The thing that makes Android superior to any other mobile operating system is customization - the way we can change, create and add. Whether it’s Custom ROMs, recoveries, launchers, great applications or even custom kernels, Android enables us to tweak every bit of it, to our taste. That’s why it’s the mobile OS I use. Not because it’s open source, not because my Moto G was at a fairly good price - because it’s a “personal OS”, quite literally. In this post (haven’t had one in ages - sorry about that. Life and stuf…), I’ll be giving a glimpse at how my phone is.

Custom ROM

If it wasn’t abvious from my previous posts, I run CyanogenMod (CM14.1 nightlies) on my Android phone. The reason I chose to use a custom ROM, other than the many customization options and features including theming and UI tweaking, is because it was taking forever for Motorola to release an update for my phone. Just kidding (about the reason - Motorola were actually taking a very long time to send a 5.1 OTA), it’s totally because of the former. Now, the reason I chose CyanogenMod, is because - well, it’s the most popular and largest Custom ROM out there… and it was the only option for my device back then. And still is.

Custom Recovery

TWRP FTW! Among the many, many reasons why I use this (including it being like one of the only 2 custom recoveries availiable - and the only one still actively developed), it providing a touch-sensitive graphical user interface is one.

Launcher

I use Nova Launcher Prime with TeslaUnread as my homescreen launcher. What appealed this to me wasn’t actually the customization - I prefer to go simple with launchers. Instead, it’s simplicity, speed, efficiency, Unread notification count and Android 7.1 app shortcuts support (something Trehbuchet 7.1 has yet to include) is what drew me to it. I would highly recommend it to anyone considering purchasing Prime.

File Manager

Like Nova Launcher Prime, Solid Explorer is definitely a worthwile investment. Since what happened with ES, Solid filled the void as Android’s top file manager.

Browser

Chromium is my phone’s web browser, installed and automatically updated by Federico Dossena’s free and open source app Chromium Auto Updater (check out it’s source code on GitHub and get it on Google Play). These two apps, combined, grant a pleasent, feature-rich and efficent experience.

F-Droid

Most of us Androiders can’t live without Google Play - and that includes me. However, there are some great FOSS apps that people are largely unaware of - and that’s why F-Droid is here. What’s more, paid/”pro” versions of open source apps on the Play Store are availiable for free on F-Droid - due to them building from the same source as the free version. This app store is where I got Turbo Editor, Etar Calendar, AdAway, BusyBox Installer, Atomic IRC client, NewPipe YouTube client, FreeOTP 2-Step Autho and Bubble comic reader from. If you see a FOSS app on the Play Store that hasn’t been updated in ages - chances are the developer’s switched their primary marketplace to F-Droid.

Other stuff

I also use the OnePlus Gallery app (from apkmirror), Motorola’s Command Center widget (from XDA), Hangouts (for my SMS) and ROM Manager (for restoring apps after flashing new ROMs/switching build paths).