ROM

The dream of a smartphone also acting as your PC has mostly been hampered by the unavailability of the desktop software we've come to expect from our computers. There have been a couple of attempts to address this limitation, most of them revolving around Linux. Before Samsung came with its Samsung DeX, there was the open source Maru OS project and, after a long period of silence, it has returned to lay down the foundations for future expansion on more Android phones.

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In the past, custom Android ROMs and app launchers were some of the most exciting aspects of the Android platform. Those days seem to be long gone but, true to its name, LineageOS, built from the ashes of CyanogenMod, continues that legacy. With version 16.0, it not only proves that its development is still alive but also that it is up to date with the latest trends in the Android market.

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If Google's not going to release the Pixel-based Android for the masses, then XDA member jhenrique09 will! This developer created a software build that makes the Pixel phone experience universal. Or at least universal inside the realm of phones that run Project Treble. Is your phone one of the lucky few?

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Rooting on Android seems to be slowly falling out of fashion, especially with the recent decline of developers working on rooting methods. One part of Android modding that seems to still be going strong is custom ROM development. It hasn't been a smooth ride and has had its ups and very high-profile downs. It seems that there will be a new "down" is on the horizon with Paranoid Android, perhaps the second most popular custom Android ROM, running out of funds to the point that its developers are now asking for donations.

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The Android platform is open source (though more like open source dump) and there’s no way to close that door anymore. Google, however, has found a way around it through its oh so essential Google Play apps and services. While OEMs had to comply with Google’s rules and certification requirements to officially ship with these, some have found ways around that, usually by side-loading GApps, as the bundle is called, themselves or telling users how to do so. Now it seems that Google is closing the door on that method but users of custom ROMs need not be too worried because Google is surprisingly giving them a special pass.

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Project Treble is a feature that's suddenly proven invaluable to the most Android-addicted phone users worldwide. This invaluable state isn't necessarily in play because of the feature's original intent. Instead, Android users found a way to make any Android Oreo device with Project Treble made active can boot two of the most awesome ROMs in the world, with minimal hassle.

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Android is almost everywhere today, from the usual mobile devices to wearables to cars and even to some smart appliances. The platform, however, has been conceptualized and designed with ARM-based devices in mind. And while there are indeed some Intel or AMD computers, like the Lenovo Yoga Book, that run Android, they are still far and few in between. Fortunately, there are projects like Android-x86 which has just recently reached an important milestone of bringing Android 7.1 Nougat to any computers running on an Intel or AMD x86 processor.

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Huawei might have become one of the world’s top 3 smartphone manufacturers, but there are some things that still haven’t improved over the years. Things like tightly, locked phones, the heavily customized EMUI skin, and the not so global rollout of updates. The latter means that only the latest and greatest, and even then not all, get to enjoy the latest Android releases. That’s the plight owners of the Huawei P8 Lite find themselves in with regards to Android 8.0 Oreo. Fortunately, hope springs eternal. Or rather, trickles, with the new OpenKirin GZOSP Android 8.0 port for the device.

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The Samsung Galaxy S8 and its larger Galaxy S8+ sibling are arguably two of the best-looking, and best-performing smartphones this half of the year. But as great as they are, they are by no means perfect. Even the Samsung faithful will admit, sometimes begrudgingly, that the Korean OEM can be a wee too "generous" when it comes to the extras, a.k.a. the cruft and bloat, inside the smartphone user experience or UX. If you're feeling adventurous, there are a couple of Android custom ROMs available for these devices to set you free from the clutches of TouchWiz (or now "Grace") and of Samsung's bloat.

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Last week Jide made an announcement that had a familiar message. Following the likes of Microsoft Continuum and Ubuntu Convergence, its Remix Singularity project wanted to turn the very same Android smartphone and apps that you keep in your pocket into the PC that you’ll use on your desktop. Jide is hardly the first nor the only one who has made such an attempt. At MWC 2017, French company Auxens has revealed an alpha version of its OXI ROM that does that as well, with a little less polish but a bit more device support.

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This morning the official LineageOS Gerrit was published for developers to contribute to, continuing the work of the open source community on CyanogenMod. Cyanogen - the brand-named company - will continue to operate on its own, separate from the Android software that's transforming into LineageOS (or Lineage OS, or just Lineage, if you prefer). Developers are hard at work now turning the next version of CyanogenMod into the first version of LineageOS.

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The Nexus 5 isn’t going to receive an official Android 7.0 Nougat update. Whether that’s because the smartphone has reached its end of life or because Qualcomm won’t release updated drivers for its chipset hardly matters for owners of what is perhaps the most loved Nexus smartphone. Hope springs eternal, however, at least for those who are willing to take the plunge and take the necessary steps towards Nougat. An AOSP-based Android 7.0 ROM is now available for the device and it seems that almost everything is working perfectly.

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