Hi there! New to the forum, formerly used SDX developers.
on my first TouchWiz device and was hoping to hear some opinions and get educated on how custom ROMs work on a phone with an OEM overlay. I previously ran a Nexus S with Cyanogenmod on it. I really enjoyed it, but didn't lose any features going from vanilla Android to CM.
curious what features I might lose if I were to switch on this new phone. The features I might be interested in not losing are the camera app (essentially the burst shooting mode and best picture mode) and the air gestures. There were many features I really enjoyed of CM, but I would like most some sort of compromise.
other ROM suggestions would be appreciated to hear too.
Thanks for your time.
SalomonCascade said:
Hi there! New to the forum, formerly used SDX developers.
on my first TouchWiz device and was hoping to hear some opinions and get educated on how custom ROMs work on a phone with an OEM overlay. I previously ran a Nexus S with Cyanogenmod on it. I really enjoyed it, but didn't lose any features going from vanilla Android to CM.
curious what features I might lose if I were to switch on this new phone. The features I might be interested in not losing are the camera app (essentially the burst shooting mode and best picture mode) and the air gestures. There were many features I really enjoyed of CM, but I would like most some sort of compromise.
other ROM suggestions would be appreciated to hear too.
Thanks for your time.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You basically either got to go AOSP or TW, all the TW roms will have those features that come with stock working. AOSP roms like CM, AOKP, PA, etc won't have any of the unique TW features like air gestures and etc. In regards to the camera, it won't be the same exact app, but I'm pretty sure AOSP has a few equivalent shooting modes but I don't remember which ones, haven't used the AOSP camera in awhile.
And I'm pretty sure I've read that it won't be possible to merge those TW features, like smart scroll and all that air stuff, into CM and etc. MAYBE if the Google GS4 comes with them we will be able to port them in, but I doubt that'll the Google S4 will.
Sent from my SPH-L720 using xda app-developers app
So S Beam and S Health won't be ported to AOSP style ROMs either? I'm just trying to figure out which way to go. I like the idea of some of these features, but realistically probably wouldn't use them much. Have you experimented with any ROMs on your S4 yet? Thanks for your response.
SalomonCascade said:
So S Beam and S Health won't be ported to AOSP style ROMs either? I'm just trying to figure out which way to go. I like the idea of some of these features, but realistically probably wouldn't use them much. Have you experimented with any ROMs on your S4 yet? Thanks for your response.
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Click to collapse
I'm quite sure that the APK's of those apps are dependent on Touchwiz so they won't work if your on an AOSP rom. That might not be the case for all of them.
Yes sir! I have tried all the main TW roms out, Force Rom is a really slimmed down stock rom with some nice mods, FreeGS4 is a choose and pick everything you want from stock with everything being included and most of it being uninstallable by default, with a bunch of great mods, Blue Kuban is a blue themed out TW rom with a great built in mod downloader/updater. All three are great with different niches. There is also Highway (or something like that) and Untitled rom but those are in their early stages still.
And the AOSP roms are the usuals, CM, AOKP, AOSPA and also SlimBean. If your going to try an AOSP rom I recommend the official CM nightlies or Slimbean as the others are still in beta.
Sent from my SPH-L720 using xda app-developers app
I've been thinking I would wait for a CM milestone before giving it a shot. Might try Free GS4, that sounds up my ally. Thanks again for the answers. One last question if you have time: Have you considered dual booting?
I have been running ForceRom and have had great success with it. Battery life is great and phone has been running quite smoothly. Link below if you wanna check it out.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2261943
Sent from my SPH-L720 using xda premium
Good question, and good information for new smartphone people such as I.
I am running the Team Sonic rom, I like it quite a bit. Its very similar to stock but with some important tweaks:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2294607&page=41
OK a philosophical rant.
I've spent hours trying to decide which custom rom to install. Watched all the youtube videos went on all the developers web sites and read hundreds of pages of threads and yet nothing jumps out at me. I was asking myself why do I want a custom rom. So I went through a checklist of what roms offer
1. Remove bloatware - done that through titanium
2. Display customisations - I use sense and nova and various other gui apps that provide many options
3. Tweaks - I have exposed modules - sense 6, gravity box and xsense which give me all the tweaks I need
4. Speed - my phone's running very well.
5. Gestures - I use gmd gestures
Some roms offer hundreds of tweaks. In reality how often and how many would you change. Also while most roms are stable and bugs are fixable, there are many reports of problems and yes I know they do get fixed eventually but losing wifi, carrier access, reboots, bootloops etc can be disconcerting and a common question is how do I get back to stock rom.
I came to the conclusion that the only reason I wanted a custom rom was to see if I could load one and try it out. Seems like a lot of mucking about to achieve, in my case on this phone, very little.
Have i missed the point of roms?
I installed the Android Lollipop custom rom and it was nice. There were two bugs that I encountered and they were 1) no system r/w access and 2) I kept having to dismount and remount my sd card. I tried Cyanogenmod and while it was nice, I missed Blinkfeed.
It's a presonal preference, really. Everybody has their reason for what operating system they run on their phone. As for me, I like custom ROMs because I like to stay on the bleeding edge. If a new version of Android is released, you can guarantee there'll be a custom ROM for it within 1-2 weeks. Even when the OEM has stopped pushing out updates, custom ROMs give the ability to always stay on the bleeding edge. Also, some people dislike the Sense UI. Understandable, since it does slow the phone down just a bit. But really, it' just down to personal preference.
primed1 said:
It's a presonal preference, really. Everybody has their reason for what operating system they run on their phone. As for me, I like custom ROMs because I like to stay on the bleeding edge. If a new version of Android is released, you can guarantee there'll be a custom ROM for it within 1-2 weeks. Even when the OEM has stopped pushing out updates, custom ROMs give the ability to always stay on the bleeding edge. Also, some people dislike the Sense UI. Understandable, since it does slow the phone down just a bit. But really, it' just down to personal preference.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Maybe its a Windows vs Mac thing. Its funny you know that I'm an experienced computer teacher and on PCs I always stay up to date and I do like to be on the bleeding edge but when it comes to phones I feel differently but on my Samsung tablet I do have a custom rom. I'm not anti custom rom. Samsungs bloatware is ridiculous, touchwiz is awful and the tablet is very laggy. A custom rom here was absolutely necessary. Now it flies but on the htc one m8, I don't mind sense 6, speed is good and customisations are adequate.
Technically speaking they are not necessary. I prefer stock android to sense.
Also lollipop appears to be a game changer for exposed. It's uncertain the future of exposed.
I know my ROM of choice is miui although it can be a crap shoot to get a stable ROM to my liking so I usually use mi launcher
jbarr3 said:
OK a philosophical rant.
I've spent hours trying to decide which custom rom to install. Watched all the youtube videos went on all the developers web sites and read hundreds of pages of threads and yet nothing jumps out at me. I was asking myself why do I want a custom rom. So I went through a checklist of what roms offer
1. Remove bloatware - done that through titanium
2. Display customisations - I use sense and nova and various other gui apps that provide many options
3. Tweaks - I have exposed modules - sense 6, gravity box and xsense which give me all the tweaks I need
4. Speed - my phone's running very well.
5. Gestures - I use gmd gestures
Some roms offer hundreds of tweaks. In reality how often and how many would you change. Also while most roms are stable and bugs are fixable, there are many reports of problems and yes I know they do get fixed eventually but losing wifi, carrier access, reboots, bootloops etc can be disconcerting and a common question is how do I get back to stock rom.
I came to the conclusion that the only reason I wanted a custom rom was to see if I could load one and try it out. Seems like a lot of mucking about to achieve, in my case on this phone, very little.
Have i missed the point of roms?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Once u try Xposed Module Xtended Settings (for Sense 6) u won't need a rom. It's ALMOST got more features than s6tb, xsense, htc one tweaker, gravity box,- ALL COMBINED AND THEN SOME THAT NONE OF EM CONTAIN.... Newest versions up on Play Store (Xposed report has older versions).... With this 1 single mod, I have no need for custom rom. Try it u WILL NOT regret it (or turn back either)
Are custom roms necessary? In my opinion yes they are.
1: some people prefer a pure android experience (me included)
2: some people want certain tweaks, apps, and settings
3: and the MOST important one! Faster updates, and longer device life.
What do i mean by device life? Newest android on phones that the manufacturer phased out. Look at the galaxy s3 running 4.4.4, or the galaxy nexus running 4.4.4 and probably 5.0 now. These devices stopped getting updates from their manufacturers but are still good usuable phones, preventing me from getting a new device.
This is why companies have been locking down bootloaders, to get you to buy a new device for new software when the one you own is perfectly good.
So it comes down to taste, preference, and android version.
jbarr3 said:
Have i missed the point of roms?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Xposed and all these apps which you are using came in very late if you compare them to when custom roms started popping up. Now, me for one prefer to have some of the functionality you use baked into my rom instead of me going to the play store and downloading an app to do so.
R4INS said:
Are custom roms necessary? In my opinion yes they are.
1: some people prefer a pure android experience (me included)
2: some people want certain tweaks, apps, and settings
3: and the MOST important one! Faster updates, and longer device life.
What do i mean by device life? Newest android on phones that the manufacturer phased out. Look at the galaxy s3 running 4.4.4, or the galaxy nexus running 4.4.4 and probably 5.0 now. These devices stopped getting updates from their manufacturers but are still good usuable phones, preventing me from getting a new device.
This is why companies have been locking down bootloaders, to get you to buy a new device for new software when the one you own is perfectly good.
So it comes down to taste, preference, and android version.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Which rom are you using then?
BTW In Australia we are bypassing 4.4.4 and going straight to 5.0. When I don't know (Jan. was mentioned) but I'll revisit roms when they match my firmware. The point about updates is a good one. I forgot about that.
jbarr3 said:
Which rom are you using then?
BTW In Australia we are bypassing 4.4.4 and going straight to 5.0. When I don't know (Jan. was mentioned) but I'll revisit roms when they match my firmware. The point about updates is a good one. I forgot about that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Im running the google play edition 5.0 lollipop leak right now. Hoping the official google play 5.0 update comes this week. Kinda laggy. I tend to run cyanogenmod (cm11) so as soon as cm12 comes out ill be switching to that
R4INS said:
Im running the google play edition 5.0 lollipop leak right now. Hoping the official google play 5.0 update comes this week. Kinda laggy. I tend to run cyanogenmod (cm11) so as soon as cm12 comes out ill be switching to that
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Flash the antilag fix holyangel posted, it makes things usable imho. Its not 100% gone but its a whole lot better without the fix.
luigi90210 said:
Flash the antilag fix holyangel posted, it makes things usable imho. Its not 100% gone but its a whole lot better without the fix.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah i have the tweaks all set. Also switched to nova launcher (ditching google now helps). I really only experience the most lag in chrome and keyboard. I could try a differrnt keyboard i guess but it matches so well.
R4INS said:
Yeah i have the tweaks all set. Also switched to nova launcher (ditching google now helps). I really only experience the most lag in chrome and keyboard. I could try a differrnt keyboard i guess but it matches so well.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Its funny you say that cause im only experiencing lag on google messanger. Everything else is smooth with the occasional hiccup once and a while.
To add my $0.02 to the topic, i feel custom roms in the sense like CM, AOKP, paranoid android, ect. are not necessary unless you have no way to get pure android on your device. Im running the leaked lollipop rom and im loving it aside from the minor lag issues im experiencing, i feel android has itself to a point where if you need to customize something, you have rooted apps that can do it, there isnt any need to have all these seperate apps baked into a rom when you will only use 1/3rd of the features, its just adding more bloat to what could be a pure aosp rom
luigi90210 said:
Its funny you say that cause im only experiencing lag on google messanger. Everything else is smooth with the occasional hiccup once and a while.
To add my $0.02 to the topic, i feel custom roms in the sense like CM, AOKP, paranoid android, ect. are not necessary unless you have no way to get pure android on your device. Im running the leaked lollipop rom and im loving it aside from the minor lag issues im experiencing, i feel android has itself to a point where if you need to customize something, you have rooted apps that can do it, there isnt any need to have all these seperate apps baked into a rom when you will only use 1/3rd of the features, its just adding more bloat to what could be a pure aosp rom
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
While I do agree, that the feel of stock AOSP is unbeatable, I don't think that AOSP ROMs like CyanogenMod and Paranoid Android are completely useless. They have some features that you can't simply add with an Xposed module, or some root app. Take CM's theme manager, for example. I honestly don't know what I'd do without the theme manager. And Paranoid Android's Hover feature? (Which I guess with Lollipop's floating mode, is now useless), but in KitKat, it was revolutionary. And I'm sure they'll continue to add new, unbeatable features in Lollipop, too. And until they stop adding new features, I don't think it's likely that I'll stop using them.
primed1 said:
While I do agree, that the feel of stock AOSP is unbeatable, I don't think that AOSP ROMs like CyanogenMod and Paranoid Android are completely useless. They have some features that you can't simply add with an Xposed module, or some root app. Take CM's theme manager, for example. I honestly don't know what I'd do without the theme manager. And Paranoid Android's Hover feature? (Which I guess with Lollipop's floating mode, is now useless), but in KitKat, it was revolutionary. And I'm sure they'll continue to add new, unbeatable features in Lollipop, too. And until they stop adding new features, I don't think it's likely that I'll stop using them.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hover can be used via gravity box, wanam, and other tool boxes like it, themer however is unique to android but for a user like me who stays with stock themes that feature is moot.
With xposed not working on lollipop i can see where having a feature hardcoded into a rom would be good but thats only if xposed is broken forever.
Thats my $0.02 on the subject though, i personally find no need to run a custom rom on my HTC One M8, lollipop has all the features i use and i only need root to manage my kernel, files(root explorer), sound control, and an app like greenify that forces apps to shut down when not in use to gelp battery life.
bdizzle1686 said:
Once u try Xposed Module Xtended Settings (for Sense 6) u won't need a rom. It's ALMOST got more features than s6tb, xsense, htc one tweaker, gravity box,- ALL COMBINED AND THEN SOME THAT NONE OF EM CONTAIN.... Newest versions up on Play Store (Xposed report has older versions).... With this 1 single mod, I have no need for custom rom. Try it u WILL NOT regret it (or turn back either)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just installed this and your right, its very good but it is missing a couple of my favourite tweaks from my xsense, sense 6 toolbox and gravity box. Using all of these gives all the tweaks you could possibly want,
primed1 said:
While I do agree, that the feel of stock AOSP is unbeatable, I don't think that AOSP ROMs like CyanogenMod and Paranoid Android are completely useless. They have some features that you can't simply add with an Xposed module, or some root app. Take CM's theme manager, for example. I honestly don't know what I'd do without the theme manager. And Paranoid Android's Hover feature? (Which I guess with Lollipop's floating mode, is now useless), but in KitKat, it was revolutionary. And I'm sure they'll continue to add new, unbeatable features in Lollipop, too. And until they stop adding new features, I don't think it's likely that I'll stop using them.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
CM theme Manager based on T-Mobile theme engine is used by RichmondoUK in his xposed module too
A custom rom is a great thing but not necessary. I wish i had a custom rom on my m8, but since is almost certain that i can't s-off it, i don't wanna risk not been able to update the firmware or to lose wifi or network signal if i upgrade to a rom based on newer firmware. So i'll keep it stock at least until lollipop comes.
I`d like to add something,
Before knowing that GREAT invention called "XPOSED" , custom roms were a must for me and I assume for every android maniac like me. But now things are totally different , with XPOSED u can have customize ur stock rom in all ways . And thus u get all the benefits of both stock roms "stable bug free" and custom roms at the same time. Guys we shud really thank Mr. XPOSED inventor whoever he is. :good::good:
Jabber Abdullah said:
Before knowing that GREAT invention called "XPOSED" , custom roms were a must for me and I assume for every android maniac like me. But now things are totally different , with XPOSED u can have customize ur stock rom in all ways . And thus u get all the benefits of both stock roms "stable bug free" and custom roms at the same time. Guys we shud really thank Mr. XPOSED inventor whoever he is. :good::good:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I see everyone talking about Xposed.
Given it's uncertain future in Android 5 I'm afraid for the foreseeable you are going to want baked in features on custom ROMs.
I personally cannot wait to see what themers can do with Android 5.0 in the CM theme engine.
Like others I am also waiting for CM12 as it always just feels more snappy than stock.
I recently got an S5, and I'm a big fan of vanilla-ish Android (I've been using Cyanogenmod for a long time). However, the stock Samsung camera is extremely nice. There's other things I like about it, but it's mainly that (and maybe the wifi calling).
I'm looking for a ROM that retains the stock Samsung camera, but is as close to AOSP as possible. I was looking at XtreStoLite. Are there any other ROMS you guys can suggest? Possibly something that retains the AOSP look and feel, but still has some of the better Samsung improvements (specifically that camera!).
Thank you!
Sergio71785 said:
I recently got an S5, and I'm a big fan of vanilla-ish Android (I've been using Cyanogenmod for a long time). However, the stock Samsung camera is extremely nice. There's other things I like about it, but it's mainly that (and maybe the wifi calling).
I'm looking for a ROM that retains the stock Samsung camera, but is as close to AOSP as possible. I was looking at XtreStoLite. Are there any other ROMS you guys can suggest? Possibly something that retains the AOSP look and feel, but still has some of the better Samsung improvements (specifically that camera!).
Thank you!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi,
You can use X-Note Rom for S5,its at the Moment 4.4.2
But high customable
Read the op's and then try them all until you find one you like.
Hi everybody
After flashing rom 5.1.1 from [HLTE/TMO/SPR/VZW][ROM][CM12.1][5.1.1_r26] Temasek's UNOFFICIAL Build v18.4, i can't find anything relates s pen, s note, air command. It means that i can use s pen function. Can anyone tell me : does 5.1.1 support s pen?
Thanks so much.
Regards.
All im gonna say is wow !!!
sorry, i don't understand what your mean ?
no you can't use spen with cm roms, you may need to download third party apps or any mods, like trying to install moded spen air command.
He thought maybe Samsung made cm.
Sent from my SM-N920F using Tapatalk
Support? Yes and No. Cyanogen Mod supports S Pen with some apps, honestly I have no interest about CM and stuffs, but you can ask on that particular ROM's thread which apps you might use as replacement to S Note and all that. And by no I mean the integration is nowhere near as flawless as it is on TouchWiz based ROMs, but then again that's quite normal.
MINH19051991 said:
Hi everybody
After flashing rom 5.1.1 from [HLTE/TMO/SPR/VZW][ROM][CM12.1][5.1.1_r26] Temasek's UNOFFICIAL Build v18.4, i can't find anything relates s pen, s note, air command. It means that i can use s pen function. Can anyone tell me : does 5.1.1 support s pen?
Thanks so much.
Regards.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Let me explain.
The official firmware made by Samsung is called TouchWiz, and there are ROMs based on it, and all of the functionality of the device is kept by flashing such a ROM.
Downsides: as much as the developers here making TouchWiz ROMs are trying, TouchWiz' innate lag is close to impossible to deal with, and people who cannot simply stomach that, flash AOSP ROMs.
AOSP stands for Android Open Source Project: code provided by Google themselves, which allows developers to create a ROM based off pure Android.
Which means that when you flash an AOSP ROM (Cyanogenmod, Tema's version of CM, Resurrection Remix, Slim, etc.), you are flashing a ROM that basically turns your device into a Nexus.
Nexus phones don't have S-Pen.
Pure Android doesn't support it.
Anything you found on TouchWiz as functionality CAN be achieved to some extent on an AOSP ROM by flashing various mods and installing apps and frameworks and whatnot, but it will not work as well as on TouchWiz.
So my suggestion is that if you use S-Pen regularly, you will want it with it's full functionality, and for that you find a TouchWiz based ROM, we have a couple of good ones. AryaMod, Audax, various ports of the Note 4 and Note 5...
If you go AOSP on the other hand, your phone will be A LOT faster and more responsive, but you will find a hard time restoring some S-Pen functionality with it.
Yeah, well let me state some FACTS here as well, in case some amateur completely misses the main flaw in the above post.
Yes, TouchWiz lags, that's beyond any question, but who said flashing a Cyanogen ROM turns your device to a Nexus phone? That's beyond ridiculous! AOSP is great, fast, stable, as good as Android could and should be. But Cyanogen isn't that! It's based on AOSP, but with plenty of bugs, and not tiny bugs either. I don't have any time or interest about pointing them out, but just Googling will reveal them.
A Nexus is a Nexus, which runs on naked Android without any sort of customisation whatsoever, which is called AOSP. A Cyanogen port can never have same stability or bug free nature like a AOSP ROM, N E V E R. Now I honestly don't care if some troll or fanboy comes and say there are no bugs, well that's as usual hilarious. You have to have use a stable and bug free thing first to notice or comment on which are bug free, which are not, LOL!
This is the actual sum up:
TouchWiz: Stable, slow, laggy sometimes (when people say the lag is impossible to bear, well that's when you should find your dictionary and look up for the word 'exaggerate'), but with every feature possible, needless to say S Pen integration is excellent.
Cyanogen mod/ or any AOSP port: Turn your Note 3 to something other than Note 3. ROM will be faster than TouchWiz, but again, it's not that fast that it would make a world's difference, and you lose all the Samsung features, and some of them are quite important ones, and there are bugs, some of them are quite important as well, like poor call quality or degraded photo/ video quality! But then again there will always be people who don't call form their "mobile phone" or snap any photos, and then there is the S Pen. But look at the bright side, you can now scratch your ear with it.
At the same time, I would prefer if Samsung moves to clean Android like Motorola or Sony, keeping some of their useful apps like S Note, Messaging an Dialler app etc., cause there is no real point of having a totally heavy kinda skin on top of Android when the main Android is pretty good itself. They can add a bunch of apps, they don't necessarily need to add a whole framework for that.
Thanks everybody so much i choosed tazzy-audora rom. This is great rom