Android operating system is an open source project developed by a consortium, whose main contributor is Google.
As an open-source project, there are some other projects that have forked available Android code into new distributions that bring their own customization of the OS and get rid of some Android restrictions, like Google apps installed as default.
These versions are all based on AOSP, it means, Android Open Source Project.
This post lists some of the main projects of Android-based OS.
Why would you want to install a non-Google Android-based OS on your phone/tablet?
Some of the reasons that come up to my mind:
- You prefer the customized version offered by any of the alternative Android project
- Your manufacturer has stop to maintain updates on Android for your device, but any of the existing alternatives keeps updating it
- You prefer an OS not managed by Google, whatever the reason
List of open source AOSP-based OS
Open source AOSP-based OS featured on this post:
- LineageOS
- Replicant
- /e/
- GrapheneOS
- CalyxOS
LineageOS
LineageOS is a fork of the discontinued project CyanogenMod.
It is probably the most popular non-Google AOSP-based OS.
Replicant
Replicant is based on the source code of LineageOS.
It excludes any software that is not considered free, unlike other OS on this list like LineageOS. Because of this reason, as of January 2023 it the only AOSP-based OS approved by the Free Software Foundation (FSF), as it can be checked on this external link.
/e/
/e/ project is leaded by the creator of Mandrake.
GrapheneOS
GrapheneOS is focused on privacy and security.
It was formerly known as Android Hardening or AndroidHardening.
As of 2022, it is only compatible with Google Pixel devices.
CalyxOS
CalyxOS uses MicroG instead of some Google services. It is focused on privacy and security.
You might be interested also in…
- How to install an Android-based OS in an Android device
- How to install LineageOS 14.1 on Nexus 7 2012
- How to install LineageOS 14.1 on Samsung Tab Pro 10.1 Wi-Fi
External references
- HackerNews; “Fellow humans, there are alternatives!“; ycombinator.com
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