What you need to know
- LineageOS 22.1 is here for over 100 devices, based on Android 15 QPR1, with two new system apps.
- Twelve is a new default music player that replaces Eleven, one of LineageOS' oldest apps.
- LineageOS 22.1 supports devices as old as the Pixel 2 series and as new as the Pixel 9 series.
LineageOS, an Android custom ROM project that aims to support both new and old smartphones, is already adding support for Android 15. The team announced today, Dec. 31, that LineageOS 22.1 is rolling out based on the latest Android 15 QPR1. It was able to bring Android 15 to LineageOS quicker than expected due to the breakthroughs made adapting Android 12 through Android 14, according to the blog post.
"This is far-and-away the easiest bringup cycle from a device perspective we have seen in years," wrote Nolen Johnson, the developer relations manager for LineageOS, in the blog post. "This means that many more devices are ready on day one that we’d typically expect to have up this early in the cycle."
Aside from the system improvements brought by Android 15, LineageOS 22.1 includes a few new features and additions. For starters, security patches as recent as November 2024 have been merged to LineageOS 19.1 through 22.1. There are also two new apps: Twelve and Camelot.
Twelve is a brand-new music player that replaces the prior music player, Eleven. As one of the oldest LineageOS apps, the team explained that it was time for a replacement. Eleven was becoming noncompliant with new Android guidelines due to its older codebase, and Twelve is an improved replacement.
Some of the new app's highlights include Material You design language and support for tablets and landscape mode. It'll integrate with major music server protocols, like Subsonic, OpenSubsonic, and Jellyfin. On top of that, there's better search, improved Android Auto support, and new support for streaming protocols — such as HLS, DASH, and SmoothStreaming.
Camelot is a basic PDF viewer that aims to fill the gap left by LineageOS' Jelly and WebViews, which can't open PDF files. It's described as a simple app based on Google Chrome and Files by Google releases.
LineageOS will use a decimal integer system moving forward to match Android's quarterly platform releases (QPRs). LineageOS 22.1 is based on Android 15 QPR1, and a future Android 15 QPR2 update would eventually lead to LineageOS 22.2.
Of course, LineageOS is best known for supporting older devices, and support is excellent out of the gate. You can find more information on the LineageOS Wiki, but over 100 devices are eligible for the latest upgrade on day one. That includes older devices like the Google Pixel 2, and newer ones like the Google Pixel 9 series.
