The 9 Best Phones for Custom Roms 2024 (Easy To Root)

With the passage of time, Android smartphones have gained a lot of popularity. Today each brand with a good repute becomes skilled at making a good device. Flagships are seeing a new breakthrough in camera and display capabilities whereas the mid-tier and entry-level phone devices are getting good as compared to those in the same segment some years back. This list contains the top-of-the-range 9 best phones for custom Roms. Upon the enthusiast, these are root friendly, can be easily modded and run LineageOS.

9 Best Phones for Custom Roms that are Root Friendly

Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra – Great for LineageOS

Galaxy Note 20 was a hit and without any doubt, the Galaxy Note 21 Ultra comes improvised in many ways. It has topped the list of best phones. It has a good chance to hold a good position this year as there is no Galaxy Note 21 series this year.

It comes with:

• Powerful Qualcomm SoC.
• Great camera.
• Unique design.

It has great marketing and distribution, making it easier to buy than any other phone.

Though Xiaomi looks similar to it and is close to matching its specs it is sold in major parts of the world this fact limits its appeal. All this makes this phone hard to beat.

OnePlus 9 – Easy to root

It is much popular among many users, though it is a bit expensive it comes with:

• New Snapdragon 888 (SoC).
• Superior build quality (sandwiched between glass and aluminum in spit of plasticky).
• God main camera.

It is as good as the OnePlus 9 Pro, save for not having:

• Ultra-wide angle camera.
• Plastic and glass build.
• Slow wireless charge.
• Comes with a 120Hz OLED display, topped with Qualcomm chop.
• Hasselblad color-graded main camera captures amazing yet sharp pictures.

You should go through our tutorial on how to root Android without having to use tools such as TWRP.

READ ALSO: 10 Phones that are secure and unhackable.

OnePlus 9 Pro – Root friendly

OnePlus is all about good speed and the OnePlus 9 Pro is the fastest phone device available in the market. All from opening apps to swiping up and down for the notification bar speed is all it has. Its user interface has been optimized for speed and is backed up by quite a fast 120 HZ OLED panel.

Its interface, Oxygen OS, does not revolve only around speed but in our opinion is one of the best skins with which one has many customization options and shortcut gestures galore. With this:

• Change the accent color scheme of the application drawer.
• One can launch any application by pressing the fingerprint sensor.

OxygenOS provides more ways to use it, even a lot more than Google’s stock user interface.

It comes with:

• Top-notch hardware.
• An excellent camera that is 50MP ultra-wide and a great companion to the new 48MP, Hasselblad color-graded main camera.
• Snapdragon 888.
• UFS 3.1 storage.
• Fast wired and wireless charging.

Google Pixel 5 – Unlocking Bootloader is easy

The Pixel series never really had the right hardware either it was the Original Pixel’s outdated bezels, Pixel 2 XL’s display problems, Pixel 3 XL’s giant unsightly notch, the Pixel 4’s mediocre battery life as well as the bad facial recognition system. Each generation has had one or the other flaw which is not easy to overlook. With all these in line, many reviewers and tech enthusiasts carry it as its camera processing is that good.

It’s a camera that makes it to be a part of this list despite hardware issues and spec sheet. The Pixel 5 comes with:

• Color science is on point.
• Dynamic range balanced perfectly.
• Good portrait mode.
• Ultra wide-angle camera for the first time.

We suggest this as it carries all the usual perks of Pixel such as the purest Android version and pixel-specific features from Google.

RECOMMENDED: Download Magisk Manager – New and Old Version.

Google Pixel 4a

If you want the same camera performance as Pixel 5 but want to save some then this is one of the cheapest options available on the market. The best thing about this one is that it is the first device to receive the Android 12 update.

You shall not get the ultra-wide-angle plus the 5G connectivity but the same camera as Pixel 5. It is quite hard to beat if it is about 1x point-and-shoot photos.

READ ALSO: The Best Smartphones to buy that run Linux.

Huawei P40 Pro+ – No Google Apps

It was the undisputed Zoom camera king in 2020 for half a year but the Galaxy S21 Ultra has dethroned it in the Zoom game. But it comes with:

• Low light camera (50 MP RYYB sensor with a big image sensor than the S21 108 MP sensor).
• A sharp 40 MP ultra-wide-angle camera.

It still comes with the best camera system in the world.

Its image processing is not meant for all as it really comes down to preference. But its camera system is quite accomplished even after a year. However, it still cannot run the core Google mobile services application because of ongoing sanctions put up by the government of US, Therefore see all the pros and cons before making a choice to buy it.

ASUS ROG Phone 5 – High Performance

ASUS ROG Phone 3 was the best for gaming last year whereas this one is even better and seemed to be the best.

It comes with:

• 144 HZ display.
• 6000 mAh battery.
• Add functional shoulder buttons named AirTriggers, which provide extra control to the first-person shooter in a way that a normal phone cannot.
• A cool ROG vision that adds flair to the device.

It also has other features as well:

• Good camera.
• Snapdragon 888.
• 18 GB RAM.

Google Pixel 4 XL – The full package

Many prefer to use the OnePlus Oxygen Operating System as it adds in many customization options that are quite useful to the pure Android, there are many enthusiasts out there who still want to use the pure version of Android by Google and for this Pixel 4 XL is the best one available in the market.

Well, it is not only pure but also gets the fastest updates coming from the headquarters of Google in Mountain View.

Google Pixel 6 Pro

Google has always been known as the software king for its Pixel line. This is still the case however they now have a much more powerful “Google Tensor” chip developed in partnership with Samsung.

It comes packed with a 6.7 AMOLED screen and aluminum frame which is strong and light. It is the perfect upgrade for a custom ROM setup with the big screen as you can use custom launchers and customize for a one-page home screen.

Nokia 8.3 5G – Editor’s Choice for Modding

To have the stock android experience one does not need to go to Google. Its Android One Program allows other phone brands to take part in its stock experience; this is the best one globally.

It comes with:

• Snapdragon 765G.
• 8 inch IPS LCD display.
• 4500 mAh battery.
• 64 MP cameras
• Clean software with timely updates.

READ ALSO: Top Linux Tablets that run Ubuntu and Kali Linux.

Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra – Taking it extreme

The Galaxy S22 Ultra is the latest flagship from Samsung. It packs a powerful punch when it comes to its specifications because it blows the competition out of the park. It has a gorgeous-looking 6.8-inch display that has a 120 Hz refresh rate.

It includes the latest Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 processor and 8 or 12 GB of RAM, do you know what this means? It means that all of your rooted apps like Xposed Framework or Magisk or even Kingo Root will work like a breeze. You will not have to worry about any battery life issues as well because of the 5000 mAh pack. The best part is the OS, which comes with Android 12 out of the box ready to roll.

It is the perfect balance of performance and design for power users because of the processing power. It also comes with a base storage of 128 GB, which is enough to install 100+ apps and games of your choice.

Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra – Best phone for custom Roms

The Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra just released and packs a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 process globally. This makes it the most powerful Android device running Android 13 out of the box. But, what if you want to run other custom Roms? You can do so easily. This phone comes with a 5000 mah battery and a stylus too so you can customize it as much as you like.

Google Pixel 7 & 7 Pro – Ultimate Rooting Experience

Google’s new 2022 flagship comes with the Tensor G2 and a refresh of cameras at the back. The phone holds the most bone-stock Android experience you can imagine without any third-party skins or apps. The tensor G2 and the sleek design make it a perfect candidate for installing custom ROMs.

Nothing Phone 2 – A blend of custom and OS magic

The Nothing Phone 2 has just been released with its new Glyph notification design. This phone also comes with a custom operating system based on Android named “Nothing OS”. The Nothing OS resembles a completely different look on the user interface with mostly black and white spaces and menus and dotted designs. Roms such as RiceDroid, LineageOS and Pixel Experience run beautifully on this smartphone running the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 processor.

Custom Roms Quick FAQs

What is LineageOS Rom and why it’s so popular?

LineageOS is an operating system built on Android. It only has free software on it that is mostly open source. It is stable, fast, and built to be privacy-focused for everyone.

How dangerous is it to root a device?

It is not dangerous at all. It is only a problem if you don’t know what you are doing and miss a step in a tutorial. This is why you should have backups before rooting as it may brick your device and void your warranty.

Can all smartphones run Custom Roms?

Yes, but this depends if your manufacturer has the bootloader unlocked. Some developers and famous previous versions like Cyanogen only supported a handful of devices. This is a gray area as these are people working for free who are not on a payroll, they are supported by donations.

Final Take

We have listed some of the most powerful smartphones ever released this year. However the above are the best phones for custom Roms and modding. You can easily install different operating systems such as LineageOS and have freedom. These are rootable and will pose very few problems with their bootloader as it’s unlocked.