It’s been almost 15 years since I first installed the ROM on my HTC Tattoo. A phone with an orange ROM (damn the days of carrier ROMs) didn’t update to android 2Key version to be able to download WhatsApp in Play Store (Android 1.X still had what we call ‘Market’ back then).
For me this is still a ritual and despite the current software optimization, I still consider ROM replacement a necessity in some cases. I recently flashed the ROM of my POCO F3 (with a MIUI that was driving me crazy) for Pixel Experience. The result: a better point-to-point phone point-to-point and an even longer lifecycle.
ROMs are more optimized, but not lighter
Today it is common to find a mid-range with 6 or 8 GB of RAM and a minimum configuration of 128 GB. These leaps were crucial to being able to move the huge layers of customization we have today. MIUI 14, for example, takes up about 14GB. Samsung ROM goes over 20GB.
A simple change for MIUI 14 in Xiaomi.EU version like that of MIUI 14 Stock already gives us save about 3 or 4 GBproof of the amount of bloatware, services (most of which we’re not aware of in the background) and expendables found in manufacturers’ ROMs. If we switch to Pixel Experience ROM, we are talking about a file that does not even weigh 2 GB.
There are no apps that I will never open and delete. No advertising services are implemented within the system (this only happens on MIUI). The software has become one of the main monetization points for manufacturers after selling their phones.
From CyanogenMOD to Pixel Experience
10 years ago, talking about ROMs was talking about Cyanogen. “Pure” Android was little more than a utopia found in a few terminals, and ROMs from manufacturers were simply terrible, with a few exceptions. HE boom Cyanogen’s rise was largely due to the spectacular performance jump the phones took as soon as we removed them from the native system.
The prevailing ROM at the moment is Pixel Experience: a practically perfect port of Google Pixel ROM with a few minor additions. So it is possible to have a phone with superior hardware than the Pixel, but share a ROM with it. Without further ado, my POCO F3 with 120 Hz and Snapdragon 870 moves much better 6 from my pixel.
A process that continues to be limited to a few people
Years later, the process of installing a ROM still amazes me stay exactly the same: open the bootloader (with the loss of all our data as a result and the headache this creates for some manufacturers), install a custom recovery and finally the ROM file. Most custom ROMs already include OTA updates, but otherwise you have to manually flash the file.
It’s a process that takes the world of custom ROMs away from users who perhaps want to improve their phone’s operating system but don’t dare to take all the risks that mobile, PC and command console ritual entails.
Despite this, I’m still customizing the ROM of one of the phones at home in mid-2023 and I’m sure it’s a short pit as soon as my closest family and friends’ phones start to get old. stopping is enough to give them a new life.
picture | xataka
on Xataka | How to customize your Xiaomi mobile with MIUI 14 to the maximum and without installing anything?
Source: Xataka
Emma Ortiz is a gadget expert and author at Div Bracket. She provides in-depth coverage of the latest and greatest in consumer technology, offering readers an inside look at the latest trends and innovations in the world of gadgets.