IP Goes Nexus 6...WHAT? RIP Beloved Nexus 6...

Just started looking into Android O and was pleased to see that the Nexus 6 is already on the list for LineageOS 15 (Oreo). Looks like my trusty ol' Nexus 6 will still be cutting edge for quite a while, despite all the doom and gloom posts in all the usual forums about it only being a 32-bit device.

I think my long run with PureNexus will likely be ending soon. That was/is a great ROM and everything I wanted in a ROM (and didn't have to mod/create myself), but it's just not practical for the devs to port a 64-bit OS to a single 32-bit device, so I'm sure they will stop supporting it for the Nexus 6 soon. There's not too many features (at least ones that I used) missing from "stock" LineageOS that were in PureNexus, so I'll probably just use it as-is so I don't have keep modding it after each "nightly" (weekly) update.

Knock on wood, my battery (non-user replaceable) is still doing fine, but that's probably the next thing I'll have to worry about. When it does start to fizzle, I'll just replace it myself. I've changed out "NUR" batteries in much more difficult devices (ie, TomTom GO700). I'm just not seeing anything else out there that I like more than the Nexus 6. Well, at least not anything that's remotely reasonably priced. I refuse to pay laptop prices for a phone, so the Pixel line is out of the question. There are a couple of LG's that look decent, but I'm still so happy with my Nexus 6 that unless something happens to it, I just don't see me moving on to anything else anytime soon.

 

I'm still happy with my Nexus 6. Embarrassingly, I haven't updated the ROM since I first loaded PureNexus on it. I'm seeing a few performance and battery issues, so a clean install is in order. Anyway, it hasn't even been two years since I bought this, and I'd like to keep it going.

Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk

 

To install the latest 7.1.2 re-base of PureNexus, you'll need to do a clean install anyway. Yep, November 2017 will mark the 2-year point for me, but the Nexus 6 forums are dying pretty quickly, probably because it's actually a 3-year-old phone. I'm a little surprised at that because the phone has some features that even brand new flagship phones (even Google ones) don't have. But I think all these tech nerds are freaking out over the 32-bit "abandonment" scare. Yes, Google's latest OS releases will affect that, but all of Google's 32-bit devices (including the Nexus 6) are no long supported by Google anyway. The biggest misinformation scare going around is the "end of 32-bit apps". That's just not going to happen anytime soon, especially with the vast majority of Android devices being 32-bit.

 

The Z Play has a 64 bit processor, but a 32 bit ROM. I haven't exactly kept track, but I'm assuming if a $450 phone like that remains 32 bit, there must be plenty of lower ram, lower priced phones that are as well, not even considering the hundreds of millions of old devices that will linger long after flagship shoppers move on. PCs had 64 bit capable processors a decade before it become fashionable to universally run 64 bit OSs, and while I'm sure mobile won't follow the same exact pace, I think you're right not to be concerned about the end of 32 bit apps.

 

Again, not that things will be the same for mobile, but 64 bit Windows still runs 32 bit apps just fine. I wonder if we'll start seeing two versions of apps, where one doesn't show up depending on the Play Store's read of your device's specs.

 

I actually ended up switching to LineageOS 14.1 (which is still Nougat) at the beginning of this month. I felt the need to do this because all development on PureNexus for the Nexus 6 was stopped back at the end of July as they started focusing on Oreo. Not really a big deal, but it also meant that none of the security updates from Google were included in PureNexus ever since.

Of course, only after going to all the trouble of a fresh install of LineageOS and then restoring all my apps/data, etc., I noticed that Dirty Unicorns (a very similar ROM to PureNexus in terms of features) has kept up with the Google security updates even though they have also stopped development on the Nexus 6 while they focus on Oreo. I like LineageOS, but feature-wise Dirty Unicorns is a much closer match to PureNexus. I'm now considering taking the time to switch to DU , but now I'm wondering if the DU Nexus 6 team will continue updating the Nougat version with future security updates, because October is the last month that Google is officially supporting the Nexus 6. Any future security updates would have to be "ported" (if that's the correct term). I'm not sure how easy it would be to apply future Pixel or Nexus 6P security updates to the now unsupported Nexus 6. If it's not easy or just not going to happen, then it would be better for me to stay on LineageOS, as it currently receives updates on a weekly basis.

Alas! The dilemmas of using an officially unsupported phone...

 

I would contact the current DU Nexus 6 supporter. I'm sure they will likely support the Nexus 6 unofficially for Oreo (they are doing so for the Nexus 5) and I'm also pretty sure they will continue Nougat security updates until Oreo is released, but you are better off getting it from the Unicorn's Mouth.

https://www.devs-base.com/viewtopic.php?p=11695#p11695

 

Well, the good news is that there's going to be an official PureNexus Oreo release for the Nexus 6, so I'm just in a holding pattern until that happens. There's also going to be an official LineageOS 15 (Oreo) for the Nexus 6, so considering those tend to be weekly releases versus monthly (or even quarterly), I may just end up staying on LineageOS.

I just tried Dirty Unicorns again, and I had forgotten how "heavy" it is. With the Nougat release, PureNexus had decided to focus more on stability and battery life and less on tweaks and features. I think all that DU has in it is commendable, though (actually amazing), but it's a little more than I want. Unfortunately, LineageOS is just not quite all that I want. I might have to start dabbling in some development myself to be completely satisfied. It wouldn't take much -- I would just have to compile my own release of LineageOS, adding a better LED notification/battery charging mod as well as the custom dynamic pull-down backdrop, and then...actually...that's about it. I really just mostly miss the LED notification/battery charge mod.

It might actually be fun. I'm currently compiling custom Spigot (Minecraft) servers for my youngest son, and reportedly compiling my own release of LineageOS isn't anymore difficult than that.

 

I encourage you to try various ROMs and even develop your own. The hard work, though, might be keeping your signature line up-to-date.

 

I have a signature? Friggin' Tapatalk not displaying signatures...! I can only imagine how outdated it is! Haha.

My plan is only a temporary hiatus from PureNexus. Here's hoping their Oreo ROM drops soon enough that I won't have to go to all the trouble of going to the forum website (heaven forbid) to edit my signature!

Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk