How do you pick a ROM(android ofc) ?

Just placed a order for a TAB S 8.4 so I can start reading manga again, as my second venue 8 pro came with a crap screen (compare to the first one I own).

Jump on XDA and woot 10+ different roms(+kernels).. the most PITA thing about android imho. here is where windows tab shrine, where no choice is actually better and I get to make it how I want on the fly.

When I had android, I usually just pick the top3 rom that is most active with most replies and see if the feature fits me. Any other suggestions ~~?

 

That's normally how I choose it. I usually pick CyanogenMod, it's pretty close to stock Android. If you want an optimized stock rom, sometimes you can search for a rooted factory image without all the bloatware, though I'm not sure if newer Samsung devices with KNOX allow this unless you want KNOX to be broken.

I've been waiting for some form of Lollipop to come to my Galaxy Note 10.1 2014 Edition...

 

I am using euphoria ROM on my nexus 6 with the hells core kernel for the improved battery life

Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk

 

I personally run a stock debloated ROM on any device I get and occasionally will change the kernel but to be honest, I can't stand CyanogenMod. Something is always broken. I have more connectivity problems (Internet, dropped calls, SMS delays, etc) with CyanogenMod and AOSP ROMs so I do not use them. I've tried CyanogenMod on every device I've had since the HTC Inspire 4G and the Samsung Galaxy S (Captivate on AT&T) and I've never been happy with it.

 

How are stock roms nowadays?
and
are performance difference (stock vs aftermarket) that dramatic like back in the day I use a first gen nexus 7?

 

Honestly it REALLY depends on what you buy. Samsung, there is quite a huge difference from a rooted stock rom with all the bloatware removed vs the stock image alone. I had an old Blaze 4G with 2.3, I flashed 4.0 ICS rooted with no bloatware and it felt like a totally different phone. The issue I had with custom roms and Samsung is I like some of the parts of the Samsung UI (like the icons to toggle Wifi/BT/Airplane etc) but I want alot of the bloatware removed.

Also with custom kernels, you can get much better performance, battery life, etc, though it always is a gamble.

 

Basically this when it comes to Samsung.

I have a Nexus 6 and have no bloat yet running a custom ROM that is based on the official release image on Google's site is still noticeably faster because it is a "slim" ROM... Nothing but the play store for Google Apps so I can add my own.

Samsung... I can't say, I have the Nexus 6 now, had the M8 before, the M7 before, and an S4 which I never even got a chance to root before my roommate agreed with what I said from the beginning - moving from an S3 to an HTC would be hard for him.

 

Ugh. Custom ROMs. If you're really into custom ROMs, then I'd go with whatever custom ROM gets a lot of updates in the XDA forums. The thing is that a lot of custom ROMs aren't stable. They try to add some nifty new features, often at the expense of introducing bugs in other features (e.g. radio doesn't work, camera doesn't work, 4G doesn't work, Exchange support doesn't work, international roaming doesn't work, etc). Or they try to overclock the hardware, which will kill battery life and may lead to instability. If you go down the Custom ROM route, be prepared to frequently update / reflash your device with whatever updated ROM is available, and to possibly have to wipe your device when you do that.

If you're into tinkering and playing around with new experimental software, custom ROMs are great. But if you just want a fast, stable, clean OS, then there are better options for you. I'd recommend that you:

* Root your device
* Debloat. Run Titanium Backup Pro to disable (freeze) whatever pre-included applications on your device that you don't want. XDA forums will have lists of apps that are safe to freeze / disable, without affecting the core functionality of your device.
* Download and run Xposed Installer, and then Wanam XPosed (a module you download from within the Xposed Installer itself). That will let you customize the look and feel of your device UI (like battery icon, status bar font and colors, etc.
* Download whatever launcher app you like. I personally like Apex Launcher, but there are about half a dozen really good ones out there.

After you do that, you'll have a clean, reasonably customized device that will run much faster than the out-of-the-box configuration because you've debloated.

 

Xposed is exceptionally buggy with Lollipop.

Grab a stock rooted ROM with CarrierIQ and other carrier and manufacturer bloatware if you want a smooth experience. Avoid Xposed like the plague. It has never been stable and its much worse with Lollipop.

 

You bring up a good point.

If you can, try to stick with Android 4.4.x, rather than Lollipop (Android 5.x), if possible. Lollipop doesn't really bring anything new to the table, but does have the downside of users reporting more frequent application crashing, and lower battery life.

If you do decide to go with Lollipop, then I agree with Ethrem... definitely be very cautious about applications that modify the low-level UI components of the Android OS, since those apps were all developed and tested on Android 4.x.

 

I couldn't disagree more. Lollipop is the best version of Android yet and the switch to ART from Dalvik makes a huge difference. I could care less that it broke Xposed as I refuse to use it anyway but while it breaks ancient apps, most developers have updated their apps to work with Lollipop. I don't have a single app that I use that doesn't perform better in Lollipop.

 

Also, if I may add, one of the greatest benefits of rooting is disabling the limits on tethering...

 

I didn't really notice that on my Nexus 7 2013, and I had 3 ranging from 4.2, 4.3 and 4.4 out the box (in terms of the less battery life and application crashing).

 

Lollipop on my 2012 nexus 7 was horrible / unusable. Rooted using wugfresh and installed Cyanogen mod made it like a new tablet again.

 

It works fluidly on my 2013.

 

Yeah I wasn't talking about the 2012 Tegra 3 Nexus 7, but the 2013 one with the Snapdragon S600. There were ALOT of complaints about the Nexus 7 being super slow with Lollipop.