[update title="Update message" icon="info-circle"]
This article is being updated every now and then (make sure you keep checking back)
[/update]
This article is being updated every now and then (make sure you keep checking back)
[/update]
Android users are always seeking for new apps, new tips and tricks to get their devices supercharged and handy for many situations. This urge to try and experiment anything new comes from Android being an open source operating system. Android is an easily customized OS (Operating System) and can be oriented to each user's preferences. It also provides its users the ability to alter anything in their system from a simple setting to the most advanced settings of the kernel itself. In this post I'm going to show you how to supercharge that Android phone you have, and make it ready for advanced use.
Here is the outline of the article
Let's get some terms defined first. ROM stands for "Read-Only Memory", there are Stock ROMs which came with your android device when you first bought them. And there are Custom ROMs which are an aftermarket option that you can Install on your phone to get more features.
Stock roms are usually full of bloatware and laggish home launchers (Touch-Wiz comes to mind), which unfortunately degrades performance but these ROMs are usually stable. Custom ROMs on the other hand are usually clean out of the box with only necessary apps to get the system going with no added jargon.
O.K so to get your android supercharged you either have to stick with stock ROM but you need to clean it by uninstalling all system apps you don't need, or you can backup your data and install a custom Rom which is what I strongly recommend For many reasons I will mention later in the article.
Here is a list of custom roms I personally prefer
- Cyanogen Mod (Project terminated) Cyanogen mod is what I'm currently using even though the project has died but it is a real good custom ROM, it is replaced now by LineageOS. The community will continue to build out the operating system under the new name. You can find them on lineageos.org
- Resurrection Remix give them a visit on resurrectionremix.com
Where to get custom roms for your android phone
Warning: Your phone, your responsibility. I'm not responsible for any damage whatsoever that might happen to your phone by following these steps
Flash Custom Recovery and Google Apps
But before You can Install a custom rom you first need to install a custom recovery, I know of two; ClockworkMod and TWRP, you can find them both and how to install them on xda-developers, I recommend using latest version of TWRP if possible. After flashing your custom recovery, you now need to flash your downloaded custom rom, and don't forget to download google apps from opengapps.org and flash it to get Google functionality like play store ..
Rooting
Now that you have your custom ROM installed you need to check if it is rooted or not (usually custom ROMs are pre-rooted, you can also check documentation of your installed ROM to see if it is rooted or not) if it is not rooted then you need to get back to xda-developers and search for a proper root for your device.Installing Xposed Framework
Well this one is a little bit tricky, because installation differs depending on Android version. For Lollipop and previous versions you can Install xposed installer APK file then click on install framework within the app, but for marshmallow you need to flash framework from recovery, then install the app afterwards. Procedure of installing Xposed framework holds high risk of bootloop, so always do a backup before attempting anything that could break your installation or make your your data lost.
What is Xposed Framework
Xposed is a framework created by a developer on xda-developers called rovo89, this framework uses root to interact with the core of android to add many features and customizations, these you can access by installing modules withing the app itself. The framework brings more functionality and customization beyond your what the OS provide. You can root your device and install Xposed framework and get the customizability of custom ROMs while enjoying stability of stock ROMs.
Installing BusyBox
What is BusyBox
Here is an extract from Wikipedia on definition of BusyBox
BusyBox is software that provides several stripped-down Unix tools in a single executable file. It runs in a variety of POSIX environments such as Linux, Android,and FreeBSD, It was specifically created for embedded operating systems with very limited resources. the single executable replaces basic functions of more than 300 common commands. It is released as free software under the terms of the GNU General Public License v2So basically what Busybox does is that it adds some linux command line programs to android, these mini packages are usually installed to /system/bin or /system/xbin and they can be used to enhance functionality, they can be called and used from command line using a terminal emulator.
How to install BusyBox
you can install Busybox binaries using a simple app, just head to play store and search for busybox or just click here, after you have installed just follow instructions on the app, it is a simple procedure, you can then uninstall the app because we no longer need it, binaries are copied to their destination and will work as expected without the app.
Apps to boost functionality and really supercharge your Android
Xposed modules
Xposed Framework modules are basically apps that extend functionality. Here are some of the best modules to install that will make you a power user
- Gravity Box : it adds a ton of tweaks and functions to your Android you can get it from xposed installer
- Xprivacy: If you are a person who is concerned about his privacy -and you should be-, then this module is for you, you can restrict all your apps's permissions even system apps, or you can feed them fake data.
Battery Saving apps
Greenify
Is by far the best juice saver I have ever came across, it saves your battery by killing background apps when your screen is off, its similar to doze mode of Marshmallow.
Is by far the best juice saver I have ever came across, it saves your battery by killing background apps when your screen is off, its similar to doze mode of Marshmallow.
Advanced Apps
Stweaks
Is an advanced app to control very advanced features of your device from CPU to GPU to power and many more, this app is kernel-dependent, which means it only runs on some custom kernels.
Is an advanced app to control very advanced features of your device from CPU to GPU to power and many more, this app is kernel-dependent, which means it only runs on some custom kernels.
Is an app that permits you to install full linux distribution on your android device without wiping android. This by far is the most app I love in Android, possibilities are almost endless with this app . Imagine having a full Linux distro in your pocket ready to be fired up any time, and you can have both command and graphical interface. This app is just amazing, but keep in mind that you need to be familiar with linux to make use of this app.
Termux
Well this one is relatively new, what it does is it installs and runs linux packages and binaries, if you do not want to install a full linux distro using Libux Deploy and all you want is some specific packages like nmap or tcpdump then Termux is for you, it is lightweight with a command line interface that will permit you to install the packages you want without the hassle of installing a full distro.
Automation Apps
There are multiple choices when it comes to automating your android devices. Many apps are available on play store that will give you the ability to automate the boring stuff you usually do manually. In this list I'm going to show you the best of them that provide both simplicity and advanced functionality.
Automagic
This is a user friendly automation app which does not sacrifice functionality for design. This app uses diagrams to represent flows of actions, you first set triggers then conditions in which following actions will occur. This app is not very popular yet like Tasker but it will certainly beat it in the near future for its friendly design and advanced use
Tasker
When I first heard about android automation and wanted to apply it, I installed Tasker, but I could not get anyway with it because of its complexity. even though Tasker is very popular; whenever you find automation you find Tasker, it lacks user friendliness of its counterparts. And as I said I could not get a grisp on how it works, then I looked for alternatives which were many, and I tried most of them untill I found Automagic which combines both design and performance.
To be Continued
To be Continued
Post a Comment