Edgar Cervantes / Android Authority
Android used to be synonymous with freedom. If you didn’t like your phone’s interface or bloatware, you could simply install a custom ROM — the colloquial term for a forked version of the Android operating system. But that golden era is quickly disappearing, as yet another major Android fork has run into troubles.
CalyxOS, a major privacy-focused Android distribution, announced a sudden freeze on future releases earlier this month. While the project isn’t dissolving entirely, it won’t receive any updates for the foreseeable future. That news coincided with the departure of two of the project’s most recognizable leaders. Needless to say, zero security updates would be a death knell for any operating system, but it’s even more problematic for a privacy-focused Android fork.
While dwindling interest among the masses hasn’t helped custom ROMs, Google’s changes to Android have only made the situation worse. CalyxOS isn’t the first project to falter under these pressures, and it likely won’t be the last.
What is CalyxOS, and why is it hitting pause?
CalyxOS is a privacy-centric operating system that offers a de-Googled experience while still retaining most of Android’s modern conveniences.
While I have personally favored its competitor, GrapheneOS, over the years, alternatives such as CalyxOS have also amassed a loyal following and user base. Until recently, CalyxOS boasted ongoing support for over two dozen devices, including Google’s Pixel lineup, a handful of Motorola phones, and the Fairphone. This is in stark contrast to GrapheneOS, which mandates a laundry list of security features that only the Pixel series has fulfilled so far. Moreover, the latter only supports devices with active manufacturer support, while CalyxOS only recently dropped support for the Pixel 4a series.
Graphene and Calyx take drastically different approaches to security, though, and also differ in their support for Google apps. Calyx uses microG, which is an open-source implementation of Google’s Play Services libraries. In short, it allows you to enjoy most of the features you’d expect from an Android phone without ever installing Google’s proprietary app suite. GrapheneOS, on the other hand, heavily sandboxes all Google apps to the extent that they cannot access your phone’s data.
CalyxOS encouraged the use of microG, an open-source alternative to Google Play Services.
GrapheneOS also hardens and extends the Android security model with several new features, ranging from the aforementioned Google sandboxing to entirely new permissions and features, such as a duress PIN. CalyxOS doesn’t go as far in the name of security, but it’s still a very viable choice for those looking to remove Google’s influence from their devices.
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