Why do you think custom firmwares are so popular among users Android? It is not at all because they have an allergy to a quiet life at the genetic level and they want to complicate it with constant flashing. In the end, for those who understand this, there is no difficulty in obtaining root rights, and then starting recovery mode and rolling a new firmware. Another thing is that often it is not only and not so much a sports interest as a completely justified and natural desire to extend the relevance of your smartphone.
LineageOS is the successor to CyanogenMod, which extends support for older devices
Developers from the XDA team have managed to build on the basis of Android 10 their own version of LineageOS firmware number 17.1, which is the successor to the cult CyanogenMod, with support for Galaxy S2. For those who no longer remember it, let us explain that this is Samsung's second flagship smartphone, released back in 2011. It turns out that this year he is already 9 years old – a venerable age for a mobile device, since even modern flagships, whose service life has increased quite significantly, continue to remain relevant for a maximum of 3-4 years.
What is LineageOS
LineageOS extended support for Galaxy S2 indefinitely
Needless to say, LineageOS is a custom firmware created by a bunch of enthusiasts, so the Galaxy S2 update to Android 10 is not considered official. On the other hand, who cares whether Google approved this update or not, if a smartphone based on this firmware works quite well, which, given its age, is already quite unusual. However, the developers managed not only to adapt the update, but also to keep all the innovations of the current version of the OS for the Galaxy S2, which some manufacturers often neglect, referring to the weak hardware of the device.
In general, custom firmwares like this are a great example of how manufacturers, with a light hand from Google, deceive users. I think many have faced the termination of software support for their smartphones due to insufficient performance. More than others, it loves to trade Huawei, which has a habit of abandoning branded devices already in the second year of service. However, as independent developers show us, if you try hard, you can adapt the new OS version even for the oldest devices without any damage to their functionality.
Update Android – smartphones
But the manufacturers obviously do not want to try. Take the same Huawei, which just took and stopped releasing updates for my Honor View 20, which claims to be the flagship, albeit last year. Why this happens is not difficult to understand. Updating adaptation, testing, debugging, and distribution requires funding, but it is a completely unprofitable story, for which there is no reason to try. Well, if you keep updating old smartphones, what kind of fool would agree to buy new ones?
It is clear that it is impossible to use smartphones for 7-10 years, even if it is possible to flash them for custom assemblies. Therefore, you also need to know a lot about support. Most of all, I am impressed by the approach Apple, which tries to update its smartphones for 4-6 years without any damage to their performance. Yes, updates do not always increase the speed of devices or their battery life, but most often this is really due to the obsolescence of their hardware filling, and not the company's reluctance to optimize patches.