What is a custom ROM?

A custom ROM is a custom operating system for your android. These open source projects are free to download and install and can completely change the feel of a phone.

What are the advantages?

Custom ROMs often allow for root access on your devise, these SuperUser privileges allow for more customisation and control of the device. Custom ROMs are a great way to spice up a phone you may be bored of, since often times it completely changes the layout and function of the phone. Another benefit is the removal of all useless bloatware applications (I am especially looking at you, Sumsung!). Custom ROMs are built from stock android, meaning ironically that if you are tired of having to deal with irritating interfaces like TouchWiz, you can have a more pure android experience, but with a lot more control. It is also the best way to get newer versions of android on a device that does not yet support it. Most times it also improves the devices performance, because it isn't having to deal with bloatware and unnecessary processes.

Below are some of my favourite Custom ROMs:

CyanogenMod / Lineage OS

The O.G. of custom ROMs, Lineage OS, formally called CyanogenMod, is easily one of the most popular lightweight Custom ROMS out there. It offers a nice, clean and fast user interface and has support for a wide verity of devices. This OS is close to pure android, however allows you to tweak the user experience to a fuller extent.

Paranoid

Paranoid custom ROM has more options than Cyanogen, its following has increased over time due to its feature rich OS, including a feature called HALO which allows for opening apps in border mode, allowing for sever apps being open on the screen at once as well as having floating notifications. It also allows you to change the colours of everything and completely customize the look of your OS. A more advanced ROM for the more advanced user.

AOKP

AOKP, or Android Open Kang Project is a popular ROM which could be the lightest and fastest custom ROM out there. It will squeeze every ounce of performance out of your device. This ROM has good customisable features and a very cool custom navigation bar. Not as feature rich as some other custom ROMs but if you want performance, you need look no further!

Conclusion

I have been using Paranoid for a while now but have used all of these ROMs a lot and enjoy them all. If you are new to android modding, the Cyanogenmod is the one to go for, it is easy to install and easy to use.

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Viking