I know that most customizability features that were once exclusive to custom roms are available for use right out of the box these days.
In the case of manufacturers like Samsung, I think,there are still no official builds of lineageOS for the newer phones after the galaxy s10 series.
I’m aware that GSI roms are available. My experience with GSI’s have been kinda bad. Most of the time they lack a lot of features which makes the phone not viable anymore. Then there are also the random UI bugs, which frustrate the hell out of the user.
I miss the old days when there were lots of custom roms, even for budget devices. I used to flash them when my phones were out of warranty. I could use my phone however I saw fit.
Is there no way to bring back these good times ? Or will the whole custom ROM community just shrink to the pixels and a select few devices ?
It’s mostly a function of an unlockable bootloader. If the device manufacturer does not allow the bootloader to get unlocked then putting a ROM on it is extremely difficult.
Pixel devices tend to be unlocked, unless the carrier locks the bootloader. So it’s always a good idea to buy pixel directly from Google so you get an unlocked bootloader.
The same can be said for fair phone.
The other devices are really hit and miss. Basically if you can’t control the software it’s not your hardware even if you paid for it.
I feel like this is a basic human right thing. Probably going to wait for the EU to make legislation unlock hardware you own. I look forward to that