The Realme X is an example of community development done right

If you are unfamiliar with the Realme X, then it comes with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 710 SoC, a 6.53-inch and 1080p AMOLED panel that has an 85.9% screen-to-body ratio, along with a Sony IMX586 as its primary rear-facing camera. The device has a motorised pop-up 16 MP front-facing camera too, an optical in-screen fingerprint scanner and a 3,765 mAh battery.

Unlike many other OEMs, Realme actively encourages community development of the Realme X, having sent handsets to numerous developers last month. The Realme X community has already responded with seven ROMS and a custom kernel. While that is not OnePlus 3 and OnePlus 3T levels of development, it outstrips that of other midrange devices like the Google Pixel 3a, for example.

To date, the Realme X can run AOSP Extended, Candy ROM, HavocOS, Pixel Experience, two versions of Lineage OS 16.0 and Resurrection Remix. Developer arter97 has also released an AOSP-compatible custom kernel that improves memory management among other changes.

There is also a Telegram development and discussion group for the Realme X should you wish to contribute. Realme plans to push Android 10 courtesy to the device too with the release of ColorOS 6, but it is good to see so many alternatives if you are not a fan of Oppo's custom Android skin.