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Chameleon OS First Look: An Open Source MIUI-esque ROM
June 21, 2025
When it comes to Android ROMs,MIUIis probably the most customizable thanks to their advanced theme engine. Before your English based MIUI ROM gets onto your devivce, a lot of background work is done. Each week, Xiaomi, the Chinese company behindMIUI, releases a new weekly beta build. This beta ROM is then downloaded, translated to English, and ported to various Android phones and tablets. This is how it’s been done for years. The problem is, developers from such communities asMIUI.usdeal with closed source ROMs, making porting this gorgeous ROM to various devices a real pain in the ass, especially when new bugs or new features appear without notice each week. Out of this frustration, Chameleon OS or ChaOS ROM for short, was born.
ChaOS is an custom Android ROM, based onCyanogenMOD, that focuses on user control and customizing each piece of Android. The most notable feature of ChaOS is the theme engine. The entire framework has been modified around their theme engine, which allows users to mix and match themes until the user gets it just right. The Launcher and Messaging app has been completely overhauled as well with various options for customization.
Even though ChaOS is in public beta, their feature list isn’t short. Here’s a few notable features.
For a complete feature set, visit theChaOS feature list.
Screenshots
You can view more screenshots on theofficial ChaOS gallery.
Supported devices
As ChaOS ROM is currently in the beta stages, the list of supported devices is limited, however they are covering some of the heavy hitters. Follow the links below to download the latest beta build for your device. If you’re looking for support, head on over to theofficial forums.
Nexus 4 (mako)One X (evita)One S (ville)Galaxy Nexus (maguro)Galaxy Nexus (toro)Galaxy SIII (d2att)Galaxy SIII (d2vzw)Galaxy SII (hercules)Galaxy SII (skyrocket)Nexus 7 (grouper)Nexus 7 GSM (tilapia)Kindle Fire (otter)
If you love customization and open source, this Android ROM has a lot of potential. As the Chameleon OS project matures, we’ll continue watching it and report on any updates as needed.
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