HTC is taking its sweet time before it pushes out Android 5.1 Lollipop for the HTC One M9, but an independent Android developer shows us a glimpse of what the latest version of Android Lollipop can bring to HTC's flagship device.
Popular developer LlabtooFeR has shared online an Android 5.1 custom ROM for the One M9. Built on firmware version 2.7.401.1 for the device, the software includes a variety of remarkable new features enabled on Android 5.1.
One of these is the ability to adjust the display's color temperature, a feature that is often seen in large-screen devices such as TVs and computer monitors. Also included in the software is multi-user support, which is already available in other devices that updated to Android Lollipop.
The volume slider also received a makeover. When adjusting the volume of their phones, users can now have quick access to Do Not Disturb mode straight from the volume slider. The custom ROM also activates the HTC flashlight.
Furthermore, LlabtooFeR added improvements to the battery life and camera software as well as a performance boost that usually comes with a software upgrade. Android 5.1 for the One M9 also includes new animations, but it seems as though there still is not much of Google's bright and bold Material Design evident in HTC's Sense 7.0 UI.
To download this custom ROM, it is imperative that users know how to get around the technical ins and outs of their devices. Only devices with S-OFF should be able to have this ROM installed, and users need to unlock the bootloader and install custom recovery in case something goes wrong.
LlabtooFeR instructs that users will need to save the custom ROM in their device's internal SD card and press the device's power button and volume down button to go into download mode. Next, users have to go into bootloader mode and then recovery and do wipe first.
While in Recovery, they should find "Choose ZIP from SD card" and choose the appropriate .zip file. They are then to follow the instructions provided by Aroma installer and reboot the device after installation. If users follow these steps correctly, they will have Android 5.1 running on their One M9s properly.
However, users who are not familiar sideloading custom ROMs into their devices had better wait for HTC to roll out the over-the-air update for Android 5.1, which shouldn't take too long to wait for now.
