LineageOS 23 review: The de facto AI-free alternative Android experience [Video]
LineageOS 23.2 brings a polished, AI-free Android alternative with Material 3 Expressive and updated built-in apps.
Intelligence analysis by GPT-5.4 Mini
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9to5Google says the long-delayed full LineageOS 23.2 build is finally ready, and the big draw is a clean Android experience without Google AI features unless the user adds them. The review finds the ROM more polished, more flexible, and still one of the best ways to keep older phones useful.
LineageOS 23 is like putting a cleaner, simpler engine into a phone so it runs the way its owner wants. It skips Google’s AI extras, adds nicer colors and menus, and can help older phones keep going longer.
Analysis
What changed
The review focuses on LineageOS 23.2, which the author says was held back until the fuller build was available. A major theme is timing: Google’s move to quarterly AOSP releases has pushed LineageOS into a slower cadence, and the project only merged the relevant Android 16 QPR1 changes after a delay.
The user experience
The biggest visible shift is Material 3 Expressive. The review says the new design language shows up in quicker-feeling animations, a more colorful interface, better dynamic color theming, and updated interactive elements such as Quick Settings and resizable tiles. The author also notes that the ROM feels especially fluid on older hardware.
Several features that might have been expected to disappear are still present in 23.2. Those include Notification organizer, which groups alerts into categories like Promotions, News, Social, and Suggested. The build also brings back Hub mode widgets on the lock screen, and on some supported phones it can enable off-screen fingerprint scanning.
App updates and extras
LineageOS’s own app suite is also getting attention, even if not everything is finished yet. The Updater app is still being worked on, but the Twelve music player now has larger controls, more color, random playback, statistics, and MIDI support. The Calculator and Clock apps are mentioned as updated too, though the review says the visible changes are modest.
The Aperture camera app gets one of the more practical upgrades: support for Ultra HDR, RAW, and RAW+JPEG capture at the same time, plus HDR support in both still photos and video.
Bottom line
The review frames LineageOS 23 as a strong option for people who want a clean phone without Google’s AI layer, or who want to keep a supported handset alive longer. The author also argues that LineageOS may offer faster and more regular updates than many OEMs, especially for budget devices.
Key points
- LineageOS 23.2 is described as the fuller release after delays tied to Google’s AOSP changes.
- The ROM is positioned as an AI-free Android alternative, with Google services optional rather than default.
- Material 3 Expressive brings a more colorful, fluid interface with updated Quick Settings and dynamic color support.
- Built-in features include Notification organizer, lock screen widgets in Hub mode, and some device-specific fingerprint options.
- The app suite is improving, with Twelve, Aperture, and other system apps getting functional and visual updates.
If the project keeps polishing the app suite and finishes the updater work, LineageOS could become an even easier switch for people who want a clean Android setup. The review also suggests it could help older phones stay useful with better performance and more regular updates than many OEMs provide.
The release is still affected by Google’s slower AOSP cadence, so LineageOS may continue to arrive later than users want. The review also makes clear that some app updates are incomplete or subtle, which could leave parts of the experience feeling unfinished.
