Arguably the biggest and most well-known third-party ROM, LineageOS 20 offers a different take on Android 13 for devices that might not ordinarily be able to run Google’s latest mobile operating system. One of the biggest changes is the addition of an overhauled default camera app called “Aperture.”

The full changelog includes the December 2022 security patch, which is just the tip of the iceberg. Given the similarities between Android 12 and Android 13, this isn’t a huge departure. That is part of the reason why LineageOS 20 was able to be released so quickly after the AOSP build of Android 13 was made available to developers.

Owners of the excellent Poco X3 alongside the Xiaomi Mi 6, Xiaomi Mi Mix 2, and SHIFT SHIFT6mq can now flash LineageOS 20 and get a full taste of Android 13 right now (via XDA). As with any third-party ROM, this is not something we would suggest just anyone sideload. However, this could give your aging device a new lease on life without any added cost.

When flashing LineageOS 20 on your Poco X3 or other Xiaomi devices, it’s important to note that you will need to manually flash the Google apps (or GApps) package to get access to the Play Store and other Google services — as these files do not come with the ROM. If you’d like to get started, you can find direct links and downloadable files for each of the newly added devices below:

• Poco X3 (surya)
• Xiaomi Mi 6 (sagit)
• Xiaomi Mi Mix 2 (chiron)
• SHIFT SHIFT6mq (axolotl)

Announced in a lengthy blog post by the Lineage team, LineageOS 20 has been in the works since October 2022 but is now ready for a sizable pool of devices. Because much of the hard work has already been done and the simple “bring-up requirements” for Android 13, this has been an easier process for the Lineage team.

This build includes a substantial overhaul to the default camera application bundled with LineageOS 20. Renamed “Aperture,” this has been written by developer SebaUbuntu, LuK1337, and luca020400 with a look and feel closer to the Google Camera app found on Pixel phones. It utilizes the CameraX API, with even more precise options for the camera on your device including video frame rate control, full EIS and OIS settings, plus an image orientation level that works like the Gcam spirit level functionality.

The new camera app is just the tip of the iceberg as this ROM includes a ton more changes that you can check out via the changelog below. It’s also worth noting that all security patches from April 2022 right through to December 2022 have also been merged to LineageOS 17.1 through to LineageOS 20.

LineageOS 20 full changelog

• Security patches from April 2022 to December 2022 have been merged to LineageOS 17.1 through 20.
• ohmagoditfinallyhappened – LineageOS now has an awesome new camera app called Aperture! It is based on Google’s (mostly) awesome CameraX library and provides a much closer “to stock” camera app experience on many devices. Massive kudos to developers SebaUbuntu, LuK1337, and luca020400 who developed this initially, designer Vazguard, and to the entire team for working to integrate it into LineageOS and adapt it to our massive array of supported devices!
• WebView has been updated to Chromium 108.0.5359.79.
• We have introduced a completely redone volume panel in Android 13 and have further developed our side pop-out expanding panel.
• We now support GKI and Linux 5.10 builds with full out-of-tree module support to match new AOSP conventions.
• Our fork of the AOSP Gallery app has seen many fixes and improvements.
• Our Updater app has seen many bug fixes and improvements, as well as now has a fancy new Android TV layout!
• Our web browser, Jelly has seen several bug fixes and improvements!
• We have contributed even more changes and improvements back upstream to the FOSS Etar calendar app we integrated some time back!
• We have contributed even more changes and improvements back upstream to the Seedvault backup app.
• Our Recorder app has been adapted to account for Android’s built-in features, while still providing the features you expect from LineageOS.
  • The app was rearchitected heavily.
  • Material You support has been added.
  • The high quality recorder (WAV format) now supports stereo and there has been several threading fixes.
• Android TV builds now ship with an ad-free Android TV launcher, unlike Google’s ad-enabled launcher – we also support Google TV-style builds and are evaluating moving to it on supported devices in the future.
• Multiple Google TV features, such as the much more appealing looking Two-Panel Settings application have been ported to LineageOS Android TV builds.
• Our adb_root service is no longer tied to the build type property, which allows greater compatibility with many third-party root systems.
• Our merge scripts have been largely overhauled, greatly simplifying the Android Security Bulletin merge process, as well as making supporting devices like Pixel devices that have full source releases much more streamlined.
• LLVM has been fully embraced, with builds now defaulting to using LLVM bin-utils and optionally, the LLVM integrated assembler. For those of you with older kernels, worry not, you can always opt out.
• A global Quick Settings light mode has been developed so that this UI element matches the device’s theme.
• Our Setup Wizard has seen adaptation for Android 13, with new styling, and more seamless transitions/user experience.

At present, the build roster does not yet include Tensor-powered Pixel devices. However, the Pixel 4a through to the Pixel 5a are able to flash LineageOS 20 and get an even more flexible build of Android 13 running. Over 30 devices can now be updated with the full list found below: