Essential recently announced that it’s going to shut down its operations. It’s hard to believe that a smartphone company, doing so well a year back — giving off Android updates as they arrive, about to launch a revolutionary smartphone, would just die.
Nevertheless, this has left several Essential PH-1 users in a tight spot and if you are one of them, you are probably worried about the software updates for your smartphone. Fret not, this isn’t the end; as I have compiled a list of best custom ROMs for Essential PH-1 users.
Why Essential Died?
If we go through Essential’s past record, it isn’t hard to figure out why Essential died. Since the release of Essential PH-1 in 2017, the company has failed to deliver another smartphone.
While Project Gem, a slim, elongated smartphone with AI capabilities, was in work, the company didn’t appear to have the financial power to support it further. “Despite our best efforts, we’ve now taken Gem as far as we can and regrettably have no clear path to deliver it to customers.”
Claims of sexual misconduct against Andy Rubin, a former Google executive and Essential’s founder, also rubbed off strongly on the company. Rubin’s long leave of absence from the operations and later, taking a quieter role at Essential was enough to push the company off the cliff.
What happens to my Essential PH-1?
The February 3rd security update marks the end of support from Essential. In other words, no more Android updates to the PH-1. Essential might have left its smartphone users mid-way, but the Android community is ready to pick up the mantle. There are tons of custom ROMs that users can install on the Essential PH-1.
Best Custom ROMs for Essential
Custom ROM is a modified version of Android. Unlike the stock Android in popular smartphones, a custom ROM offers a vast amount of customizations.
Here are some of the best custom ROM’s for your Essential PH-1 smartphone —
1. LineageOS
LineageOS is one of the most popular Custom ROMs among Android fans. Developed by the team behind CyanogenMod, the ROM offers stability, performance, and frequent updates, similar to what an official OEM would do.
2. Android Open Source Illusion Project (AOSiP)
AOSiP is a new name among the custom ROMs but offers a good amount of features. The latest builds are based on Android 10, and the developers plan to keep on continuing the project for a long time.
3. CandyROM
If you are looking for stable and battery efficient Custom ROM, then you should undoubtedly consider the CandyROM. While the last Essential PH-1 build is based on Android 9, users don’t need to be concerned about performance or the usual Custom-ROM bugs.
Apart from that, there are unofficial versions of many popular custom ROMs, including Paranoid Android, Ressurection Remix, AOSP Extended, and few more. You can find them on the Essential PH-1’s XDA developers page.
Flashing a custom ROM is a difficult feat, involving several risks such as unresponsiveness, and worst of all, a bricked device. I would advise you to backup your phone before starting out with Custom ROMs.
