Just a month after the launch of the Pixel 6 and 6 Pro, we now have the very first custom ROM for the duo in the guise of ProtonAOSP.
While most Pixel 6 owners will stick firmly with the stable builds that come pre-installed upon their devices, some out there will be itching to slap a custom ROM on their brand-new device. While we have already started to see a few Android 12-based ROMs over the past few months, it has taken a little over a month for the first ROM to be made available for the Made by Google duo.
The brand-new Tensor chip could have posed a problem, but it hasn’t held up the development of ProtonAOSP for the Pixel 6 and 6 Pro. For those unaware, ProtonAOSP is a custom ROM that takes a minimal approach while simultaneously enhancing performance and adding some added privacy controls.
Developer Danny Lin (@kdragon) confirmed that the Pixel 6 and 6 Pro are now fully supported with builds available to early access supporters right now — with an image of both devices running his custom ROM. ProtonAOSP has been in testing since November 15 with a number of tweaks and tuning that might pique the interest of custom ROM fans. This support comes with ProtonAOSP v12.1.0 and includes support for all of the main Pixel 6 hardware including the in-display fingerprint scanner, Wi-Fi, and cellular connectivity functions plus almost all core features present.
ProtonAOSP v12.1.0 update changelog
Changes
- Added full support for Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro
- Updated to Pixel 6 branch of Android 12
- November security patch
- Enabled hidden system feature flag overrides via ADB
- Under-the-hood support for newer devices
- Fixed screen-off Voice Match in Google Assistant
- Added themed app icons from Lawnicons
- Added setting to disable location indicators (in developer options)
- Web installer: Added support for Pixel 6 series
- Pixel: Updated Now Playing database
- Pixel: Updated Live Caption configuration
- Pixel 5: Fixed poor microphone quality when Voice Match is on
- Pixel 6/Pro: Disabled blur effects (reduces GPU power usage by 86% in some cases)
- Pixel 6/Pro: Added support for under-display fingerprint sensor
- Pixel 6/Pro: Improved fingerprint unlock speed by 50 milliseconds
- Pixel 6/Pro: Added Adaptive Connectivity and increased touch sensitivity settings
- Pixel 6/Pro: Disabled memory management debugging
- Pixel 6/Pro: Better 5 GHz Wi-Fi signal retention
- Pixel 6/Pro: Lower background memory usage
- Pixel 6 Pro: Smooth, fading brightness transitions
Features confirmed working on Pixel 6
- Wi-Fi, cellular data, Wi-Fi Direct
- VoLTE, Wi-Fi calling
- Location, NFC, sensors
- Camera (telephoto, wide-angle, Night Sight, portrait, video features, etc.)
- Under-display fingerprint sensor
- Bluetooth (AAC and AptX audio)
- Screen-off “Hey Google”, Google Assistant quick phrases
- AV1 video decoding
- Neural Networks API (GPU+TPU backends)
- Magic Eraser
- Now Playing, Live Caption
- RCS
- Android Auto
Version 12.1.0 of ProtonAOSP is currently limited to early access supporters via kdrag0n’s Patreon and is likely to be made available over the coming weeks. This build includes a number of fixes for other devices including the Pixel 5 and Voice Match microphone quality.
More on Pixel 6:
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