Related
It seems that cyanogenmod is very popular with other phone users, and everyone seems to want it for the vibrant as well... but can i just ask what differs cyanogenmod from say trigger bionix or eugebes rom?
It seems like there is a crapton more work involved and that you could possibly brick your phone.
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA Premium App
It's a pure aosp rom, that's why people go crazy about it. I ran cm on my g1 back in the day and it made it a completely different phone.
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA Premium App
http://lmgtfy.com/?q=whats+so+good+about+cm7+mod
Go there
How you comparing trigger with cm7... think man, gb 2.3.3 and aosp... builded from scratch... code by code... it dont have a bit of tw. Well it dont even contain 2 frameworks like tw or any other...
Sent From My CM7 HTC Glacier Running @1.401 GHz
**delete **
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA Premium App
Because it's a pure AOSP ROM. Build from scratch (well, a base).
Try it if you really want to know, except for GPS issues and not so good battery life, it is AMAZING.
cashyftw said:
http://lmgtfy.com/?q=whats+so+good+about+cm7+mod
Go there
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Lol i fount it funny, never knew about that kind of searchs, haha nice...
Sent From My CM7 HTC Glacier Running @1.401 GHz
CM is the granddaddy of AOSP ROMs. Cyanogen and his team are devs cutting actual code, writing their own device drivers and system apps. The entire CM ROM is compiled from customized source code.
Contrast this with the approach taken by ROM chefs who largely assemble their ROMs out of precompiled components borrowed from different releases of the vendor's ROM binary plus some configuration hacking where the odd component has been successfully decompiled.
That's not to belittle the achievements of the top chefs in any way - it's frankly astonishing that this school is viable at all, they seem to be operating mostly blind so it's more art than engineering in some respects.
But both approaches have their strengths. OEMs like HTC with access to detailed specs for their own hardware and low-level API's can produce better drivers and better apps that work closely rough drivers (like the camera app), but at the other extreme, AOSP code can sometimes include features the vendor left out or even implement a completely rethought and altogether superior design.
It's unfortunate that the closed source strategy of vendors with their signed modules often denies us the opportunity to combine the best of both. I'm particularly thinking of how juice defender can only control the toggling between 2G/3G radio on AOSP ROMs because the radio driver will only respond to code signed with the same key as itself. Aint signed code wonderful, eh?
Sent from my Desire HD using Tapatalk
Another reason is quick updates.
CM has updates before any major manufacturer and they're updating phones that manufacturers abandoned a long time ago.
I ran CM on my G1 and I've been seriously considering making the jump with my Vibrant any day now.
for me, it's long term support. once cm adds a phone, then that phone is typically going to be able to easily be upgraded to the newest android os and typically very shortly after it comes out. like many others, i had a g1 and because i cm i was able to get more life out of the device by ocing it and updating it 2.1 and 2.2.
go install cm7 and you will see what's good about it. the only major problem with it right now is no gps. after running cm7 i went back to biwinning and bionix, but that was short lived, i'm back on cm7 because having 2.3.3 > gps, for me.
Yep, CM7 4/21 nightly + cm7 Kang kernel, overclocked to 1.2 GHz + ondemand Governor equals the fastest I have gotten my Vibrant.
I have a Nexus S, right now it's stock 2.3.4 but when Cyanogenmod gets updated to 2.3.4 then for sure I will flash it. Why? When I already have stock? Well have you seen the the things you can do on that thing? You can add a music widget built right into the lockscreen, change themes with ease, change what the search key does, change the lock screen style, and the browser is improved ( incognito mode for one) you also get some fixes that Google almost never fixes, plus stock 2.3.3-2.3.4 disables Facebook sync with your contacts, however Cyanogenmod removes this thing that Google put... basically you can customize the thing like crazy. Plus it still remains stock, but the entire experience can change. I made my Nexus S look like Sense, changed how the notification bar and other aspects of the UI looked, changed the launcher to a themed launcher pro and changed the lockscreen to lense style, boom Sense style completely. Also if your device isn't stock you can install it and you make it stock, a problem with Sense is that a lot of the time the software disables things that some apps might need ( making things like wiimotes not work on it) but if you have Cyanogenmod, it eliminates that.
Sent from my Xoom
How is the battery life when using cm7 on our vibrant?
Too bad it doesnt have gps i actually use it so ill have to wait until gps works on it
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA Premium App
This discussion started as a question in one of the CM10 threads asking how users that want an AOSP experience over HTC Sense as a daily driver wound up with the Evo 3D. It then began evolving into a debate about Sense versus AOSP so I thought it would be a good idea to move it out of that thread. Please keep it civil here or I'm sure the mods will close this thread, as I would expect them to do.
I'll start off by saying I really don't mind Sense and like the direction it has taken with the 4.x releases, so I don't consider it a compromise to run Sense ROM's to take advantage of more features of the Evo 3D. OTOH, I like to run AOSP ROM's to see what future versions of Android are bringing to our devices, and the simplicity of the AOSP interface is a pleasant change of pace, not to mention things like ParanoidAndroid that aren't available for Sense ROM's.
Here's another Sense user's experience using AOSP.
I'm not sure yet what my next device will be which is one of the reasons I'm interested in this discussion. If everyone else has heard enough in the CM10 thread already, just ignore this one and it will go away in a day or two.
ramjet73
In terms of look and design, AOSP>Sense (graphic designer here). Sense may look flashy and "poppy" but it's the same look that HTC incorporated with in the original WinMo version of sense known as TouchFlo back in 2008 I believe. Back then, this style was all the craze and was fitting for it's time, hence the design style of iOS on the original iPhone, which has also not changed. But that was nearly five years ago, and design style and standards have changed. Google has done a great job of keeping up to date with design by keeping things "clean" by minimizing fake shadows, gradients, and object that are given false dimension. In my opinion, Windows Phone is designed extremely well and is, in some ways, setting the standard on UI design, just look at how it carried that look over to Windows 8 and what MySpace's new look is like. It's all about simplicity. As a graphic designer, I cannot stand the look of Sense; it's dated and overly designed. But unfortunately, I bet that HTC (just like Apple) won't reconsider a major UI overhaul do to recognizability and brand association with Sense. All of this is just just my personal opinion though, and each is entitled their own
Sent from my Jelly Beaned CDMA Evo 3D, compliments of agrabren
Scotty_Two said:
In terms of look and design, AOSP>Sense (graphic designer here). Sense may look flashy and "poppy" but it's the same look that HTC incorporated with in the original WinMo version of sense known as TouchFlo back in 2008 I believe. Back then, this style was all the craze and was fitting for it's time, hence the design style of iOS on the original iPhone, which has also not changed. But that was nearly five years ago, and design style and standards have changed. Google has done a great job of keeping up to date with design by keeping things "clean" by minimizing fake shadows, gradients, and object that are given false dimension. In my opinion, Windows Phone is designed extremely well and is, in some ways, setting the standard on UI design, just look at how it carried that look over to Windows 8 and what MySpace's new look is like. It's all about simplicity. As a graphic designer, I cannot stand the look of Sense; it's dated and overly designed. But unfortunately, I bet that HTC (just like Apple) won't reconsider a major UI overhaul do to recognizability and brand association with Sense. All of this is just just my personal opinion though, and each is entitled their own
Sent from my Jelly Beaned CDMA Evo 3D, compliments of agrabren
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i think i have to agree with that, sense is just too much trying to be accomplished graphically on a 4inch phone. yeah the animations are nice, but they arent worth slowing down your phone. you have a phone to do the things you need it to do, the rest is just bonus.
then again, im also a person who uses the classic theme on windows 7 despite having a decent computer to run aero and still run tons of programs at once.
last point, google has come a long way and you're finally able to see that when they released gingerbread. sense 3.0 w/ gingerbread was probably the last sense that i liked that was released otr for our phones because gingerbread was just repulsive. sense 4.0 i love because it's cleaner than the previous, and really snappy. but it's still sense and you get tired of it.
htc makes solid phones, but their os is starting to turn me away. but until samsung makes phones that arent plastic. ill forever use my 3vo and flash aosp roms.
It's funny how everyone on HTC phones hates sense (except me and a few others), yet people on samsung and LG beg for sense...
Sent from my shooter using Tapatalk 2
Let me throw this out for the people that prefer the AOSP look.
Given the changes in the Sense 4.x versions is HTC Sense still salvageable as an enhancement to AOSP or should HTC scrap it and convert it's widgets, which seem to be the most popular part of Sense, to work with Trebuchet and other launchers?
If HTC actually builds a Nexus phone, we may get a chance to vote with our dollars (or whatever currency you use).
ramjet73
VictoriousShooter said:
It's funny how everyone on HTC phones hates sense (except me and a few others), yet people on samsung and LG beg for sense...
Sent from my shooter using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Man I am a die hard sense fan in my mind I don't think nothing else compares to it
Sent from my HTC VLE_U using Tapatalk 2
I got the evo 3D because I though sense was awesome. After a month I got bored and missed AOSP sooo much
Sent from my PG86100 using xda app-developers app
Reason why I bought the EVO was for sense, always liked it always will
( Don't ask me for help, as I couldn't care if your phone explodes, eh!!!)
I originally got the evo 3d because at the time I thought sense 3.0 was awsome it looked cool as hell. As well as it was one of the best phones sprint carried at the time. But then after a month or so I couldn't stand it and I went on the search for aosp or as close to it as I could get. My next device will definitely be a nexus device. Not only because I dislike sense at this point but because of the hell we went through waiting for ics and source code.
Sent from my PG86100 using xda app-developers app
Sense is "pretty" and ya all the ROMs have working cam but aosp just has so much more freedom. Only time I'm rocking sense is when I'm taking a pic
Sent from my PG86100 using Xparent SkyBlue Tapatalk 2
As others have said, first off, I like the "tweakability" of AOSP when compared to sense. Much more freedom to do what I want and this expands with CM, AOKP, and other special builds.
Second, the simplicity and streamlining of AOSP is *far* superior to anything that sense has to offer. I'm not a graphic designer, but I am a photographer so I'd say that, at the very least, I have an eye for the aesthetics of things around me. AOSP, in its newer iterations (namely, ICS and AOSP - since the new standards were introduced) has a ridiculous amount of polish and aesthetic appeal when compared to pretty much any other Android offering.
I understand that aesthetics are a completely subjective thing. A lot of people here seem to like very flashy stuff - gold-themed roms, animated 3d spinning boot screens, really bright colors, outrageous text, biohazard signs, etc. That's not my cup-of-tea personally, but if you're into that stuff I can see why you might not like AOSP.
Finally, It was incredibly hard to predict exactly what would happen concerning our phones and AOSP. When I picked up my Evo 3D, I was a huge fan of HTC hardware after owning a Mytouch 3G as my first android phone and having it survive two large water accidents. I assumed that great devs would eventually get AOSP working on it and I was ok living with Sense until that happened.
Nothing against Sense, I'm sure there are plenty of reasons for people to like it, but I've spent over a year with both (I very recently switched back to AOSP on my 3D) and I heavily prefer AOSP.
I like sense its not horrible. and the things I've seen done with it through chubbzs ports of 4.0 and 4.1 But I've had sense for quite awhile and I like the simplicity and tweakage of aosp Aokp cm and CnA. It's just different and I'm looking for something different. I know sense is going to be more stable and more functional but I'm willing to deal with a much less stable Rom just for something different. It makes my phone feel like a new phone and its a little smoother IMO
Sent from my PG86100 using xda app-developers app
I'm definitely not married to Sense anymore. When I first got my Evo 4G I really liked it, but once 4G was implemented into AOSP I flashed it and ran AOSP for months. Only going back to Sense once in a while. My Old EVO 4G is back on a Sense ROM though, Karma 7.7.7 (if I remember it right.)
Sense 4 is much sleeker and faster and I wish it was complete. If things weren't broken, I would be all over a Sense 4 ROM. But, I'd do the same on AOSP if there was a complete build of that. Ultimately, that is what keeps me on 3.6. Not it's style, look, how bloated it is (and it does have some heft.) But the fact that everything works, I can't stand not having everything worked that I paid for, whether I use them daily or not.
i liked sense 3.0 when it first came out. it was new and cool. it's still ok to be honest. but i miss AOSP. the newer versions of sense are nice as well but i just refuse to sacrifice 4G. i dont really mind losing 3D. never really used it. and i know 4G doesnt really work on any AOSP roms either. so i just desensify sense based roms to get as close to AOSP as i can. i was using CM9 on an old Droid X i inherited and i loved it. i wish we had a fully functioning CM build....
I really like Sense and I really like AOSP. (especially since ICS) the only possible way to ever choose between both was to own an HTC Device running sense. So that's what I've done since the Hero days. (Granite you needed AOSP for that device)
You can't buy a nexus device, and expect to get Sense on it, but you can buy a Sense device and get AOSP ROM's for it.
I like both, and the ability to choose. That's why I chose the EVO 3D (and HTC phones in general)
:beer:
You can follow me on Twitter - @NotSo1nter3stin
notsointeresting said:
I really like Sense and I really like AOSP. (especially since ICS) the only possible way to ever choose between both was to own an HTC Device running sense. So that's what I've done since the Hero days. (Granite you needed AOSP for that device)
You can't buy a nexus device, and expect to get Sense on it, but you can buy a Sense device and get AOSP ROM's for it.
I like both, and the ability to choose. That's why I chose the EVO 3D (and HTC phones in general)
:beer:
You can follow me on Twitter - @NotSo1nter3stin
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's actually a really good way to look at it. You can get both on HTC and you can't anywhere else. I don't see many people clammering for TouchWiz on an LG. lol
felacio said:
That's actually a really good way to look at it. You can get both on HTC and you can't anywhere else. I don't see many people clammering for TouchWiz on an LG. lol
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
this may sound bad.....
but i actually would like to see touchwiz on an htc device one day. i just wanna experience touchwiz for like a week or so without having to buy a plastic contain to hold all my phone's parts
johnnyboi1994 said:
this may sound bad.....
but i actually would like to see touchwiz on an htc device one day. i just wanna experience touchwiz for like a week or so without having to buy a plastic contain to hold all my phone's parts
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There's a rom with touchwiz on the og evo .. I actually liked it when I had my og evo a few months back
johnnyboi1994 said:
this may sound bad.....
but i actually would like to see touchwiz on an htc device one day. i just wanna experience touchwiz for like a week or so without having to buy a plastic contain to hold all my phone's parts
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Have at it!
Here's a port of the Galaxy S3 version that's been tested with ICS on the Evo 3D and here's an overview of the S3 version.
If you Google around a bit you should be able to find some TouchWiz widgets as well.
ramjet73
I like sense but it is heavy and uses more battery compared to aosp. I like aosp too and I prefer it! Is more light, smooth and I like the android grapich
Inviato dal mio HTC EVO 3D X515m con Tapatalk 2
Hey guys,
I've been running Cyanogenmod 10.something on my HTC One T-Mobile since I got it. I am blown away by the customization and the tweaks it has to offer but I've been coming across a lot of problems. Media messaging seems to be unstable, I get picture texts almost a couple days later after someone sends them. The battery also seems to be draining really fast (not sure if its just the HTC One or the CM itself). Despite being a pretty snappy ROM there still seems to be a lot of memory usage, ironically running a launcher with HTC Sense used 35% of memory on average while under CM its typically as high as 65% running the exact same apps and widgets.
Naturally I would like to switch to Google Play edition for the stability, it seems to be what the CM team were trying to emulate with more user control of course. I just want to know what kind of features I would be losing if I do so. Does anyone here have any insight on both ROMs?
Any advice/suggestions here would be very helpful. I haven't been able to find a thread that puts CM against GPE.
Thanks
I'd put my money in any CM custom ROM especially soon as they become more stable.
Couple of things to consider... T-Mobile may be pushing the 4.2.2 upgrade soon. Also, you could try this stock 4.2.2 International ROM here on XDA. I ran this same ROM on an AT&T HTC One with root, S-OFF. Absolutely bug free,
Sorry, I cannot address CM vs GPE,
-T
i would suggest viper rom as it has all the customization you would ever need but sense based. so you will not lose zoe and other sense features.
Here are some screenshots with the venom red theme and some other tweaks
Sent from my HTC One using xda app-developers app
OK I spent eight hours yesterday figuring out how to root my phone.... Success... I was finally able to figure it out.. Thanks for all the tutorials and posts that helped me do it...
I would love some direction in how to find some cool and neat and SAFE AND STABLE Roms to flash.. Is there a site with roms to choose from?? Any help or suggestions is appreciated....
Thank you again everybody
Just look in the android development section in the international forums. Viper rom is really nice, so is Arhd.
Sent from my HTC One
I second ARHD. It depends whether you like sense and want to keep it without all the bloatware, or try something more pure android. I know Google edition ROM is out now, but I like sense too much to try it. Heres some links to arhd and ge.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2183023
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2356654
Ok great thanks for the help.... I just got home from work and can't wait to spend the rest of the day flashing different roms.. Lol. What fun! This is a thousand times better than jail breaking... I was never able to flash different firm wares on an iPhone... This is a thousand times better
Pro tip: almost all roms on here are stable and safe unless they have alpha or beta in the title
Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk 4 Beta
Nick281051 said:
Pro tip: almost all roms on here are stable and safe unless they have alpha or beta in the title
Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk 4 Beta
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you for the "pro tip." I love this place.. I'm running a GPE rom and having fun... I think I want to flash something I can theme with a lot of choices... I'll look around and see if I can find a rom around here that people are theming... Thanks again
OJsakila said:
Thank you for the "pro tip." I love this place.. I'm running a GPE rom and having fun... I think I want to flash something I can theme with a lot of choices... I'll look around and see if I can find a rom around here that people are theming... Thanks again
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
For maximum themeing capabilities you can go with any of the AOSP (Android Open Source Project) based roms like Cyanogenmod (CM) AOKP, Vanilla rootbox, Slimbean, etc. They all support custom theming with hundreds uf not thousands of downloadable comaptible theme files in the Google Play store.
They are much more customizable than the GPe roms as well. But be warned, what you gain in customizability and cool factor you may tradeoff in optimal function of the phone features itself, namely camera, sound, call audio quality and BT call/streaming audio reliability.
The reason is because GPe and vanilla android 4.2.2 may look identical on the surface, but are different underneath. The GPe of the One runs on a stock Sense OS heavily modified to look and work like vanilla Android IU, but the underlying OS framework works best with the HTC hardware. While AOSP roms have hardware compatibility issues. You'll see this is a regular issue on those threads. I was using CM until the GPe roms were released. I loved the user options on CM and AOKP but was frustrated by terrible call quality and unstable BT connections. I switched to one of the GPe based roms and I gave up some cool features, but my phone works too well as a phone now to switch back.
Most people using GPe based roms are hoping the developers will adopt and incorporate the cool custom ideas from CM based roms like UI options, themes, adjustable control tile toggles, navigation bar mods, etc.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2
kayone73 said:
For maximum themeing capabilities you can go with any of the AOSP (Android Open Source Project) based roms like Cyanogenmod (CM) AOKP, Vanilla rootbox, Slimbean, etc. They all support custom theming with hundreds uf not thousands of downloadable comaptible theme files in the Google Play store.
They are much more customizable than the GPe roms as well. But be warned, what you gain in customizability and cool factor you may tradeoff in optimal function of the phone features itself, namely camera, sound, call audio quality and BT call/streaming audio reliability.
The reason is because GPe and vanilla android 4.2.2 may look identical on the surface, but are different underneath. The GPe of the One runs on a stock Sense OS heavily modified to look and work like vanilla Android IU, but the underlying OS framework works best with the HTC hardware. While AOSP roms have hardware compatibility issues. You'll see this is a regular issue on those threads. I was using CM until the GPe roms were released. I loved the user options on CM and AOKP but was frustrated by terrible call quality and unstable BT connections. I switched to one of the GPe based roms and I gave up some cool features, but my phone works too well as a phone now to switch back.
Most people using GPe based roms are hoping the developers will adopt and incorporate the cool custom ideas from CM based roms like UI options, themes, adjustable control tile toggles, navigation bar mods, etc.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The Sense version isn't heavily modified to look like Vanilla, its heavily modified to look like Sense. All carriers start with vanilla.
As for the features--because there's a Google Play Edition (GPE). The GPE devices run vanilla android--what we call AOSP, after the Android Open Source Project...which is the project Google created in order to "Open Source" Android, make it available to everyone, and provide for a "Google Experience".
The Google Experience" comes stock on the Google Play Edition devices, and guarantees that the device comes the way Android is/was intended to be, and is designed far better in terms of functionality and usability than the Firmware(s) created by Samsung, HTC, and other manufacturers, which add additional software to run on top of the Google Experience software in order to differentiate themselves from one another, and be able to say that their phones are better. In reality their software might look better and have a few extra features, but it's slower, can take years to update, and in the end, is often more restrictive.
Because these devices require Google certification, all features are required to be in working order. And because Android is so modular, you're guaranteed to have all the drivers, libraries, etc. you need to use all the base hardware available on the device. This means that beats audio, Wifi , Bluetooth, GPS, 3d, Sound, etc. Will all work. The only thing that won't work is the IR blaster on top of the device (for turning your device into a universal remote control to change channels with on your TV, blue ray player, etc. ), and since updates come from the manufacturer and not Google, it's believed that an update may enable this in the future.
By the way, Engadget did a side by side during their review, and stated that picture quality wasn't any better on the Sense version---which means that you'll get great photos on both devices.
That's the reality. Some have made some wild speculations, and have come to some wild conclusions (entirely subjective and disproved), but this all comes from extremely authoritative reviewers...people who are given devices and whos career depends on spending a ton of time analysing these devices, and getting it right.
Sent from my Transformer TF101 using XDA Premium HD app
Jamesyboy said:
The Sense version isn't heavily modified to look like Vanilla, its heavily modified to look like Sense. All carriers start with vanilla.
As for the features--because there's a Google Play Edition (GPE). The GPE devices run vanilla android--what we call AOSP, after the Android Open Source Project...which is the project Google created in order to "Open Source" Android, make it available to everyone, and provide for a "Google Experience".
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks but you're misinterpreting what I was saying.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2
CleanROM 3.0 <stock look and feel with added performance and perks
Just so I understand this correctly, if we need to get S-OFF to flash ROMs such as Viper due to it being 1.28, correct?
Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk 2
nope s-off is not needed. If you still can, obtain the unlock key from HTCDEV.com and use that to unlock your bootloader (this will wipe your phone completely), install a custom recovery such as CWM or TWRP, then install either superuser or supersu for the root
Then flash away
1. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QU7vi388dMk
2. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rRkAHw_GmIs
Thank you so much! So what exactly does S-OFF allow you to do besides customizing the bootloader?
Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk 2
tanner4137 said:
Thank you so much! So what exactly does S-OFF allow you to do besides customizing the bootloader?
Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Restore your phone completely back to pre-rooted stock condition with the stock Sense ruu. Just like when you got it from the store.
Also is required if you want to reflash/update the phone firmware (which will completely wipe out phone data just like unlocking the bootloader).
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2
kayone73 said:
Restore your phone completely back to pre-rooted stock condition with the stock Sense ruu. Just like when you got it from the store.
Also is required if you want to reflash/update the phone firmware (which will completely wipe out phone data just like unlocking the bootloader).
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
And do we need to update the firmware to install any of these ROMs?
Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk 2
tanner4137 said:
And do we need to update the firmware to install any of these ROMs?
Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
NO.
Stop being so fixated on updating your firmware. Read more and ask fewer questions.
Sent from my HTC One
Hi!
I have been a heavy user of custom ROMs for more than three years now on all my Android devices. Lately, although I have a phone that not so long ago was still Samsung's flagship (the galaxy S4, I9505), the pictures I get with it really suck. A couple weeks ago, the phone could not detect my SIM card (pure hardware issue), so I re-installed the stock firmware and took it to the repair shop to get the warranty repair. They fixed it and I got my phone back. Just to make sure it was working fine, I decided to use the stock ROM for a while, and oh surprise: the camera takes much better pics in low light conditions or indoor than the same camera with any custom ROM app (usually AOSP-based, AOKP or CM-based). I tried to download the Google camera, and the low light pictures really suck. Then I tried a bunch of camera apps from the Play store, but I invariably got similar results to what I got with my custom ROMs.
That got me thinking. I'm no dev nor programmer, so I won't get technical, but it seems to me that there can be two reasons for the samsung app to work better:
- Either it has access to (proprietary) hardware drivers that other camera apps cannot access, and therefore it can get everything out of the camera hardware
- Or Samsung (which is not known to be great for its software) has developed a great camera software.
I would think it's something along the lines of the first reason. So does that mean I am either stuck with a ROM I cannot stand (Touchwiz is awful, has always been, and may always be) and a decent camera, or a decent ROM but a camera that is kind of useless when I'm indoor?
If so, how are the cameras on other similar phones (I'm thinking Nexus 5, Sony Xperia, etc.), running on custom ROMs compared to the stock camera apps? Is there also a noticeable difference, or is it just with Samsung?
I understood that you cannot run the Samsung camera apk on a custom ROM (even one on a Samsung phone), because the camera relies on some kind of Samsung proprietary framework.
Does this mean I should be looking for a phone that is running not only on open source software, but also open source hardware, does that even exist?
Anyone has noticed something similar? Am I the only one to be bothered by this?
I'll post here a couple pics taken in the same ambient light conditions. One with the Samsung camera (Auto setting), one with Google camera, and one with another camera app from the market (don't remember which one, but I tested about 15 of them and their results were quite similar).
Anyway, even if you don' have a solution to the problem but can point me to information that could help me understand how to choose my next phone, I would really appreciate. Thanks!
Cheers,
Fa
fabecoool said:
Hi!
I have been a heavy user of custom ROMs for more than three years now on all my Android devices. Lately, although I have a phone that not so long ago was still Samsung's flagship (the galaxy S4, I9505), the pictures I get with it really suck. A couple weeks ago, the phone could not detect my SIM card (pure hardware issue), so I re-installed the stock firmware and took it to the repair shop to get the warranty repair. They fixed it and I got my phone back. Just to make sure it was working fine, I decided to use the stock ROM for a while, and oh surprise: the camera takes much better pics in low light conditions or indoor than the same camera with any custom ROM app (usually AOSP-based, AOKP or CM-based). I tried to download the Google camera, and the low light pictures really suck. Then I tried a bunch of camera apps from the Play store, but I invariably got similar results to what I got with my custom ROMs.
That got me thinking. I'm no dev nor programmer, so I won't get technical, but it seems to me that there can be two reasons for the samsung app to work better:
- Either it has access to (proprietary) hardware drivers that other camera apps cannot access, and therefore it can get everything out of the camera hardware
- Or Samsung (which is not known to be great for its software) has developed a great camera software.
I would think it's something along the lines of the first reason. So does that mean I am either stuck with a ROM I cannot stand (Touchwiz is awful, has always been, and may always be) and a decent camera, or a decent ROM but a camera that is kind of useless when I'm indoor?
If so, how are the cameras on other similar phones (I'm thinking Nexus 5, Sony Xperia, etc.), running on custom ROMs compared to the stock camera apps? Is there also a noticeable difference, or is it just with Samsung?
I understood that you cannot run the Samsung camera apk on a custom ROM (even one on a Samsung phone), because the camera relies on some kind of Samsung proprietary framework.
Does this mean I should be looking for a phone that is running not only on open source software, but also open source hardware, does that even exist?
Anyone has noticed something similar? Am I the only one to be bothered by this?
I'll post here a couple pics taken in the same ambient light conditions. One with the Samsung camera (Auto setting), one with Google camera, and one with another camera app from the market (don't remember which one, but I tested about 15 of them and their results were quite similar).
Anyway, even if you don' have a solution to the problem but can point me to information that could help me understand how to choose my next phone, I would really appreciate. Thanks!
Cheers,
Fa
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So here come the pics. Of course XDA compresses them, but you'll get the idea.
Fa
That is the example difference between things that are built for the device over using open-source options. Software will always be better from the OEM. You see the same thing with HTC and Sony devices. Take the m7 and m8. They have great cameras as long as you use HTC Sense. Other wise all you get is a basic 4 mpx camera that sucks. If you want one that works the same no matter the rom then get a nexus. This is something OEM are doing to make people want to use their software
Thanks @zelendel,
A Nexus could be an option, but the screen size of the Nexus 5 was already too large for me (and so is my current phone, the Galaxy S4), so there's no way I'm getting a Nexus 6 (plus it's prohibitively expensive, at least here in Europe). When will Google make a Nexus mini or compact? That would rock, especially if they go the Sony way (not compromising too much on hardware features). The only downside of Nexus phone is their lack of MicroSD card slot, but that's off topic.
Anyway, what about the Google Edition phones? As I understand, they have the same hardware as their OEM counterpart (don't they?), but instead of running on proprietary stock ROMs, they ship with a pure Vanilla Android. Does this mean they ship with a camera that sucks, or is there some kind of tweak included to get the most of the camera with those editions, too? If so, would flashing that ROM help (if I can get my hands on it)? Unfortunately it seems the whole Google Edition concept has not gained a lot of traction (maybe because of the unavailability of the handsets in many places, maybe thanks to the OEM who did not play fair game and rather managed to get their crappy proprietary stock versions in the hands of customers), so I'm trying not to get too excited about this either.
I guess I will have to go to my local phone shop, spend time there with different devices and see if some of them have less heavily customized skins than TouchWiz. That means I'll no longer go for a Samsung, which have been my only devices so far. The end of an era...
fabecoool said:
Thanks @zelendel,
A Nexus could be an option, but the screen size of the Nexus 5 was already too large for me (and so is my current phone, the Galaxy S4), so there's no way I'm getting a Nexus 6 (plus it's prohibitively expensive, at least here in Europe). When will Google make a Nexus mini or compact? That would rock, especially if they go the Sony way (not compromising too much on hardware features). The only downside of Nexus phone is their lack of MicroSD card slot, but that's off topic.
Anyway, what about the Google Edition phones? As I understand, they have the same hardware as their OEM counterpart (don't they?), but instead of running on proprietary stock ROMs, they ship with a pure Vanilla Android. Does this mean they ship with a camera that sucks, or is there some kind of tweak included to get the most of the camera with those editions, too? If so, would flashing that ROM help (if I can get my hands on it)? Unfortunately it seems the whole Google Edition concept has not gained a lot of traction (maybe because of the unavailability of the handsets in many places, maybe thanks to the OEM who did not play fair game and rather managed to get their crappy proprietary stock versions in the hands of customers), so I'm trying not to get too excited about this either.
I guess I will have to go to my local phone shop, spend time there with different devices and see if some of them have less heavily customized skins than TouchWiz. That means I'll no longer go for a Samsung, which have been my only devices so far. The end of an era...
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The GPE device dont come with stock android completely. I have a GPE HTC M7 and the gpe software has some of the closed sourced drivers and such for things like Beats audio and the camera. As I run pure AOSP I wind up with a 4mpx camera that really sucks. While i agree alot of the newer devices have huge screens that make it almost pointless for me. The m7 is not bad at about 5in. But then again it doesnt have an SD card slot but comes with 32gb of storage which I think is plenty for my use. Part of me misses my old samsung devices but I made the mistake once of getting the one with the Samsungs chip and not the snapdragon which killed development.
zelendel said:
The GPE device dont come with stock android completely. I have a GPE HTC M7 and the gpe software has some of the closed sourced drivers and such for things like Beats audio and the camera. As I run pure AOSP I wind up with a 4mpx camera that really sucks. While i agree alot of the newer devices have huge screens that make it almost pointless for me. The m7 is not bad at about 5in. But then again it doesnt have an SD card slot but comes with 32gb of storage which I think is plenty for my use. Part of me misses my old samsung devices but I made the mistake once of getting the one with the Samsungs chip and not the snapdragon which killed development.
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Alright! Well, if I could find the GPE edition for my phone (I9505), then I would get all the camera features and none of the TouchWiz crap, which would already be quite an improvement over what I have now (complete TW stock). I guess another possibility would be to flash a stock based ROM that is rooted and from which I could remove all the bloatware...
OK, the hunt is on for a new ROM!
Cheers!
Fa
fabecoool said:
Alright! Well, if I could find the GPE edition for my phone (I9505), then I would get all the camera features and none of the TouchWiz crap, which would already be quite an improvement over what I have now (complete TW stock). I guess another possibility would be to flash a stock based ROM that is rooted and from which I could remove all the bloatware...
OK, the hunt is on for a new ROM!
Cheers!
Fa
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If you want all the features of the camera then yes I would run a stock de bloated rom. I used to run Samsung devices and you can remove most things which will give you the camera app which has all the best features.