Have you ever experienced that feeling when something you have been very fond of suddenly fades away? Well, if you’re a fan of custom ROMs, you might know exactly what I’m talking about. Recently, there was a blog post about Pixel Experience where the founder mentioned that the development on the custom ROM has officially stopped.
Being one of the oldest custom ROMs, Pixel Experience was known for its clean interface, smooth performance, continuous updates, and support for many older devices. Let’s go through each aspect very quickly, and then I will show you some of the best alternatives to Pixel Experience.
Table Of Contents
Common Questions
IS THIS THE COMPLETE SHUTDOWN?
No, Pixel Experience development might have stopped, but the website is going to remain active. This means that new versions won’t be created, but the older ones are going to be available on the website. So, you should not face any issues while flashing them.
WHY DID THIS HAPPEN?
The developer did not give any direct reason for shutting down the development as per the blog post. However, it might be because he’s working on other important projects, and there are speculations that Google is making it harder to create custom ROMs because of the continuous changes in the source code.
WHAT DOES IT MEAN FOR OTHER CUSTOM ROM DEVELOPERS?
Pixel Experience, being one of the oldest custom ROMs, provided great motivation to other developers worldwide to create their own projects. That’s why you see so many custom ROMs available at the moment. With this announcement, there might be a slight change in the overall situation, but hopefully, there will be no major catastrophic change in the custom ROM development.
Alternatives to Pixel Experience
Now, let’s look at some of the best alternatives to Pixel Experience based on my personal experience. There is a lot of development going on, and I have not been able to test each and every custom ROM available out there. The custom ROMs I am going to mention are all Pixel-based and are very close to Pixel Experience.
PixelOS
If there’s any custom ROM that comes close to Pixel Experience, it would be PixelOS. For some devices, it actually performs better than Pixel Experience. You get all the Pixel goodies, decent customization, and frequent updates. If you were a fan of Pixel Experience, then PixelOS should be your first choice.
I recently tried the initial Android 14 build of this ROM on my Redmi Note 10 Pro, and it was working very well. The battery backup was good, and the MIUI Camera was preinstalled. Even though it does not support as many devices as Pixel Experience, I think it’s going to reach that level at some point in the future.
Project Elixir
I think it’s one of the most beautiful custom ROMs I have ever tested on my Redmi Note 10 Pro. You could say that it’s like Pixel Experience on steroids. You get a ton of customization along with some Pixel features and a beautiful UI. Regarding the updates, you don’t have to worry because the development is very active.
Project Elixir is for those who love the minimal look of Pixel Experience but also want some extra customization. It feels really smooth overall, and I would definitely recommend flashing it.
PixelPlusUI
Even though it’s not as popular as PixelOS, I would still consider it a great alternative to Pixel Experience. The reason for PixelPlusUI not being that popular might be because of the update frequency; it’s a bit slow. However, it does not fall behind when it comes to the overall features. It feels very smooth and offers excellent customization.
It has been a very long time since I tested this ROM on my Redmi Note 10 Pro, exactly one year, but I would still recommend flashing it. I’m sure you will love it.
PixysOS
I tested the Android 13 build of this ROM on my Redmi Note 10 Pro, and it worked flawlessly. I would definitely consider it a great alternative to Pixel Experience. Apart from offering the Pixel features, including unlimited Google Photos storage, it does offer some unique features like a separate section for customization, higher FPS in games, or an adaptive refresh rate.
However, the updates are a bit slow. If you don’t care about that, then PixysOS is definitely a great custom ROM.
Pixel Extended
Similar to other Pixel-based custom ROMs, it offers some customization options. Other than that, it’s more or less similar to Pixel Experience. It offers a unique feature of Moto Dolby Atmos, where you get decent sound customization, but there is no MIUI Camera on my Redmi Note 10 Pro.It probably won’t be there for your device, so you might have to download Google Camera to get the best results.
Also, the updates are a bit slower with Pixel Extended, which might be a deal breaker for you.
Conclusion
If you want frequent updates, then you can go with PixelOS or Project Elixir. However, if you don’t care about that, then any one of the five custom ROMs should be good enough for you.
And like I mentioned in the beginning, the Pixel Experience website is still available. So, if your device is supported and you want to flash it, you can do it easily.
Thank you so much for reading. I’ll see you in the next one!