We’ve already had quite the catalog of Android Oreo ROMs for existing phones, including Nexus, OnePlus, Xiaomi, and Motorola phones. However, could one of these ROMs bring Project Treble to your phone? The answer:
it’s not likely.
The changes made to the low-level platform of Android are really complicated, and not really something you can just get working on a regular custom ROM. It’s not something like pie controls or device gestures, but a total redesign of the vendor implementation. This is something that requires the work of Qualcomm and other silicon makers to be on board. Google is currently
working with different OEMs to bring Treble to some existing flagship phones, but even then, we are not sure
what OEMs are working on it since the list was not disclosed. However, we have seen some Treble-related commits floating around in the LineageOS Gerrit, so it’s safe to say that it is indeed being attempted.
In the end, it’s too early to tell. We have seen some amazing development feats coming from our forums before, including awesome stuff like
universal systemless interfaces or
eMMC storage upgrades, so who knows? Someone might somehow end up getting Project Treble working on a legacy phone.