PixelExperience

Last updated
Pixel Experience
PixelExperienceLogo dark.png
Screenshot
PixelExperience 12 screenshot.png
Pixel Experience 12 home screen with Pixel Launcher
Developer Pixel Experience open-source community
Working stateDiscontinued
Source model Open source
Initial release2017
Latest release 13 (based on Android 13) [1] / 9 November 2022;17 months ago (2022-11-09) [1]
Marketing target Firmware replacement for Android mobile devices
Update method Over-the-air (OTA), [2] ROM flashing [3]
Package manager APK-based
Platforms arm, arm64, x86, x86-64
Kernel type Monolithic (Linux)
License GNU General Public License v3.0 [4]
Official website get.pixelexperience.org

PixelExperience (aka Pixel Experience, PE [2] ) is a discontinued open-sourced custom ROM, or Android distribution, based on the stock Android AOSP (Android Open Source Project) that aimed to provide a bloat-free, stock-android, Pixel-like experience to a wide range of Android devices. The project, initiated by a community of developers in 2017, [5] [2] focused on delivering a clean, minimalistic, and visually appealing user interface reminiscent of Google's Pixel devices. Pixel Experience was designed to be as close to stock Android as possible, with a focus on reliability, security, stability, performance, battery life, and useful customizations. [2] [5] [6] [7]

Contents

Advantages and disadvantages

There are a number of advantages to using Pixel Experience, including:

However, there are also a few disadvantages, including:

Features

Pixel Experience features include:

Pixel UI

Pixel UI is designed to mimic Pixel phones, with a focus on simplicity, material design, and personal customization. Key features of Pixel UI include:

Here are some of the specific elements of Pixel UI:

Overall, Pixel UI is a clean, modern, and customizable user interface that provides a stock Android experience. It is for users who want a simple and easy-to-use interface that still offers a degree of personalization.

Customizations

Users can customize their Pixel Experience devices to match their individual needs and preferences. There are options to customize the status bar, lock screen, theme, icon shape, font, and accent color to personalize the home screen. Multiple pre-installed themes and icon packs are also available. [5] There are settings to tweak UI elements like the clock/date format, icon size, notification logos, brightness slider position, etc. [5]

Here are some of the ways to customize Pixel Experience:

Pixel Experience is a customizable ROM that allows users to personalize their devices to match their individual needs and preferences. There are a variety of customization options available, and there are a number of resources available for finding Pixel Experience customizations.

Optimizations

There are enhancements to improve performance, battery life, and stability compared to stock Android. There are also tweaks to memory management, app launching, and UI fluidity. [5] Features to extend battery life include doze mode, background app optimizations, scheduled dark mode, etc. [5]

Plus variant

An official Plus variant has additional functionality: [2] [7]

  • Per-app volume settings
  • Network traffic monitor
  • Notch hiding support
  • UI enhancements
  • Additional gestures (such as 3-finger swipe for screenshot)
  • LiveDisplay panel, for tweaking color profile, display mode, reading mode, and color calibration
  • More granular customizability including modifying status bar icons, volume and power button cutomization, lock screen cutomizations
  • Screen recorder
  • Custom screenshot: take screenshot selecting any part of the screen
  • Caffeine: temporarily disable screen lock & sleep mode

Community and support

Pixel Experience has an active community of users and developers. As a result, there are wide variety of officially supported and unofficial supported devices. [2] [3]

There are dedicated Instagram, Telegram, and XDA accounts which the developers and users use for communications. As a result, questions may be quickly answered, and issued quickly resolved. [3]

The project also has a comprehensive wiki that includes instructions on how to install and use the ROM, as well as a troubleshooting guide. [10]

Developer community

Pixel Experience is a custom Android ROM that provides a near-stock Pixel experience for a wide range of devices. There is an active developer community, which can be broadly classified into two groups: [5]

  1. Core Team: The central Pixel Experience team spearheads the project, overseeing its overall development and management. They handle the core Android framework, platform updates, new feature implementation, and official builds, aiming for stability, consistency, and adherence to Google's design principles.
  2. Device Maintainers: These independent developers port and optimize Pixel Experience for specific devices, including those from Xiaomi, OnePlus, and Sony. They lay the groundwork for new device ports, identify and resolve device-specific issues, ensure feature compatibility, and maintain a regular update schedule for specific devices. They help to implement Pixel Experience on many smartphones.

History

2017
XDA Recognized Developer jhenrique09 started an experimental project for a custom ROM that mimics the software experience of the Google Pixel lineup. [2]
2021
2024


See also

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References

  1. 1 2 "November update: Goodbye Android 12, Android 13 Stable builds are here and... Plus Edition?". PixelExperience Blog. 2022-11-09. Archived from the original on 2023-06-06. Retrieved 2023-11-22.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Hazarika, Skanda (2022-07-17). "Pixel Experience 12 Hands-On: This is what you get with the official builds". XDA Developers. Archived from the original on 2023-05-21. Retrieved 2023-11-21.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Kumar, Suresh (2022-02-03). "Pixel Experience Review: The Best Custom ROM Till Date". Curious Steve. Retrieved 2023-11-22.
  4. ↑ "official_devices/LICENSE at master · PixelExperience/official_devices". GitHub. 2018-05-27. Archived from the original on 2023-03-26. Retrieved 2023-11-22.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 Alten KRK (2023-08-26). "What is Pixel Experience?". Resurrection Remix OS. Archived from the original on 2023-11-21. Retrieved 2023-11-21.
  6. ↑ "Overview and First Impressions on POCO F1". FoneArena.com. 2020-12-03. Archived from the original on 2023-06-06. Retrieved 2023-11-21.
  7. 1 2 Sameer, Asif (2020-04-01). "Best Pixel Experience Rom Review". XtremeDroid. Archived from the original on 2023-03-20. Retrieved 2023-11-23.
  8. ↑ "List of Pixel Experience ROM Supported Devices (Download Link)". Get Droid Tips. 2023-08-21. Archived from the original on 2023-11-22. Retrieved 2023-11-22.
  9. ↑ "PixelExperience". GitHub. 2023-11-21. Archived from the original on 2023-08-26. Retrieved 2023-11-22.
  10. ↑ "PixelExperience Wiki". PixelExperience Wiki. 2023-11-21. Retrieved 2023-11-23.
  11. ↑ Hasabe, Rohan (2021-06-18). "June Update: New partners!". PixelExperience Blog. Archived from the original on 2023-03-29. Retrieved 2023-11-22.
  12. ↑ Hasabe, Rohan (2021-09-10). "September Update: SafetyNet Who?". PixelExperience Blog. Archived from the original on 2023-06-06. Retrieved 2023-11-22.
  13. ↑ "Everything has to come to an end, sometime..." PixelExperience Blog. 2024-04-10.
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