Custom ROM: Why Don’t You Need Them Anymore?

In recent years, technology has taken a giant leap and has advanced in the most useful ways. A few years ago, the Android enthusiast had to root their smartphone and flash a custom ROM into it. It was quite common and normal to do so, but technological advancements have changed it a lot. These days, rooting an Android smartphone isn’t a norm anymore, and one tries to avoid using it due to its lengthy procedure. Also, one doesn’t need to root and flash ROM on their Android smartphone as the device has become way more powerful and smart than one could have imagined five years ago. To give you a better idea about ROMs, here are a few purposes it can resolve:

Privacy and Security

Smartphones are not free of issues and privacy-invading bugs. Like computers, it can also breach your online privacy and security as many device manufacturing companies record and keep a tab on your data and information and sell them to different organizations and companies. In such cases, ROM helps to address the security and privacy concerns of the gadget user. Since ROMs are open-source, its code is readily available to scrutinize. An operating system like Lineage OS offers built-in controls and Privacy Guard to restrict the apps and prevent them from stealing your data.

Security And Operating System Updates

All the Android smartphone manufacturers were not great at bringing the latest updates to the device. One can get two major Android updates and security patches for up to three years on a flagship device. If you invest in anything cheaper, then the possibility of getting an update is none. Users will miss out on a lot of great opportunities to try the latest features if their device manufacturer fails to fetch them the latest updates. The performance of the smartphone will also reduce over time. In case the manufacturer of your smartphone model has abandoned the product, you have to install a custom ROM for device support, updates, and security patches.

Extend Smartphone’s Life

ROM will help you save money on purchasing a new and updated Android smartphone. Using a ROM, you can easily upgrade your old and cheaper quality phone and turn it into a smart gadget. Old and less expensive Android phones rarely get any updates, and their life expectancy also reduces with time. They aren’t even well optimized due to their higher-end brethren. But if you add a sophisticated, leaner, and minimal-bloated ROM to such a device, the phone will receive a boost in power and performance. It might as well extend the battery life of the device.

These were some ways ROM has helped improve the device, but the technological advancements and improvements in smartphones make ROMs irrelevant in modern times. To help you figure out the difference, we have listed a few reasons to avoid ROM:

Poor Camera

A camera is a technical specification that no one wants to compromise upon, and customizing a ROM in a modern smartphone can ruin the quality of the gadget’s camera. The cameras these days are complicated, making it difficult to add a custom ROM to the device. You will also find phone cameras with multiple lenses, higher frame rates, pixels, advanced HDR effects, etc. All of these features and specs need special tools that are available in the smartphone’s firmware.

In case you want to add a custom ROM, it would be better to replace the original firmware, but it will downgrade your phone’s camera quality. You have to be careful about the ROM you use as it can also take away the features of your camera.

Stability

Back in the day, Android smartphones were slow, and they used to crash down very frequently. One had to reboot the device every other day to run the well. Fortunately, these issues have been fixed in the device, and smartphones have become more powerful. These days, smartphones run smoothly and give a stable performance even if you play heavy or resource-consuming games on it. However, the ROMs have become less powerful and flimsy, and they don’t have any surety or guarantee either. Only the official builds get regular updates, refinements, and bug fixes.

Do You Need Custom ROMs?

With the differences mentioned above, you must have realized if you need a ROM or not. If you use a modern smartphone, you can skip using a custom ROM as your device is sufficient and has better stock firmware. But old, abandoned, or cheaper smartphone users might have to invest in custom ROMs, especially if you don’t want to splurge on a new smartphone. Otherwise, it would be better to purchase a mid-range or budget-friendly smartphone and enjoy its benefits without investing your time and money in a custom ROM.

Ava Williams is a Microsoft Office expert and has been working in the technology industry since 2002. As a technical expert, she has written technical blogs, manuals, white papers, and reviews for many websites such as office.com/setup.

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