C. Scott Brown / Android Authority
TL;DR
- Lineage OS has been updated to Android 14 with the release of Lineage OS 21.
- Lineage OS 21 brings a new gallery app called Glimpse and improves the look and functionality of several other stock apps.
- Custom ROM builds with the new update are available for hundreds of devices.
Android custom ROMs are extremely useful for supporting devices that are no longer being supported by the phone OEM. One of the most popular custom ROMs is Lineage OS, and it is installed on a wide variety of Android devices. With Android 14 here and all settled, it was time for Lineage OS to get a platform, and it got just that and more with the new Lineage OS 21 update.
Lineage OS 21 is based on the latest Android 14 QPR 1 release and includes all security patches up to February 2024. So, if you install Lineage OS 21 on a supported phone, you will get the latest of Android right now.
While the platform update is reason for celebration by itself, the Lineage OS team has also made several improvements to their apps. Lineage OS has to either use stock AOSP apps or create open-source replacements, and it’s fairly difficult for a group of volunteers to work on custom ROMs and then the apps, too, so their work is commendable. Apps that have gotten improvements include:
- Aperture (camera app)
- Calculator
- Contacts
- Dialer
- Eleven (music player)
- Jelly (browser)
- LatinIME (keyboard)
- Messaging
Another big highlight of this update is the new Glimpse app, now the default gallery app on Lineage OS 21. The app’s focus is to offer a clean, simple, and modern UI with all the base features you’d expect from a gallery app.
There are plenty of other changes, and we encourage you to check the announcement for the full changelog.
Lineage OS 21 builds are available for over 100 devices, and the team will also be maintaining Lineage OS 18.1 builds to continue supporting legacy devices.
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