Android OS is one of the popular operating systems for smartphones, tablets, and smart TVs. An OS is considered an essential part of any device; it is the core module that may bring an excellent reputation to a company or even break down. The reason is simple – the OS is the first representation in a device that communicates with the user. An operating system is responsible for managing all the hardware resources such as the camera, speakers, display, etc.
A custom ROM is a modified Android operating system developed by an Android developer and has limited software features that provide a device’s performance. With a custom ROM, you can customize the user interface (change themes, status bar, navigation bar layout), add custom modules, frameworks, etc., on your device.
Many custom ROMS come pre-rooted, which means you get the root privileges on your device out of the box and can use various Magisk modules, SuperSu, etc. Flashing a custom ROM gives you the right to take advantage of numerous benefits; let us discuss them in detail.
What Is A Custom ROM
A custom ROM is a modified Android operating system that varies from minimum features to a fully packed operating system with advanced features. Custom ROMS are mostly built on the Android Open Source Project (AOSP) that provides basic features and minimal applications required for daily productivity, such as contacts, calendar, email, camera, etc.
Latest Updates
One of the essential features of Android is providing its users with monthly security patches and updates. Many manufacturers offer slow updates to their devices. However, on the other hand, Google releases the latest updates to its flagship devices on the same day when a newer operating system is released. For manufacturers with their native operating system based on Android, such as MIUI by Xiaomi, OneUI by Samsung, etc., push updates based on region, time, and testing.
Custom ROMS are maintained by individual users or groups of people working as a team with lots of competition in the market. They do this for free of cost and push updates every week or monthly, depending on the user base.
Customize UI
Custom ROMS are better known for customizations where you can modify the user interface and give a distinctive and appealing look. Users who are bored with the UI’s same looks in their device can take advantage of custom ROMS theme engines with most of the AOSP based ROMS like MIUI, Resurrection Remix CarbonOS, etc. However, developers provide a clean interface to the users to keep the operating system’s navigation comfortable and increase productivity. A clean user interface also helps in keeping the system fast with fewer transitions and effects.
No Bloatware
When you root an Android device, you get the rights to remove pre-loaded applications and Bloatware from the native operating system. Still, in many instances, the device has issues without the companies pre-installed apps. There are no pre-loaded apps in custom ROMS, and if any such apps are present, you can remove them without any error.
As we already discussed earlier that most of the custom ROMS are based on AOSP, which has the minimum apps present for daily usage. Developers also give the option to select individual apps before flashing the custom ROM.
Enhanced Performance
While unwanted apps are already removed in custom ROMS, this saves the storage space and increases performance by lowering the consumption by various apps in the background. Moreover, custom ROMS come with custom Kernels and thermals that are optimized for low RAM usage. Custom Kernels also helps in overclocking the CPU and GPU power that provides big gaming and multi-tasking performance.
More Battery Backup
Custom ROMS are already packed with fewer apps and optimized for best performance. As no resource-hogging applications are running in the background, it helps in saving the battery power.
Many developers underlie the device when the system is idle or not being used for heavy tasking such as gaming or watching a 4K video. These features are promising and are also believed to increase battery health for long-time usage.
Mods
Mods are an integral part of Custom ROMS that offer various features and modifications to the system and the user interface. Custom Mods may range from a simple form or in a complex condition where you get the option to increase the speakers’ sound beyond the limited amount provided by the manufacturer. Other mods may include increasing the DPI of the display, gcam mods, navigation layout, Magisk modules, etc.
Custom Mods attracts users to flash custom ROMS, and developers work every day to bring new features and updates to help their users use a stable ROM with ease.
Unified Experience
Nowadays, many companies are launching new smartphones with upgraded hardware; users change their devices frequently. When a user changes their device from one brand to another brand, they have to migrate from one operating system to another; for example, if a user was using Xiaomi that runs on MIUI and buys a new Oneplus device that runs on OneUI, will start having trouble adapting the new environment. Custom ROMS are readily available when a big brand device is launched after the Github manufacturer releases the kernel-source-codes.
Those users who are using a particular custom ROM such as LineageOS, ArrowOS, AOSiP, CorvusOS, etc., can flash the ROM to their device and enjoy using the same features and functionality. If the custom ROM is not available for the device, the user can request the previous device developer to port it for their current device.
Ported Apps
Some apps are developed for specific devices only by manufacturers and come pre-installed. These apps turn out to be useful and also helps in optimizing other Android devices. One of the best applications I have come through is the Gaming Turbo in Xiaomi devices and Fnatic Mode in OnePlus devices. With the help of custom ROMS, you can install such apps on different brands of Android smartphones. Developers can port the particular app on any custom ROM.
Portable ROMs
As we have discussed above, developers can even manage a ROM from a different brand to their devices, such as OnePlus ROMS can be used on a Xiaomi device and vice versa. This helps in taking full advantage of the device CPU and GPU power-optimized for a particular device. For example, the OnePlus 6T’s operating system (OxygenOS) can be ported to Poco F1 and MIUI 12 on OnePlus 6T.
Conclusion
Custom ROMS brings new features and the best user experience. We can say that custom ROMS are specially built for Android-based smartphones only. While Google supports the Android Open Source Project financially, developers use the codes and modify them for free-of-cost. Custom ROMS also helps manufacturers understand the cons and pros of their native operating system. We have posted many articles on custom ROMS for Android and how to install them. If your device is outdated and your device has stopped pushing the updates, then it is time for you to flash and explore a custom ROM.