Android custom ROMs aren’t popular as they once were but continue to be a great alternative for those tired of their bloatware-infested, slow, and dated stock software. One of the most popular names in the game is LineageOS, mainly because of its stability and extensive device support. The custom ROM hit version 18.1 (based on Android 11) last year with support for over 60 devices and has been expanding its roster ever since.

The latest additions to the officially supported LineageOS 18.1 devices list include the following, and you can download their respective latest builds by clicking on their codenames (via Android Police).

• OnePlus 9 (lemonade)
• Mi 10T Lite/Mi 10i/Redmi Note 9 Pro 5G (gauguin)
• Mi 10 Lite 5G (monet)
• Asus ZenFone Max M1 (X00P)

While the OnePlus 9 has already received OxygenOS 12 based on Android 12, the update hasn’t gone down well with everyone since it’s based on ColorOS. LineageOS 18.1 will thus serve as a great replacement.

Both Xiaomi Mi 10T Lite and Mi 10 Lite 5G currently run Android 11 layered with MIUI atop. The heavily-skinned software has always been a hit or miss with users, and those looking for something lighter would love LineageOS 18.1.

The Asus ZenFone Max M1 no longer receives updates and is still stuck on Android 9 following a failed Android 10 beta program. It already has extensive custom ROM developer support and it’s great to see another gem added to its roster.

Additionally, Asus ROG Phone 2 and ZenFone 6 have been dropped from LineageOS support, meaning the duo will no longer be receiving new official builds.

RELATED:

• OnePlus Nord 2T complete specs leaked: Dimensity 1300, 80W charging, & more
• OnePlus 10 Pro confirmed to begin open sale in India this Spring
• OnePlus 10 Ultra? Rumor has it that OnePlus’s first ‘superphone’ is in the works
• Xiaomi 12 Pro Global model spotted on Geekbench, FCC, and HTML 5 certification sites
• Xiaomi Service+ app launched in India as a one stop solution for all your service needs

The post LineageOS 18.1 arrives to give OnePlus 9 and multiple Xiaomi phones a taste of stock Android appeared first on Gizmochina.

The Android 11-based LineageOS 18.1 went official at the beginning of April. Since then, the project has added support for a number of devices. The latest addition brings builds for three popular POCO smartphones.

POCO handsets run MIUI like other Xiaomi group phones. The brand calls it MIUI for POCO. Not everyone likes the company’s software. Those users can try custom ROMs.

LineageOS is one of the most popular custom ROMs. The team released LineageOS 18.1 based on Android 11 a few months back. This software is now available for POCO F2 Pro, POCO F3, and POCO X3 Pro.

Power users of the above-listed handsets who enjoy fiddling with their smartphones can unlock their device’s bootloader and install the latest LineageOS 18.1 via custom recovery. It is worth noting that third-party software is not meant for everyone. Hence, proceed only if you know what you are doing.

That said, since POCO F2 Pro is a rebranded Redmi K30 Pro, LineageOS 18.1 can be also installed on Redmi K30 Pro as well as Redmi K30 Pro Zoom Edition. Similarly, Mi 11X and Redmi K40 also support the latest version of LineageOS as these phones are nothing but the POCO F3.

Talking about official software, all these POCO smartphones currently run MIUI 12.5 based on Android 11. They should receive MIUI 12.5 Enhanced Edition in the coming months, followed by MIUI.

RELATED:

• Prototype of the unreleased POCO F2 aka Redmi K20S smartphone leaks online
• POCO continues to be India’s fastest-growing smartphone brand
• Camera specs of Xiaomi 12 series, Xiaomi CC11 series emerge
• More details about Xiaomi Evergreen and Evergo leak

The post LineageOS 18.1 now available for POCO F2 Pro, F3, X3 Pro appeared first on Gizmochina.

Late last month, OnePlus revealed that Android 11-based OxygenOS 11 Open Beta for the OnePlus 6 and the OnePlus 6T will be released by the end of August. That means the stable update for these smartphones could be arriving after Android 12 goes official. But thankfully, power users of these devices can experience Android 11 right away.

At the end of March, LineageOS 18.1 based on Android 11 went official. The new version of the popular custom ROM brought Android 11 to 76 devices at launch.

Now, more than a month later, developers have released official nightly builds for the OnePlus 6 and the OnePlus 6T. Hence, interested users can try Android 11 on their smartphones without waiting till August for OxygenOS 11 Open Beta.

In order to install LineageOS 18.1, users will have to unlock the bootloader of their phone. Followed by that, they will have to replace the stock OnePlus recovery with a custom recovery like TWRP.

Once done, all they have to do is download the latest available nightly build from the LineageOS official website and install it via custom recovery. Additionally, they will have to install GApps package like OpenGApps for Google apps and services.

Unfortunately, custom ROMs are not for everyone. Hence, if you don’t have any prior experience, it’s better to wait for the official Android 11 update from OnePlus later this year.

RELATED:

• OnePlus TV Q/U series OTA7 update brings a camera app, OnePlus Watch control support, and more
• OnePlus Watch gets AOD and camera shutter control via the latest firmware update
• OnePlus EB2103 appears on Singapore’s IMDA ahead of launch
• OnePlus Nord N100, Nord N10 5G could launch in India

The post OnePlus 6/6T users can finally experience Android 11 courtesy of LineageOS 18.1 appeared first on Gizmochina.

Xiaomi Redmi Note series of devices are popular in most of the markets they get released. A recent example would be the 500 Crore INR($68 million)sales of the Redmi Note 10 series in India within two weeks. Similarly, the Note devices are also popular in the custom ROM development community. Accordingly, the LineageOS 18.1 (Unofficial) custom ROM is now available for the Redmi Note 10 Pro / Pro Max devices.

Xiaomi generally helps developers by releasing the kernel source code of its device as soon as it gets launched. Similarly, it did for the Redmi Note 10 Pro series last month and as a result, we now have the LineageOS 18.1 for Redmi Note 10 Pro and Note 10 Pro Max.

It’s worth noting that LineageOS 18.1 recently went official but the ROM build for the Redmi Note 10 Pro / Pro Max is currently unofficial. This means, the builds are initial and aren’t maintained by someone from the official ROM development team.

However, the ROM is open-source and some of the other developers are bound to take advantage of it and support devices unofficially. Anyway, the LineageOS 18.1 based on Android 11 builds for both Redmi Note 10 Pro and Note 10 Pro Max seem to be working fine except for a few bugs.

All the essentials like the boot, Wi-Fi, Calls, SMS, Mobile Data, VoWifi, Camera, Audio, and others are working as per XDA Senior Member grewal09. However, the build seems to have issues in double-tap to wake and SELinux is set to permissive so keep that in mind.

As we have reported in the kernel source article, the devices have similar specs, so the custom ROM build is unified for both the Global and Indian versions. Therefore, you will have to flash the respective firmware and vendor of your regions(eg. EEA/ India) to avoid fatal problems.

You can refer to the XDA community forum post to find the detailed instructions for flashing the custom ROM.

The Redmi Note 10 Pro / Max runs Android 11 OS out of the box but they don’t have the latest MIUI 12.5. However, they are present on Xiaomi’s official list of eligible devices scheduled to get the update.

RELATED:

• Xiaomi Mi QLED TV 75-inch confirmed to launch in India on April 23
• POCO M3 Pro could be arriving as rebadged Redmi Note 10 5G
• Xiaomi Mi 11 Pro Review: Are the Issues from the Mi 11 fixed?

The post Redmi Note 10 Pro (Max) get Unofficial LineageOS 18.1 Custom ROM appeared first on Gizmochina.

Custom ROMs used to be popular back in the early days of Android. They were probably the only way to let users experience clean software with so many additional features. But now, they exist as an option as Android skins by different OEMs have gotten better. 

Anyway, when we talk about custom ROMs, the firm ROM that comes into mind is LineageOS (formerly CyanogenMod). The developers behind this project have finally released Android 11-based LineageOS 18.1.

Google released Android 11 stable in September of 2020. That means it took nearly seven months for the LineageOS team to release their software based on the latest version of Android called LineageOS 18.1

However, credit where credit’s due, this year, the ROM debuted with support for 76 devices. For comparison, last year’s LineageOS 17.1 was introduced with 50 devices.

That said, let us take a look at the first batch of LineageOS 18.1 official devices.

LineagOS 18.1 Official Devices

• Essential

  • Essential PH-1

• F(x)tec

  • F(x)tec Pro

• Google

  • Google Nexus 6
  • Google Nexus 7 2013 (Wi-Fi, Repartitioned)
  • Google Pixel 2
  • Google Pixel 2 XL
  • Google Pixel 3
  • Google Pixel 3 XL
  • Google Pixel 3a
  • Google Pixel 3a XL
  • Google Pixel 4
  • Google Pixel 4 XL
  • Google Pixel 4a
  • Google Pixel 4a 5G
  • Google Pixel 5

• LeEco

  • LeEco Le Max2
  • LeEco Le Pro3 / Le Pro3 Elite

• LG

  • LG G2 (AT&T)
  • LG G2 (Canadian)
  • LG G2 (International)
  • LG G2 (T-Mobile)
  • LG G5 (International)
  • LG G5 (T-Mobile)
  • LG G5 (US Unlocked)
  • LG V20 (AT&T)
  • LG V20 (Global)
  • LG V20 (Sprint)
  • LG V20 (T-Mobile)
  • LG V20 (US Unlocked)
  • LG V20 (Verizon)

• Motorola

  • Motorola Moto G6 Plus
  • Motorola Moto G7
  • Motorola Moto G7 Play
  • Motorola Moto G7 Plus
  • Motorola Moto G7 Power
  • Motorola Moto One Power
  • Motorola Moto X4
  • Motorola Moto Z2 Force
  • Motorola Moto Z3 Play

• Nextbit

  • Nextbit Robin

• HMD Global (Nokia)

  • Nokia 6.1 (2018)

• OnePlus

  • OnePlus One
  • OnePlus 2
  • OnePlus 3
  • OnePlus 3 / 3T
  • OnePlus 5
  • OnePlus 5T
  • OnePlus 8
  • OnePlus 8 Pro
  • OnePlus 8T

• Razer

  • Razer Phone

• Samsung

  • Samsung Galaxy S4 (GT-I9505/G, SGH-I337M, SGH-M919)
  • Samsung Galaxy S4 (SCH-I545)
  • Samsung Galaxy S4 (SCH-R970, SPH-L720)
  • Samsung Galaxy S4 (SGH-I337)
  • Samsung Galaxy S4 Active
  • Samsung Galaxy S4 Value Edition (GT-I9515/L)
  • Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 Lite (Wi-Fi)
  • Samsung Galaxy Tab S5e (LTE)
  • Samsung Galaxy Tab S5e (Wi-Fi)

• Sony

  • Sony Xperia 10
  • Sony Xperia 10 Plus
  • Sony Xperia XA2
  • Sony Xperia XA2 Plus
  • Sony Xperia XA2 Ultra

• Xiaomi

  • Xiaomi Mi 5
  • Xiaomi Mi 5s Plus
  • Xiaomi Mi 8
  • Xiaomi Mi 8 Lite
  • Xiaomi Mi MIX
  • Xiaomi Mi MIX 2S
  • Xiaomi Mi Note 2
  • Xiaomi POCO F1
  • Xiaomi Redmi 7

We expect more devices to get added to the official supported list in the coming weeks.

RELATED:

• vivo officially unveils OriginOS, It’s a complete system overhaul from FuntouchOS
• MIUI 12.5 Global is Official: Features and rollout details
• OPPO ColorOS 11: All the features you need to know
• Android 11 reportedly has the fastest adoption rate

(Source / Via)

The post Android 11-based LineageOS 18.1 goes official appeared first on Gizmochina.

The Galaxy S2 (stylized as Galaxy S II) was the successor to the original Galaxy S. Samsung unveiled this smartphone at the Mobile World Congress in February 2011. The handset debuted with Android 2.3 Gingerbread and was updated up to Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean. Because of its popularity in the developer community, over 9 years after its release, interested owners can now try Android 11 on this device.

Android fragmentation is a known issue for years. It has reduced to a certain level with the introduction of Project Treble but the problem is yet to be solved fully. Recently, Google and Qualcomm announced that certain high-end Snapdragon SoCs starting with Snapdragon 888 will support up to four years of software updates (3 years of Android updates and 4 years of security patches).

Though the announcement sounded big, actually it wasn’t. Because Samsung had already promised three generations of Android updates for select devices earlier this year and Google has been providing the same for Pixels since their inception. Anyway, the improvement is better than nothing.

EDITOR’S PICK: Samsung’s One UI 3.0(Android 11) update timeline for Europe revealed

Hence, learning that Galaxy S2 from 2011 can run Android 11 after 9 years from its launch is big news. Owners of this phone can try the latest version of Android, which is yet to hit many flagship smartphones released this year.

The Android 11 for Galaxy S2 comes as an unofficial port of LineageOS 18.1 by several XDA Senior Members such as rINanDO, ChronoMonochrome, and others. Since the ROM is compliant with Isolated Recovery (IsoRec), it can be directly flashed via Odin. However, users will have to re-partition and wipe the internal storage of their handset for the installation process.

Anyway, if you are still owning this phone, it may be mostly lying around somewhere without any use. Therefore, if you are interested in modding, flashing Android 11 on this smartphone is not a bad idea.

According to XDA Developers, this ROM port is only applicable for the Galaxy S2 with model number GT-I9100. As of now, the screen, Wi-Fi, camera, and audio are working properly. But RIL is still a work in progress as users can only receive calls and cannot make one. Similarly, GPS, FM Radio, screencasting, and other features don’t work yet.

You can find the steps to install Android 11 on the Samsung Galaxy S2 by visiting this link.

UP NEXT: Samsung reveals One UI 3.0 (Android 11) update timeline for India

The post 9-year-old Galaxy S2 gets Android 11 update unofficially appeared first on Gizmochina.