The five-year-old Xiaomi Mi A1 is still alive thanks to multiple Android 13 ROMs

Back in early 2021, my old Xiaomi Mi A1 became my daughter's daily driver. A few months ago, she finally managed to drop it face-down without any protection. She previously had broken the protective glass and, at the time of the final falls, the phone had no case on it because she didn't like the color of those I had. Now, the phone's front protective glass is badly damaged, but the handset is still functional (although no longer in use by anyone) and Android 13-ready.

For about a year, the Xiaomi Mi A1 ran on the Android 10-based Lineage OS 17.1, which worked flawlessly. The list of Android 13 ROMs currently available on the XDA Forums right now includes the following highlights:

• Spark OS: Based on AOSP, but with a wider range of customization and features. The Pixel launcher and dialer come pre-installed.
• PixelPlusUI: Well optimized, with a new UI "inspired by different Android skins present in the market," with the latest security patches from Google made available in a timely manner.
• PixelExperience: Another AOSP-based ROM with GApps included and the Pixel content also present (wallpapers, icons, fonts, but the launcher and boot animation have been included as well), with the mission to provide the ultimate level of security and stability in a custom ROM.
• Evolution X: Also based on AOSP, with the latest security patch at the time of writing included, GApps also bundled.
• ArrowOS: Based on AOSP and aiming to keep things simple, this ROM is available without GApps.

Those who might still be using the Xiaomi Mi A1 with the latest official ROM should be aware that by moving to a custom ROM they might lose the advanced features of the camera app, VoLTE, FM Radio, and other features. Fortunately, there are quite a few choices available and at least some of them have nearly everything working. Regarding the camera, I strongly suggest the use of Open Camera or Google Camera.