What are custom ROMs?
Custom ROMs are developed by individuals or companies (Oxygen OS, Cyanogen OS) independent of the official device manufacturers (though they sometimes customize the OS for OEMs like One Plus) (third parties). Since Android is highly customizable, it makes it easier for anyone to customize the OS and make it run on supported Android devices.
What are the advantages of custom ROMs?
Flashing customs ROMs have numerous advantages that come with it. Let me take you through some of them.
- Update to a newer version of Android that OEMs may not offer.
- Get a faster device since custom ROMs are lighter than stock ROMs.
- Improve battery life
- Get rid of annoying bloatware forever.
What are the disadvantages of custom ROMs?
Every good thing has its own downside and custom ROMs are no different. Though customs ROMs do help a lot, there are prices that one is likely to pay especially if they are not from good sources or the process goes wrong.
- You may end up bricking your device if you don't go about the flashing process correctly.
- Lack of hardware support; camera, microphone and some other things MAY not work.
- Your warranty will be invalidated.
- You may experience battery drain if there are some few problems with hardware support.
Where Can You Get One For Your Device?
There are many places that you can get custom ROMs for your device. They are not something that you'll need to search for your whole life. The first place I recommend you check is Cyanogenmod - they've been in the business for quite long and you'll be able to get very stable ROMs from there. In case you don't find one for your phone, you can head over to XDA developers forum and get the latest AOSP-Based ROMs which are well tweaked for devices. Other places you can check are MIUI (pronounced mee-yoo-eye). Slim ROM and many others.
Hope this post has enlightened you on Custom ROMs? If you have any problem, please drop it in the comment box. Don't forget to subscribe for free updates.