LineageOS Statistics

Original Article ↗ Hacker News Discussion ↗

Headline stats & reactions

  • Many are surprised LineageOS reports only ~1M installs, with:
    • ~74% on unofficial builds.
    • ~2/3 of U.S. installs on non-phones (Waydroid, Switch, RPi, etc.).
    • <21% on versions with security updates and <9% on the latest version.
  • Several find this “depressing,” interpreting it as a decline from CyanogenMod-era dominance.

Waydroid and non‑phone devices

  • Waydroid_x86_64 is by far the largest single “device,” likely mostly desktops/laptops.
  • Some installs are on ARM phones running Linux + Waydroid, but evidence in the stats suggests x86_64 dominates.
  • Speculation about scam/click farms using emulators exists, but others doubt emulators beat cheap real phones for spam; overall impact is unclear.

Unofficial builds, forks, and microG

  • Many users report using unofficial ROMs because:
    • Their devices never had official LineageOS support or were dropped.
    • They want integrated microG or stronger degoogling.
  • LineageOS previously resisted signature-spoofing patches for microG but reportedly enabled them ~2+ years ago; some think the earlier stance hurt credibility.
  • Some forks redirect telemetry to their own servers, so their usage is absent from these stats.

Decline of custom ROM usage

  • Reasons cited:
    • SafetyNet → Play Integrity making it hard/impossible to pass attestation; banking and wallet apps often fail on custom ROMs.
    • Stock ROMs (especially Pixels and some mid-range devices) are “good enough,” less bloated, and supported for ~5+ years.
    • Phones are now seen as essential tools; users avoid instability from ROMs, root, and hacks.

Hardware, bootloaders, and blobs

  • Growing bootloader locking (Huawei, BBK brands, Xiaomi, Samsung) and missing kernel sources/blobs make porting ROMs harder or impossible.
  • Even when unlocked, devices may lack VoLTE, 4G, or drivers under LineageOS, making them unusable for some.
  • People request official GSIs and PHH-style patches to reach more devices, but see little movement.

Regional patterns

  • U.S.: dominated by Waydroid; the most-used actual phone is an older Galaxy S10 5G.
  • China: higher share of real phones (e.g., Xiaomi Mi 8, Mi 10T/Pro); some question whether huge counts on single models are real or artifacts/phone farms.
  • Brazil: strong Moto G7 Power presence.
  • Vietnam: notable Galaxy S7 usage.
  • Russia: appears mostly Waydroid.
  • Some note possible undercounting due to opt‑in telemetry and privacy‑minded users disabling it.

Trust, security, and communication channels

  • Several no longer trust random XDA-hosted ROMs: opaque binaries, single maintainers, no clear issue tracking.
  • Comparisons favor more structured projects (e.g., GrapheneOS) with verifiable builds and opinionated security models.
  • Some criticize LineageOS-related communities for strict rules (root, VoLTE, microG, etc.), seeing topic bans as harmful; others argue the rules are necessary to manage support load and user self-inflicted breakage.

Nostalgia & repurposing devices

  • Strong nostalgia for early CyanogenMod/XDA days: many ROMs, kernels, dual-boot setups, and learning through experimentation (and bricking).
  • Users still value LineageOS for reviving old or ad‑heavy devices (e.g., Amazon Echo Show, Fire tablets, old Samsung tablets) and reducing e‑waste.
  • Some regret lack of support for specific newer devices (Motorolas, Zenfone 9, S22 Ultra) and wish regulators would force OEMs to allow alternative OSes, though no concrete legal efforts are identified in the thread.