The magic of custom ROMs, y’all
Source: Samsung
Android phones usually last at least two to three years, although these days most of the best phones come with four years of software updates. But if you’re willing to give the custom ROM space a look, the phones can last a plot longer. Custom ROMs aren’t as popular as they once were, but they can still be a way to breathe new life into an old smartphone. If you still have a Galaxy S3 or Galaxy Note 2 – both originally launched in 2012 – lying around in a drawer somewhere, you might want to dig them up. A decade after their release, they both get Android 13 via custom ROM.
An unofficial version of LineageOS 20 is now available on the XDA forums. It’s based on Android 13, which first graced the AOSP over a month ago. As you can imagine, this release is at a very early stage – LineageOS 20 is still in active development and no official release is available. LineageOS 19 only officially launched earlier this year, so we could be waiting a long time. Similarly, this version is also early: features such as NFC, Bluetooth audio during calls, SD cards and network monitoring are discontinued. Most of these features need to be fixed as firmware evolves.
Before installing it, you should keep in mind that the Galaxy S3 and Galaxy Note 2 are ten years old at this point and are only getting old. And when you install 2022 software on 2012 hardware, you cannot expect it to work flawlessly. After all, the Galaxy Note 2 comes with at most 2GB of RAM and 64GB of storage, and the Galaxy S3 can include as little as 1GB of RAM and 16GB of storage. It was an extremely powerful phone when it was released, but its specs haven’t aged well. We want to repurpose new hardware, but you probably shouldn’t use it as your daily driver.
With that out of the way, head over to the official thread on XDA to learn more and download it for your Galaxy S3 or Galaxy Note 2. As always, follow the instructions as written to avoid tinker with your device, and remember that this is always done at your own risk.