Google Prevents Custom Overlays (Substratum Themes) From Being Applied In Android P Even Though It Seems To Be Inspired By Flux White

The first developer preview of Android P was released earlier this week. Out of the many changes made, there is one that has upset the Android community. Google has locked down on application of custom overlays in the new release of Android, which essentially means that Substratum themes can't be applied in Android P.

The lock down is so severe that even with root access Substratum themes won't work. According to the developers behind Substratum, Android P Developer Preview 1 (DP1) does support application of overlays, but only those which are authorized by the system. Since custom overlays aren't authorized by the system, Android P DP1 won't support rootless theming like Oreo did (in Oreo there was no restriction on application of custom overlays). Although custom overlays can be forced via root, platform certificate mismatch will still be a problem. The Substratum team believes that this problem can be resolved by patching the framework.jar, however this is something that can only be solved using custom ROMs and not root access.

Do these look similar?
In both the pictures, the image on the left is that of Flux White with blue accent and that on the right is @Android P. I guess Flux is popular among folks at @Google which led to the design <strike>copying</strike> inspiration pic.twitter.com/3wmyUKw7VK

— Krittin Kalra (@KrittinKalra) March 8, 2018

When I came across the first screenshots of Android P, they reminded me of one of my favorite Substratum themes - Flux White. On putting the screenshots of Flux White and Android P side by side, it was easy to make out the similarities.

Left: Oreo based Dirty Unicorns, Right: Android P DP1

The Substratum team have filed a petition on change.org urging Google to lift the lock down and bring back support for custom overlays. A similar request has also been made on Google's Issue Tracker. We request you to consider signing up for the petition here and starring the issue on Google's Issue Tracker (please only star the issue since making a comment will send an email to everyone who has starred the issue). At the time of writing this article, over five thousand signatures had been made on the change.org petition.

Via: XDA Developers - (1), (2)

Krittin Kalra

Krittin Kalra is a 20 year old Android freak. Striving for passions, chasing down his dreams and living a life without regrets is his sole mantra. A bit moody, he also does custom ROM reviews for AndroGuider. Currently pursuing his B.Tech, he aspires to follow his heart.