Android has never provided a complete, official image for the Raspberry Pi. But Android lovers aren't completely in the dark if they want their favorite OS to run on the Raspberry Pi. XDA Developers have announced the release of an unofficial Android 11 port for the Raspberry Pi 4 created by senior member maxwen known as OmniROM.
The unofficial Android image can boot from a MicroSD card like every other Raspberry Pi image. It can also run off of external USB storage media.
Official applications like Android Things have not been updated to work with modern iterations of the Raspberry Pi, nor does it provide the tools found in full implementations of the Android OS. This makes OmniROM an appealing option with a comparatively simple setup process.
Users can also opt to use an open-source framework known as MicroG. This is a variant of the OmniROM that has been "de-googled," as described by XDA Developers. According to the description, it allows systems to run Google Play Services applications, even if Play Services isn't available.
If you want to read more or even download this new image, visit the forum post on the XDA Developers website.
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Ash Hill is a contributing writer for Tom's Hardware with a wealth of experience in the hobby electronics, 3D printing and PCs. She manages the Pi projects of the month and much of our daily Raspberry Pi reporting while also finding the best coupons and deals on all tech.