Rooted s4 owners; update to Lollipop & keep root

[dezymond]

I just used this method and I am definitely still rooted: How to Update Keep ROOT Verizon Galaxy S4 on Lollipop OC1 - ZiDroid

I was personally waiting for when Lollipop would have root before updating and here it is. It works and my phone is running fine, I'm restoring apps with Titanium Backup right now as I type this. So for those who were waiting, go ahead and give this a shot.

Once all is done I'll have to put Lollipop through its paces, but for initial bootup and setup, everything has been smooth. I can tell you I don't miss all the tacky Samsung sounds for everything I click and scroll though, turned those off ASAP.

 

[dezymond]

I may post up a more in-depth review of it but for my initial impressions:

1. This OS is smooth. It really does make the s4 feel like a brand new phone. I've thrown quite a bit of apps at it and it's held up nicely.

2. Material Design. I already expected it to have a pretty significant makeover since I have Lollipop on my Nexus 7, but you can definitely tell there is TouchqWiz baked into it. Can still be a bit intrusive, but overall it does feel like Lollipop. Throw on Google Now Launcher and alot of that TouchWiz feel seems to fade away, though some elements are still obvious.

3. Either I haven't figured it out yet, or it's not possible, but why can't I hide apps?! This is one feature I do miss from KitKat.

4. When I went from JellyBean to KitKat on the s4, I noticed the radios seemed to have improved. I haven't really tested it out with Lollipop yet, but could it be a possible improvement. Judging by the dBms and asu numbers, I'd say they're about the same judging off my not so reliable memory when it comes to numbers, but I do seem to be getting full signal bars in some places that I used to get 4/5.

Just initial impressions for now. Definitely impressed with how significant of an update this feels from KitKat. No sign of lag or hiccups whatsoever and my s4 feels new and refreshed. Wonder if I'll notice any changes in performance once everything settles and I get back to normal use.