Cyanogenmod 12.1 Review

Cyanogen Mod is arguably the most popular custom rom you can get today. It’s customisable, stable, unique and reliable. Even companies such as Yu and One Plus have incorpted the software onto their smartphone. So, what is so good about Cyanogen Mod?

It has been 6 years since the initial release on the popular custom rom and a lot has changed since then. Cyanogen Mod 12.1 is the latest and greatest version that is currently available. I installed the rom onto my trusty Nexus 5 a couple of months back (using the nightlies builds) and have been thoroughly testing it. So here is my full review of Cyanogen Mod 12.1 on my Nexus 5.

The setup process is simple and fast adding to a quick and pleasurable experience of getting things running. Cyanogen Mod 12.1 is based on android 5.1.1 so expect all features from the stock build from Google to be here, such the expansion toggle of WIFI and Bluetooth from the status bar. The UI is reminiscent of stock android, however once you go into the settings you will be baffled by the amount of customablity you have. From changing the quick toggles, CPU clock speed, fonts, DPI, noticification lights and system tweaks the customisability is endless.

Performance on my Nexus 5 is also very pleasing. From day to day usage, it seems very snappy and fast when compared to the stock rom. However, this does not translate into benchmarks- scoring considerable lower. My Antutu scores took a drop from 41,254 to 34,886 points and Geekbench dropped 10k on the multicore score which was rather disappointing. This is another example of why benchmarks should be taken with a pinch of salt.

Camera performance is the same as stock. Cyanogen Mod comes preinstalled with the Google camera however the paranorma and photo sphere options are missing. Luckily you can download the Google camera from the Playstore enabling you to have access to the missing options.

Battery life is slightly better than stock. With my usual usage I was able to get 2-3hrs SOT (screen on time) when compared to my 2hrs SOT on stock . Included Cyanogen Mod apps are, the music player,audio FX, browser, camera and calendar. All are very useful but I found in particular that the audio FX worked great,allowing you change the bass,treble and presets to your liking. Also included is a theme engine enabling you to change the skin of your entire device. You can download different themes via the play store and it even includes themes such Touchwizz and Sense. The themes change the entire UI from the wallpapers,fonts, status bars, navigation buttons, animations and boot animations – I really is great fun!

Stability for the most part was excellent. However, there were some occasional hangs and stutters causing reboots to the device. As stated above I am using the nightlies builds which may be the problem, so do not be anxious if your device has stable builds. Even so, with the latest build installed reboots are rare.

Putting Cyanogen Mod on my Nexus 5 was probably the best decision I have ever made. Why can’t all devices run Cyanogen?

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#android #cyanogen #modification #upgrade #smartphone #nexus