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Pixel 6 and 6 Pro get first custom ROM support courtesy of ProtonAOSP

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.

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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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Avatar for Damien Wilde Damien Wilde

Damien is a UK-based video producer for 9to5Google. Find him on Twitter: @iamdamienwilde. Email: damien@9to5mac.com