CyanogenMod is the not the only ROM that is popular among the Android community. Paranoid Android a.k.a PA is also among the most popular ROMs in the Android community and the team is known for bringing some unique features to Android.
This includes Pie, Halo and Per-App DPI settings — three unique and useful features that improve the usability of ROM greatly. With the release of Android 4.4 KitKat though, the PA team took a step back and decided that instead of forward-porting their features mindlessly, they will enhance and improve it so that it blends in with the KitKat look.
Sadly, this means that the team has to do a lot of work, which means that there will be some delay before we see Halo and other popular PA features return to their KitKat builds. This, however, does not mean that the current Paranoid Android builds lack featyre. They still pack in all the usual features that we have come to expect from custom ROMs.
Below is a small list of all the features that Paranoid Android currently packs -:
- Volume Wake
- Enhanced volume buttons
- App Privacy a.k.a Permissions Manager
- Integrated SuperSu
- Maximize lockscreen widgets
- Expandable Download notifications
- Immersive Mode
- Ascending Ringtone
- Lockscreen blur
- Quick Settings 3.0
- Clear All button
- Advanced Power Menu
- Inbuilt Notification LED control
- A beautiful looking Lightbulb (Flash) app
Lockscreen blur – Lockscreen blur is a relatively new innovation in the Android custom ROM world. As the name suggests, using this feature will turn your lock screen semi-transparent with a nice blur effect. With a stunning wallpaper, this feature can give your lock screen a very sexy look.
Quick Settings 3.0 – Nearly every custom ROM nowadays has the ability to customise the Quick Settings. However, the implementation in Paranoid Android is slightly different and provides much superior usability than the competition.
Below is a video of Quick Settings 3.0 in action -:
Immersive Mode – With the new Immersive mode feature in Android, the Paranoid Android team has decided not to forward port PIE. Instead, the team has added an option to enable Immersive mode globally, allowing users to hide the navigation or status bar or both and bring them up by simply swiping up the screen once.
Paranoid OTA – For a seamless user experience, the Paranoid team has added Paranoid OTA to their ROM. The app will automatically notify users when there is a new ROM or Google Apps update and allow them to update it at the tap of a button.
Halo
The Paranoid Android team has confirmed that it does not plan on forward porting Per-App DPI settings or PIE launcher feature to the KitKat build of their ROM. This leaves their ROM with only one unique feature — Halo — which is sadly missing from their current builds.
As stated above though, the PA team has been working on Halo from ground up, optimising it for KitKat and making use of all the new APIs provided by Google in Android 4.4. As they say, patience is bitter but its fruit is sweet. So, I guess while waiting for Halo can be bitter, be rest assured that the final result is going to be sweet.
