Are ROMs Really Necessary on a Nexus Phone?

Dear Lifehacker,
I've rooted my Galaxy Nexus per your guide, but now everyone tells me I should flash a custom ROM. What's the point? Don't people flash custom ROMs to get stock Android, which the Nexus already has?

Sincerely,
Wondering Why

Dear Wondering,
For most users, getting a "stock" ROM is one of the big draws of rooting. However, it's far from the only reasons you'd flash a ROM. Heck, some people flash custom ROMs that keep HTC's Sense interface or Samsung's TouchWiz interface. So why flash? Here are some of the biggest benefits to flashing a ROM, even on a Nexus device.

You Get the Latest Updates

This is a pretty minor point, but it's worth mentioning that not all Nexus devices have the latest version of Android. Ridiculous, right? The Verizon Galaxy Nexus, for example, is still stuck on 4.1?not too bad, but still one version of Jelly Bean behind the others. And, of course, older Nexus devices won't get upgraded forever, so those users will need custom ROMs to bring them up to speed on the latest iterations of Android.

You Get Tons of Extra Features and Tweaks

The big draw of custom ROMs, though, are all the other features they bring. They aren't just stock Android?they're stock Android with lots of other very handy features added by the community. For example, here are some of the features you might find in custom ROMs:

• CyanogenMod (and other ROMs based on it) add the ability to launch up to four other apps from the lock screen slider, adds settings toggles for things like Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, or Airplane Mode in the notification bar, and options like "Quick Reply" to notifications for SMS messages
• The AOKP ROM offers lots of customization options, making it easy to theme your ROM, choose different boot animations, change the colors of your widgets and interface elements, and more. Also, unicorns.
• ParanoidAndroid adds a new feature called "Hybrid Mode," which lets you run your OS?or just certain apps, if you choose?in their tablet or phablet mode. This can give you a bit of extra screen space on your phone, make certain apps better to navigate, or could just make running apps on a tablet better.

These are just a few small examples, but there are a lot of other features you'll find in any given ROM. Often, you'll even find features from one ROM integrated into another ROM, so you can try out a few and see which one works for you.

The bottom line is that flashing a custom ROM gets you a ton of extra features that you won't find in stock Android. If you haven't tried one out yet, I highly recommend it?if you don't like it, you can go back to stock at any time! But you're bound to find a few features you didn't even know you wanted until you had them.

Sincerely,
Lifehacker

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