, that’s still Android 10, but I tried stock and couldn’t handle it) and install my weekly updates.
IMO performance is usually better the more random the ROM (so xXx NoLimits > LineageOS > Vendor OS), stability can be very hit or miss with the random ones but is equal for LineageOS and vendor.
Despite Magisk Hide not getting developed anymore, at least on 10 I can pass safety check despite being rooted btw.
Most of the time it is unusable and slow. It randomly crawls, i.e. opening a browser, an input field, or the GMail App will make the device halt for about 10s. It will never get the new Android. Camera was always crappy with LineageOS. WiFi is broken since a few weeks and will constantly just vanish, needing to connect manually.
I almost only ran Cyanogen or Lineage on my devices, if not stock. I tinkered a lot with my Cyanogen installs back in the days, trying to even the bumps and failings.
Any device that has a decent stock image will run better with stock than any LineageOS or CustomROM in my experience.
As I said, I’m currently still on Android 10, but I don’t really mind that.
Any chance you can name and shame those apps for my further edification?
But Google Pay requires it, so does my Health Insurance app (TK, which I don’t use), and the Banking App for DKB (fun fact, they enabled it in a normal update and left many people suddenly without access).
I don't understand what the problem with that should be though.
Yeah, because what I want is to buy a watch if I want to pay with my phone. Great solution!
> Complain to your bank / switch to a better bank.
Ah, yes, the "Switch-banks-because-your-phone-is-broken"-Trick, didn't think of that!
> LineageOS shoves the commit log right in your face, you can have a pretty good idea when it's really important to update.
Yeah, but the CVEs and firmware bugs are not and will never be in the commit logs. And even if they are, when I install an update on my phone OTA, I obviously will not pull up the commit log! How much time do you think I have?!
That's what the "Security Level"-indicator in the device settings/info is for.
> Really? Performance and stability are typically the reasons to switch to custom.
Yes, really. My LineageOS was always crappy slow on my BQ Aquaris, for every version. The camera is simply unusable. Every update brings another random bug. Since a few weeks it will lose WiFi, needing manual intervention, sometimes just 3 seconds after connecting.
If you want a working device, and not tinker with it all the time, or risk being stranded without certain functionality, you are safer with a device with a decent stock from a manufacturer that updates it diligently.
- Bugs / perf / stability / qualcomm not providing firmware are device dependant, it's a good idea to check compatibility before buying the phone, same as when you're buying a laptop you're planning to use with linux.
- GApps can be installed easily but they're basically spyware, so maybe think twice about that.
- Magisk et similia fix banks app (no idea about Google Wallet, I don't use it)
That doesn't apply for kernel support. Custom ROMs generally use the last supported kernel from some official ROM. Then they start to accumulate known security vulnerabilities, because they never get updated again.
So yeah, weird. I believe their AOSP side is funded by some governments who want the most maintainable and auditable Android on their devices