Opinion Platform

Silenced No More

Views on LineageOS

Summary

Recommendation: Good to go!

May 10, 2023, Update March 18, 2024

TL;DR: Vanilla. A lot just works without muss or fuss, and without too much Google by default.

Pros:

• The granddaddy of alternative Android ROMs operating systems. The starting point for others like DivestOS, microg for Lineage, or /e/, who ride on the coat tails.
• Does Did not support microg for years. Announced support for microG in February 2024. In my opinion this change is a negative, but some people want it.
• Frequent (weekly) updates of some newer devices, if you like frequent updates.
• Organized, hierarchical, you could almost say professional, teams with some depth. Some developers even have real jobs.
• Developers are also involved with other projects. For example, Michael Bestas (mikeioannina) and Chirayu Desai (cdesai, cde) are also on the CalyxOS team. In addition to making a living as contractors, they seem to really be supporters of Free or open source software and cooperation between projects.
• They don't particularly de-Google or extensively de-blob, so most things "just work". Has a reasonable selection of default apps.
• No history of brigading and abusing Wikipedia or other forums or communication channels, as far as I know.
• Community: Never had much need to explore; things "just work". When they don't, they usually get fixed quickly.
• Uses Gerrit code review and GitLab, but also uses Microsoft's proprietary GitHub.
• Supports many phones and other devices. Officially supported devices have dedicated developers.
• Drops support of old OS versions and old devices when it makes sense, like in March 2024 dropping Lineage 18 (Android 11): Provides sensible explanations (archive.org).
• Is up front about their business status, saying "Note: LineageOS LLC is not a 501(c)(3) non-profit, as such donations are not tax-exempt." See bottom of above-linked archived web page for example.
• Does not remove website history from archives to hide the truth.
• Provides detailed (opt-in) statistics and status monitoring.
• Operates a wiki and welcomes collaboration.

Cons:

• Infrequent (monthly) updates of some older devices beyond vendor support, without being able to fix proprietaryy blob/firmware issues.
• Supports optionally installing proprietary Google apps, if that's your thing.
• Uses Microsoft's proprietary GitHub, but also uses GitLab.
• Frequent updates - more than one a month, requiring large - 100s of MB to Gigabytes - downloads, for some phones.
• Some developers also work for other projects like CalyxOS, and it's not clear where their allegiances fall, but maybe that's a good thing.
• Does not support bootloader relocking. Listed as "con" because the list of cons is short, and some people argue endlessly about whether this is a bad thing. Here is a position writeup supporting LineageOS' choice (archive of a TL;DR reddit post). Personally, I feel LineageOS' position on this is reasonable, similar to their position of not supporting microg.
• Announced support for microG in February 2024.

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