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Out with the old, in with the new: LineageOS cut support for Android 9 Pie earlier this year, and to make up for the loss, the open-source project has just released version 18.1 based on Android 11. It comes with official support for about 60 phones and tablets.
LineageOS ROM releases first builds based on Android 10 (Update: Builds are back)
LineageOS 17.1 is here
LineageOS is the most popular custom ROM in existence, and the project prides itself on bringing newer versions of Android to unsupported devices. However, Lineage has been a bit slow to roll out a version based on Android 10 — the Pie-based ROM was already available by this time last year. Thankfully, the next major version of LineageOS seems to be just around the corner.
Back in 2013, when the Galaxy S4 was the flagship of Samsung's smartphone lineup, we got word that the South Korean tech giant was artificially boosting CPU and GPU performance to report inflated benchmark scores. After three years and one class-action lawsuit to reprimand Samsung for its infraction, a settlement is finally happening to the tune of $13.4M.
The LineageOS project just keeps on trucking. Since the last time we covered the most popular custom ROM around, it has added six more phones to the device roster, including the original Razer Phone and the Asus Zenfone 6.
LineageOS is one of the best custom ROMs around, with official support for dozens of phones and a few unique features. The last time we covered the project, it started offering builds for the Redmi Note 7 Pro, Huawei Honor 5X, and a few others. Since then, a whopping 13 phones are now receiving Pie builds, but there's some bad news for Xiaomi device owners.
LineageOS is one of the most popular custom ROMs available, with somewhere around two million active installations. It typically takes a while for the project to update to newer versions of Android, since development is largely done by maintainers in their spare time. Six months after the public release of Android 9 Pie, it looks like LineageOS is about ready to make the jump — but not before dropping older devices.
CyanogenMod 13, based on Android 6.0 Marshmallow, first arrived in November 2015. It was soon switched to Android 6.0.1, and continued to be the main branch of CyanogenMod until version 14.1 was released one year later. After the CyanogenMod community re-organized into LineageOS, the distribution was renamed to LineageOS 13.
Since our last LineageOS post, the project has continued to add new features and support new devices. In addition to new Quick Settings tiles and changes to included apps, the ROM now supports 16 additional devices.
The Galaxy S4, in its day, was a pretty capable smartphone. However, with its fourth birthday fast approaching, its update period has long since passed. No matter to T-Mobile, though; the company has just pushed the latest February 2017 security patches to it and the older Galaxy Tab 3... but they're still on Android 4.4 KitKat.
Yep, you read that right. In a Late Night with Jimmy Fallon appearance a couple of days back, President Obama mentioned he no longer used his DISA/DOD-approved Blackberry, but a new Android smartphone instead. According to Ars Technica, that device is very likely a hardened Samsung Galaxy S4.
Over the past week, CyanogenMod 13 nightlies have been released for several Android phones and tablets, breathing new life into what can be now considered old hardware. Most of the devices had CM12.1 prior, meaning that the jump they're witnessing is just from Lollipop 5.1 to Marshmallow 6.0, but the Verizon Galaxy S5 never had CM12, it was on CM 11 (KitKat) prior to this update. That must feel like a quantum leap.
CyanogenMod's maintainers are on an everlasting quest to conquer the software update war against pesky smartphone manufacturers who drop support way too soon for most of their devices. For instance, Samsung has been struggling to release Marshmallow for the two-year old Galaxy S5, but the CyanogenMod folks are ready to roll Android 6.0's software to an even older flagship: the three-year old Galaxy S4.
That took quite a while. According to a tip sent from an Android Police reader, that very small sliver of Galaxy S4 owners which opted for the Google Play Edition of the phone (running stock AOSP software) is now receiving the Android 5.1 update. That's the one that first started coming out way back in February, at least to Nexus devices. Yeah, the Google Play Edition program isn't looking quite so hot these days, more's the pity.
Samsung isn't leaving its flagship of yesteryear completely high and dry in this age of Stagefright vulnerability. An update is being sent to the Verizon Galaxy S4 today that patches the Stagefright vulnerability, and adds a few more fixes for good measure.
Lollipop has just arrived for Samsung Galaxy S4 on US Cellular. The upgraded software build is based on Android 5.0 with the new version number R970TYUGOE2. Per the norm for Galaxy devices the update is available as an OTA or through Samsung Kies on your computer.
Samsung has been releasing more apps lately and the newest one is for the mobile gamers. Game Recorder+ lets you record gameplay videos on several Samsung devices, with internal audio supported on the Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge. The early reviews aren't great, though.
Android Auto is starting to finally show up in cars and third-party head units, but there are still a handful of compatibility issues to work out, it seems. The latest update to the Android Auto app includes compatibility for the Samsung Galaxy S4 and S5 on AT&T, Sprint and Verizon.
The Galaxy S4 was an incremental upgrade over the S III, but it still sold like gangbusters. So there are untold millions (billions?) of people out there waiting on their Lollipop updates. Fortunately Sprint has posted changelogs for both of its Galaxy S4 variants: the original and the Spark version.
Android Lollipop is making the rounds, and now it's time for Verizon's version of the Galaxy S4 to step up and get a taste. Verizon has announced that it's rolling out an over-the-air update that will bump the phone up to software version LRX22C.I545VRUGOC1 and Android 5.0.
When Sprint rolled out its Spark, it introduced a second variant of the Galaxy S4 that was compatible with the faster network. A reader has reached out to let us know that his Spark-compatible version has received an update to Android 5.0. Sure enough, Sprint has updated the support page to say that the software has started going out to devices. The release bumps phones up to version L720TVPUCOD1.