More than 70% of flashers prefer the pure version of the system

The mobile phone flashing market, which has existed for many years, has never received as much attention as it does now.

In the past year, domestic flashing experts, flashing masters and other flashing tools have received considerable investment; in January this year, Microsoft was also rumored to have invested in Android custom ROM company Cyanogen, which reportedly raised US$70 million in a new round of financing, and the company's valuation reached over 100 million US dollars.

Smartphones are increasingly becoming super terminals that integrate multiple entrances. Currently, emerging mobile Internet services are all centered around smartphones. As the core source of mobile phone system services, ROM is also becoming increasingly important.

Penguin Intelligence has also noticed the changes in the mobile phone ROM and flashing market. In a recent survey, we collected feedback from more than 8,000 users, asking them about their reasons for flashing, the factors they consider when choosing ROMs, and their views on the phone's built-in system. Their feedback should provide valuable insights for mobile phone manufacturers and ROM developers.

Mobile phone flashing: 80% of respondents have experienced it

As the open source Android system continues to gain popularity, more and more people are becoming users of flashing their phones. In the survey, the proportion of users who have experienced flashing their phones reached 80.4%.

Even though 19.6% of users have never flashed their phones, 13.6% of them have heard of it. Only 6% of the respondents said they have never tried or heard of flashing their phones.

Love the new and hate the old: more than half of flashing users are like this

Experiencing other systems and upgrading to new versions are the main reasons that motivate users to flash their devices, with their combined proportion reaching 55.4%.

In addition to experiencing other systems and new versions of the system, another reason for users to flash their phones is that the original system experience is not good. Among them, the system running lag is the most unsatisfactory for users. In addition, too many built-in applications that cannot be uninstalled, unsightly operation interfaces, and high power consumption are also important reasons for users to flash their phones.

ROM Download: Online Forums Are Out

Tieba? Forum? Users don't like to go here to download ROMs. The place they most often go is the dedicated ROM website.

Compared with traditional channels, ROM portals have richer resources. They can also classify ROMs according to information such as mobile phone brands and system versions, making it easier for users to filter. So far, ROM resource portals have become the first choice for a large number of users to download ROMs. In the survey, 38.6% of users said they would choose to download mobile phone ROMs from dedicated ROM websites.

There is also a large number of users who get ROMs through flashing software recommendations, accounting for 30.4%. Similar to ROM websites, flashing software also attracts a large number of users in a short period of time by improving the flashing experience.

In contrast, forums are rapidly declining. In the survey, only 18.5% of users said they obtained ROMs through forums. Its user ratio is only higher than that of online search, which has a user ratio of 16.5%, the lowest among all download channels.

How do users select ROMs? Brand is the most important

When users choose a ROM, the most important factor they consider is the ROM brand, accounting for 23.2%. The ROM system version is also an important factor for users, accounting for 21.3%. A higher version of ROM can not only bring more new features, but also ensure the compatibility of applications - some applications will give up support for older versions of the system due to development pressure.

In addition to the above two factors, the function introduction, ratings, download volume and user reviews provided by ROM websites are the second type of reference factors for users to choose ROM, and their proportion remains at 15%-17%. In contrast, the impact of interface screenshots and installation package size on users is relatively weak, with their user proportions being 11.6% and 10.7% respectively.

Users love clean ROMs, but some people like others

The pure version of ROM that only installs system applications is the favorite of users, accounting for 72.9%. Most users still prefer pure systems with higher autonomy and hope to decide what applications to install by themselves. In contrast, only a small number of users are willing to accept a large number of pre-installed applications, accounting for only 5.7%.

However, in addition to the pure version of ROM, 15.9% of users also said that they would rather accept ROMs pre-installed with commonly used applications. Commonly used applications can ensure that the system is ready to use, reducing the workload of installing additional applications. The user needs behind it cannot be ignored either.

Conclusion: ROM's status rises and the domestic market develops rapidly

Smartphones and mobile ROMs are becoming the super portal to the mobile Internet. They connect almost all mobile Internet services, and the future is full of infinite imagination.

This is confirmed by the enthusiastic feedback from users on mobile phone ROM and flashing. In this survey, more than 80% of the respondents said they had experienced flashing their mobile phones, and upgrading to new versions and trying other systems were the main reasons that prompted users to flash their mobile phones.

Among the multiple channels for ROM downloads, online forums have declined, and ROM resource portals and flashing software with better experience have become the main channels for users to download ROMs. ROM brand and system version are the most important reference factors for users to choose a ROM. In addition, ROM ratings, download volume, function introduction and user reviews will also affect users' choices, but the size of the installation package and interface screenshots have a relatively weak impact on users.

Pure ROM is still the favorite of most users. Pure ROM can provide users with sufficient autonomy, while eliminating the trouble of pre-installed applications that cannot be deleted. However, it is worth noting that nearly 16% of users are still more willing to accept ROMs with commonly used applications. This data proves that users still expect a system that can be installed and used immediately, and it is not appropriate to blindly provide pure ROM. Therefore, properly balancing the contradiction between pre-installed applications and system purity is a proposition that both mobile phone manufacturers and ROM developers must think deeply about.

The importance of ROM is being magnified nowadays, and the commercialization attempt of the foreign development team Cyanogen is worth learning from for domestic teams. They recently reached a cooperation with the mobile phone manufacturer Alcatel to install their own system in the latter's new phones, and also reached a cooperation with the email application developer Boxer to replace the native email application of the Android system in the next version of the system - the importance of ROM can be seen from this.

Although there is no ROM developer in China that can compete with Cyanogen, the domestic environment is rich and diverse, and is developing rapidly. Even the team that used to develop Windows cracking systems has adjusted its product direction in recent years, launching Android ROM resource portals and its own systems. Under the dual catalysis of capital and users, the next Cyanogen may be born here.

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.