Related
I wrote a post(don't worry about actually reading it as it contains a lot of explanation about what ROMs are and I'm sure most of you here know that) earlier about the need for a collection of vanilla AOSP builds for as many phones as possible. Being that this is probably the biggest gathering place of Android ROM developers on the internet, it seems like the logical place bring this up.
Basically, while CyanogenMod and other AOSP based ROMs are nice, they're fairly well modified and are far from vanilla AOSP. That's great for people who want those specific modifications, but at the end of the day they aren't all that different from manufacturer Sense or Touchwiz ROMs from an AOSP point of view(even if they are better). While I don't have have any problem with these ROMs(I'll probably run CM7 on my phones once it's less buggy for me), many people would prefer to start with a vanilla AOSP ROM and add on just what they want or need.
I'm aware that there are some vanilla AOSP builds for some phones floating around out there, but they are pretty scattered and only cover a small fraction of phones. For many phones, an AOSP based ROM like CM is the closest you can get to vanilla Android.
I think a central repository of actual AOSP builds for as many phones as possbile would be very beneficial to the community. Maybe a ROM developer who ports AOSP to their device could post that vanilla build before adding in all his extras.
Just a thought, but something I think it'd be great for the community to look into.
Actually thats a nice idea.
I am a lover of stock android look.
I wish if we could make available AOSP roms for most phones.
It would be awesome !!
What is the differenece between the two, also which one do you think is better.
Sent from my HTC One XL using xda app-developers app
It comes down to opinions some like sense some like aosp.... And aosp =android open source project
Aokp=android open kang project
Aosp...PA...and aokp are all stock android built directly from source
AOSP refers to Android as it comes straight from Google. Some also refer to this as "vanilla" Android. From there, manufacturers often add their own "skin" to the OS to help differentiate themselves from the competition. HTC has the "Sense" skin, Samsung has TouchWiz, Motorola has Blur, and so on. The differences can range from diverging from the "vanilla" color layouts and icons, to completely replacing some of the built-in apps (launcher, browser, music player, camera, etc.) with their own manufacturer-proprietary apps.
Really, if you are looking at custom ROMs, you should think of them as being "Sense-based" and "AOSP-based" rather than "AOSP". The spirit of the AOSP-based ROMs is to remain loyal to the AOSP or vanilla feel. But most AOSP ROMs include a huge number of customizations, extra features, that calling them "AOSP" is a big disingenuous, when they are better called "AOSP-based".
Also, some will refer to AOSP as "stock" Android, but this is confusing. By "stock", they mean as Android comes from Google. But in reality, you can also call the official ROM as it shipped with your phone as "stock" (such as "returning your phone to stock"). Since HTC never intended the phone to run without Sense, it makes it confusing to use the word "stock" for AOSP. Better to just call it AOSP.
What a person likes better is purely a matter of personal preference. Everyone has different aesthetic tastes, and expectations on features and performance. So don't let anyone tell you that one ROM is "better" than another, and don't expect to be told that either. It like asking somebody to tell you what your favorite color is.
redpoint73 said:
AOSP refers to Android as it comes straight from Google. Some also refer to this as "vanilla" Android. From there, manufacturers often add their own "skin" to the OS to help differentiate themselves from the competition. HTC has the "Sense" skin, Samsung has TouchWiz, Motorola has Blur, and so on. The differences can range from diverging from the "vanilla" color layouts and icons, to completely replacing some of the built-in apps (launcher, browser, music player, camera, etc.) with their own manufacturer-proprietary apps.
Really, if you are looking at custom ROMs, you should think of them as being "Sense-based" and "AOSP-based" rather than "AOSP". The spirit of the AOSP-based ROMs is to remain loyal to the AOSP or vanilla feel. But most AOSP ROMs include a huge number of customizations, extra features, that calling them "AOSP" is a big disingenuous, when they are better called "AOSP-based".
Also, some will refer to AOSP as "stock" Android, but this is confusing. By "stock", they mean as Android comes from Google. But in reality, you can also call the official ROM as it shipped with your phone as "stock" (such as "returning your phone to stock"). Since HTC never intended the phone to run without Sense, it makes it confusing to use the word "stock" for AOSP. Better to just call it AOSP.
What a person likes better is purely a matter of personal preference. Everyone has different aesthetic tastes, and expectations on features and performance. So don't let anyone tell you that one ROM is "better" than another, and don't expect to be told that either. It like asking somebody to tell you what your favorite color is.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have always had the doubt of how do the AOSP based roms stand against Sense based roms in term of usability and stability? do thay function correctly and take full advantage of the One X hardware? It's not very clear (at least not to me) in most of the Rom's description.
korlinr said:
I have always had the doubt of how do the AOSP based roms stand against Sense based roms in term of usability and stability? do thay function correctly and take full advantage of the One X hardware? It's not very clear (at least not to me) in most of the Rom's description.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you take time to read through the threads a bit, you will find that they are plenty stable, and used by many as daily drivers. Many people find them faster and more usable than Sense based ROMs. But that is very subjective.
And honestly, I can flash a ROM, and be fully configured with all apps and settings in about 20 minutes. Why not just pick a few that look good, and try them? You can read all you want, but it won't tell you for certain whether you will like the ROM or not. Only way to really know, is to try them yourself.
Since all of the bugs haven't been ironed out in cm..you will probably find more stability on sense roms on this device...but say on the HTC inspire sense is very heavy and aosp would give you better battery
a box of kittens said:
Since all of the bugs haven't been ironed out in cm..you will probably find more stability on sense roms on this device...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
CM10.1 (Android 4.2) is in a fairly early phase, with some bugs. But CM10 (Android 4.1) has been very stable, for a very long time. As far as I know anyway, I'm almost entirely a Sense guy.
If you want to make an apples to apples comparison, there is no Sense based ROM that is Android 4.2 (they are all 4.1). So you are comparing a slightly buggy 4.2 AOSP ROM to one that doesn't even exist (Sense based 4.2). Or comparing the cutting edge to (literally) last year's model.
Again, it just goes back to the subjective nature of picking a ROM. There are probably hundreds of CM users here that will argue that AOSP performs better than Sense.
redpoint73 said:
CM10.1 (Android 4.2) is in a fairly early phase, with some bugs. But CM10 (Android 4.1) has been very stable, for a very long time. As far as I know anyway, I'm almost entirely a Sense guy.
If you want to make an apples to apples comparison, there is no Sense based ROM that is Android 4.2 (they are all 4.1). So you are comparing a slightly buggy 4.2 AOSP ROM to one that doesn't even exist (Sense based 4.2). Or comparing the cutting edge to (literally) last year's model.
Again, it just goes back to the subjective nature of picking a ROM. There are probably hundreds of CM users here that will argue that AOSP performs better than Sense.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes .. I realize cm 10 is very stable..sorry I don't know what I was thinking with that post
I have used many AOSP based roms as my daily driver, including CM, AOKP, Jellybam, and King Kang. They have always stable and reliable for me. In saying that, ViperXL (which is Sense based) is also very reliable. It comes down to flashing a few and seeing what you prefer.
As an avid flasher and big fan of 3rd party software (not a dev) I have to ask this.. what is CyanogenMod doing?
It seems to me like they are running on a treadmill going nowhere. The latest problems are with introducing this new kernel, taking stability back to the stone ages. All this time and we still have general bluetooth errors, random reboots, weak cell coverage (yes, I know it reports lower, but it's actually LOWER). So, I have to ask, with the upcoming release of Android 5.0, the Galaxy S4 and after 8 months of CM10.1 development, why don't they produce a stable product?
CM 10.1 is so freaking awesome! But it sometimes can't be a DD for me cause I need reliability. The last stable release was from Nov 2012. I really want to donate and cheer on the CM team, but it's hard to when I don't know what they're up to. Samsung's software sucks, and CM really delivers on overall user experience, if they could button up the quality and reliability I feel it would have a lot more adopters.
BTW, the latest nightly (31 Mar) is doing really well.
youre wrong on alot of levels here.
1. signal is the same for me as TW. compared to my mothers AND brothers stock S3 over the holiday weekend at various locations.
2. Ive only had ONE random reboot running AOSP. ONE. Thats over 5-6 months.
3. Feel free to develop your own ROM instead of crying. These people put hours into their work and do it for you to download their ROMS for FREE.
So you're not a Dev yet your crying about progress from the most popular Android rom?
Maybe you should learn to Dev yourself so you can satisfy your own needs.
Not going to be a productive thread
Link to article is below.
"Amid the mad rush to buy new iPhones this week, Android was still in the headlines. Perhaps the biggest news was in regards to CyanogenMod (CM): The group behind the custom Android software is now an official company and may have its first hardware partner.
Not familiar with CM? Most mainstream Android device owners probably aren’t and they’re missing out. CM has long been a great software option for those that want what may be an even better version of Android than Android itself. The small group of developers behind CM have made their custom software available for at least four years. So why isn’t CM software on mainstream phones? Users need to have root access to their handset; something that most people have no idea how to gain, or even know about.
Still, in the overall market — particularly with Android enthusiasts — CM has a solid base: It’s estimated that more than 7.5 million Android phones run the software with its custom improvements over native Android. And why not when CM offers features such as performance boosts due to CPU overclocking, better custom theme options and support for FLAC audio files, to name a few.
CM raised $7 million in venture capital this week and one of the easiest ways it can boost usage of its software is to make it easier to install. That’s exactly what the new company plans to do. Instead of a multi-step process that requires a computer to install CM, the company is working on an app for the Google Play store that will do all of the hard work.
It would also help CM if phones were launched with its software and it appears that may happen next week. Oppo’s N1 could be the first handset partner for the young company. An announcement is planned for September 23 and based on a teaser video, it appears a version of the N1 will ship with CM pre-installed."
http://gigaom.com/2013/09/21/android-this-week-cyanogenmod-is-a-new-company-while-ol-hp-has-new-slates/
Looks like it's not all sunshine and rainbows.
https://plus.google.com/106978520009932034644/posts/L8FJkrcahPs
Yeah, I read about the corp thing a few days ago on Facebook.
Not sure how I feel about it.
What will it mean to all the awesome AOSP ROM's produced around here that are based off CM's code.
But, I do hope it means I'll eventually get to use an AOSP ROM with the APT-X bluetooth codec. It's the only thing CM doesn't have, that I really, really want.
Anyways, anytime a new company is formed, there will be moral mistakes made and also some pretty awesome things should happen. So give CM time to make and fix mistakes, and then get settled in as a company.
So generally speaking I've always stuck to sister phones of nexus devices. My Samsung Captivate was sorta the "nexus with an SD card" in terms of being identical to the Nexus S, the LG Optimus G was "4g + SD Card Nexus" and I never really had any problems running roms with the latest version of Android. Running nightlys and experimental software wasn't such a big deal because it allowed me to keep my phone up to date long after it would have been updated otherwise.
The general lack of desire to stand behind the stability of a particular version coupled with a general lack of "stable" releases kinda has me jaded when I can just keep rolling with the newest version of Android officially.
It has made me wonder if there are any "stable rolling release" versions of roms? Like "here is the stable rolling release, once a week we push the latest stable versions and features from our nightles over the last month!" Letting those who want to try the newest upgrades immediately have nightly and letting people who want the latest version of android with more tweaks get the version that suits them the most?
Edit: I'm not really asking for specific ROM recommendations so much as ROM trends in general.
Many AOSP roms do this.. We can't recommend Roma to you because those comparisons are against the rules but the ROM I use (slim) has weekly builds and then a monthly stable.
The stable has a code freeze a while before release to extend testing to ensure it is stable but the weeklies are stable too.
The devs also post personal test builds in between the weeklies for those who want to test particular new functions.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk
rootSU said:
Many AOSP roms do this.. We can't recommend Roma to you because those comparisons are against the rules but the ROM I use (slim) has weekly builds and then a monthly stable.
The stable has a code freeze a while before release to extend testing to ensure it is stable but the weeklies are stable too.
The devs also post personal test builds in between the weeklies for those who want to test particular new functions.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My mistake I should have phrased the original thread more carefully and I'll edit it after this.
I was more looking at general ROM trends as opposed to looking for a specific ROM.
Many AOSP roms do this
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk
Snow_fox said:
So generally speaking I've always stuck to sister phones of nexus devices. My Samsung Captivate was sorta the "nexus with an SD card" in terms of being identical to the Nexus S, the LG Optimus G was "4g + SD Card Nexus" and I never really had any problems running roms with the latest version of Android. Running nightlys and experimental software wasn't such a big deal because it allowed me to keep my phone up to date long after it would have been updated otherwise.
The general lack of desire to stand behind the stability of a particular version coupled with a general lack of "stable" releases kinda has me jaded when I can just keep rolling with the newest version of Android officially.
It has made me wonder if there are any "stable rolling release" versions of roms? Like "here is the stable rolling release, once a week we push the latest stable versions and features from our nightles over the last month!" Letting those who want to try the newest upgrades immediately have nightly and letting people who want the latest version of android with more tweaks get the version that suits them the most?
Edit: I'm not really asking for specific ROM recommendations so much as ROM trends in general.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
your "sister" phones in reality have nothing to do with the nexus, and are not similar. the only similarities they have is using the same kind of cpu, but tweaked completely differently. maybe the same screens as well. all the other internals are completely different. completely different as in your "sister" phones are nothing like their nexus counterparts. so unlike nexus, that i would never call them a "sister" phone.
and there are many completely stable aosp roms out there for the n5.
I really don't see a point in releasing "Stable Releases" with a nexus device. With a Nexus device, the whole source is there for developers and the device is fully unlocked. So most likely, if a dev knows what they are doing, there shouldn't be very many bugs, if any at all. It would be mainly feature additions and whatever else the dev wants to add.
Now with Non Nexus devices, it's a little harder to get EVERYTHING working since the devices are usually locked down and all. So "Stable releases" are kind of a bigger deal.
That's my view on it anyway.
the thing about android is that someone somewhere is finding something new everyday, and waiting around for the release of monthly releases of roms kinda puts the users off("ohh active notifications!" "wow heads up notification" "can i get the <insert fancy OEM specific feature here> in my device?"). I for one, coming from an XMP which had rom's being updated once every two week found it hard in the N5 community where the nightlies where more common.
The thing is you have to keep changing fast and there is always room for improvement so there can never be a "stable" version just short term triumphs.
The thing is, there isn't much need for "stable" builds anymore, the nightlies for most ROMs are really stable and daily driver capable (of course sometimes something doesn't work right here and there, but generally). Some have Delta updates too so you don't need to flash the entire ROM over each nightly, kind of like daily OTAs.
jsgraphicart said:
I really don't see a point in releasing "Stable Releases" with a nexus device. With a Nexus device, the whole source is there for developers and the device is fully unlocked. So most likely, if a dev knows what they are doing, there shouldn't be very many bugs, if any at all. It would be mainly feature additions and whatever else the dev wants to add.
Now with Non Nexus devices, it's a little harder to get EVERYTHING working since the devices are usually locked down and all. So "Stable releases" are kind of a bigger deal.
That's my view on it anyway.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Out of curiosity is the same true for the Play edition devices? With that said I was thinking about ROMs in general not ROMs specific to devices. I'd also argue (having worked QA professionally) the need to check new features added ranges drastically depending on what you want to add to the device.
gamer.11 said:
the thing about android is that someone somewhere is finding something new everyday, and waiting around for the release of monthly releases of roms kinda puts the users off("ohh active notifications!" "wow heads up notification" "can i get the <insert fancy OEM specific feature here> in my device?"). I for one, coming from an XMP which had rom's being updated once every two week found it hard in the N5 community where the nightlies where more common.
The thing is you have to keep changing fast and there is always room for improvement so there can never be a "stable" version just short term triumphs.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As someone who loves new features I find the "additives" as great. I've also found just having the latest version of Android with a working stable feature set is pretty cool too.
Lethargy said:
The thing is, there isn't much need for "stable" builds anymore, the nightlies for most ROMs are really stable and daily driver capable (of course sometimes something doesn't work right here and there, but generally). Some have Delta updates too so you don't need to flash the entire ROM over each nightly, kind of like daily OTAs.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I might look into the Delta Updates. There are a few things I do miss about ROMs such as being able to close all active windows and stuff. I just don't miss how some ROMs basically were just a conglomeration of shoving as much stuff into one ROM as possible regardless of how it ended up.
Snow_fox said:
Out of curiosity is the same true for the Play edition devices? With that said I was thinking about ROMs in general not ROMs specific to devices. I'd also argue (having worked QA professionally) the need to check new features added ranges drastically depending on what you want to add to the device.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Google Play Edition devices aren't the same as Nexus devices, they just use a more "AOSP-like" ROM that doesn't have the respective OEM skin on top of it. Not sure if bootloader unlocking process is different (Nexus devices have fastboot oem unlock) but the stock ROM on them still has some parts of the OEM framework underneath (like double tap to wake and duo camera editing on HTC One M8). The Nexus 5 is more popular then Google Play Edition devices and which is why it subsequently has more developer support.
Lethargy said:
Google Play Edition devices aren't the same as Nexus devices, they just use a more "AOSP-like" ROM that doesn't have the respective OEM skin on top of it. Not sure if bootloader unlocking process is different (Nexus devices have fastboot oem unlock) but the stock ROM on them still has some parts of the OEM framework underneath (like double tap to wake and duo camera editing on HTC One M8). The Nexus 5 is more popular then Google Play Edition devices and which is why it subsequently has more developer support.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This makes sense. I didn't know if the Play Edition devices still had OEM fragments or if they were as free as the Nexus series.
Heavy oem frameworks
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk
To be fair, there was a pretty significant gap between 4.2 releasing on the Nexus 4 and Cyanogenmod releasing 10.2 stable. As mentioned though, many of the ROMs have released stable versions and those that haven't are still fairly stable despite not having an "official" stable release.
I will say that I'm less likely to stick with a ROM despite bugs on Nexus devices than on other devices for two main reasons. With other devices, you're often getting rid of a manufacturer skin (so it's a completely different interface, instead of just having some tweaks) or you're moving up an Android version early.
Its worth pointing out that some devs only call their last ever release "stable" when they absolutely won't add or change anything again.
I think it's too easy to get wrapped up in the terminology and not appreciate the development we have
What a stable release means to 1 dev, means something else to another.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk
nearly every single ROM that I've ever used that has been titled "stable", has been less stable then the regular builds. especially with cm. a real ROM is neither called " stable" nor "experimental", its just called by its name and released. people add the word "stable" to them just to trick a few into a few more downloads.
There number of quotation marks in here is too damn high.
For good reason...
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk