RIP: XOSP Call It Quits After 4 Years

It's a sad day for all the custom ROM lovers. The Xperia Open Source Project (XOSP) will be coming to a close soon and it won't see the light of the day when Android O comes along.

Originally conceived as S+ Reborn in 2013, XOSP aimed at delivering features from Sony's Xperia UI. This was achieved by reproducing the various elements of Xperia UI through code and by porting popular Xperia apps to work with non-Xperia devices.

XOSP's lead developer Călin Neamţu wrote an emotional note in which he informed the community about the closing down of the project. Călin stated that over the past few years Sony appears to be inclining the Xperia UI towards the stock Android interface, "leaving XOSP with pretty much a simple UI which can be achieved with a simple Substratum theme." Colin also rightly noted the demands of the modern-day custom ROM user.

Users nowadays are looking much more in ROMs having themes support and as many features as possible and unfortunately that's where also some developers from other ROMs are doing wrong. You don't need to pump the ROM with as many features as possible if they're not needed.  And never listen to the users cause the users will only want what another ROM has and that's just makes your ROM the same as an another one.  Don't make the terrible mistake to create a ROM and then maintaining it by only picking stuff what the other ROMs got, just pick essentially if you need something but never too much. 

What makes me feel terrible about XOSP's closure is how these facts (facts mentioned in the paragraph quoted above) would have influenced Călin's decision of bringing the project to a close. I'm not a custom ROM developer, but having seen the growth of custom ROMs from the sidelines, I can tell you that what Călin stated is absolutely true. Custom ROM users flood the threads on social media and forums asking which is the best custom ROM out there. There was a time when I was so irritated with this question that I ended up doing a rant on this entire situation. To summarize the facts I mentioned in that rant, a custom ROM is a developer's opinion on what Android should be like. Now you may or may not agree with the developer's opinion. That's why we have got so many custom ROMs out there, you are supposed to find the ROM which best matches your opinion and use that ROM. However, the world isn't an ideal place. Although the modern-day custom ROM users select a ROM as per their liking, they end up putting ROMs against one another and argue on which ROM is the best. Naturally enough, the ROM which includes the most features will win that baseless competition because more features a ROM has, more opinions it is ought to meet. I hate this competition of ROMs for the effect it has on the ROM developers.

The ROM developers may get influenced by this competition. Those who get influenced by this competition and wish to be a part of it will try to include more features to meet the demands of the community. On the other hand, those who don't wish to be a part of this competition may sabotage. Călin stated that the diminishing user base of XOSP was one of the reasons behind the project coming to an end. This is where it hurts the most. I doubt how the declining user base influenced Călin. This baseless competition prohibits original thinking which can lead to the creation of new ideas for customizations.

Nougat based builds of XOSP will continue until September after which support for Nougat will be withdrawn and the project will be brought to a close. Călin has stated that he might continue to be a part of the development community by being a part of another team.

Krittin Kalra

Krittin Kalra is a 20 year old Android freak. Striving for passions, chasing down his dreams and living a life without regrets is his sole mantra. A bit moody, he also does custom ROM reviews for AndroGuider. Currently pursuing his B.Tech, he aspires to follow his heart.