Fantastic Fourteen, Amazing Apps, and an Unmatched User Experience

We’re running a little ahead of schedule this year, and we know you’re probably used to hearing from us around April.

We had this early release thanks to new faces, old contributors, and new Project Directors! Like Bet22, we’re surprising our users with fresh updates and experiences with LineageOS.

Since Android 14’s release last October, we’ve worked hard to port our features to it. We adapted to Google’s UI changes in Android 12/13 and 14’s more straightforward device setup. So, we have rebased our changes more efficiently.

This allowed us to dedicate overdue time to our app suite! Applications like Aperture received significant feature and UX improvements. Many aging apps, like Jelly and Dialer, have been nearly fully redesigned. These include Contacts, Messaging, LatinIME (the keyboard), and Calculator. They now fit the Material You era!

Last but not least, yet another new app has landed in our apps suite! Don’t count on this becoming a regular thing—or you should. Honestly, we haven’t decided yet!

Now, let’s remind everyone about versioning conventions. To match AOSP’s versioning, we dropped our subversion for branding. It was useless to users.

Android switched to a quarterly release model so that this release will be “LineageOS 21,” not 21.0 or 21.1. Yet, we are based on the latest Android 14, QPR1.

For developers, non-core repositories will now use a simpler branch naming convention. They should not change with the quarterly updates. You’ll see lineage-21 instead of lineage-21.0, for instance.

Amazing Applications

Calculator

Our Calculator app has a new UI that matches our other apps. We’ve also rolled out some exciting new features you won’t want to miss.

• Code cleanup
• We’ve revamped the UI components to give them a sleek, modern look.
• Added support for Material You.
• I fixed some bugs.

Aperture

As this app is still in its first year, we’re thrilled to see how well it’s been embraced by the community. As promised, we have improved it and added new features. We also kept up with Google’s changes to the CameraX library. We even helped fix some bugs found on our maintained devices. A big shoutout to the community for their dedicated efforts in handling translations. The Aperture strings changed often this year.

Now, let’s dive into some of the key features and enhancements we have introduced since the last update:

• I enhanced the dialog UI to provide a smoother experience when prompting users for location permissions.
• UI will now rotate to follow the device’s orientation.
• Added Material You Support
• I upgraded the QR code scanner, which now supports Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi Easy Connect™ QR codes.
• Integrated support for Google Assistant voice commands.
• I added photo and video mirroring (flipping) options.
• You can mute the audio while recording a video.
• Improved error handling, particularly in situations where a camera isn’t available.
• I added configurable volume button gestures.
• The app will warn you if the device overheats. We have implemented an automatic recording stop feature if the device overheats.
• I added an info chip to the viewfinder. It shows helpful information, such as a low battery and disabled microphones.
• I added advanced video processing settings (noise reduction, sharpening, etc.).
• You can activate torch mode in photo mode by long-pressing the flash button.
• Added support for HDR video recording.

Jelly

Our browser has a fresh look. Its UI now matches our app suite. We’ve also added some exciting new features.

• Code cleanup
• Reworked UI components to look more modern.
• Added support for Material You.
• I fixed some bugs while downloading files.
• Brave has been added as a search engine option and a provider of search suggestions.
• Google’s encrypted search engine was dropped, as Google now defaults to HSTS.
• Baidu’s suggestion provider now uses HTTPS.
• Implemented per-website location permissions.

Dialer, Messaging, and Contacts

Since AOSP deprecated the Dialer, we took over its code. We cleaned it up, updated it to AndroidX, and redesigned it.

• Code cleanup
• Changed to using Material You design.
• Proper dark and light themes.
• Several bug fixes, specifically with number lookups and the contact list.

While AOSP also deprecated messaging, at least the Contacts app was not. We overhauled both of them. They now follow the system colors and look more integrated.

Generic Targets

We’ve discussed these before, but they are essential so that we will cover them again.

Since 2019, we’ve had buildable generic targets. To improve access to LineageOS, we wrote a guide. It shows how to use it with the Android Emulator and Android Studio.

We can now use similar targets to build GSI in mobile, Android TV, and Android Automotive. (We’ll cover this in more detail later.) This improvement makes LineageOS even more compatible with devices using Google’s Project Treble. We won’t provide official builds for these targets. The user experience depends on how well the device maker meets Treble’s requirements. But feel free to build them yourself and give it a shot!

Final Thoughts

The latest updates to LineageOS 21 bring exciting improvements. They include full app redesigns and better user experiences. Users will enjoy an improved experience on their devices. This is thanks to Android 14 and updates to core apps like Aperture, Jelly, and the Calculator. Developers will also enjoy simplified versioning and expanded resources for building custom ROMs. LineageOS is still committed to a customizable, private Android.