LineageOS 24.0 Ships on Android 17 With a Browser-Based Flasher

LineageOS 24.0, built on Android 17, was released on Oct. 11, the project said in its Changelog 32 post. The release adds browser-based flashing tools at flash.lineageos.org and a rebuilt Updater that streams updates by default.

The project says it rebased its changes onto Android 17, which Google released in June, "faster than anticipated," and writes: "We're early this year!" It also says the 24.0 branch has "reached feature and stability parity with 23.2" and will launch building "a decent selection of devices." The post does not list the devices.

How the browser flasher works

The new tools use WebUSB, a browser interface for talking to USB devices, to run four installation methods from a web page: ADB, Fastboot, Amlogic Burn and Samsung Odin. LineageOS credits contributors Nicholas Lim and Luk1337 with the work.

The project says the tools do not replace the existing install guides, which "remain the default and supported path for each device." It warns that availability will vary by device, browser, operating system and USB connection.

The browser matters. Mozilla's MDN labels WebUSB "not Baseline because it does not work in some of the most widely-used browsers," and restricts it to secure HTTPS contexts. MDN's page as fetched does not list which browsers support it, so check the compatibility table before assuming the flasher opens in yours.

What changes for people already on an official build

Owners of official builds do not need to wipe, "unless your device's wiki page specifically dictates otherwise," the post says, and some devices with repartitioning changes do. Unofficial builds need a fresh install from the device's guide.

The Updater, redesigned in Material Design 3 Expressive with contributor pjgowtham credited, now streams updates by default. The post says this "will greatly decrease installation time on A/B devices." On devices without A/B partitions, the recovery partition is now updated automatically on the first boot after a successful update.

The bundled apps also change. Canvas is a new image editor with cropping, white balance and filters. Jelly, the browser, can run PWA-like apps from shortcuts. Twelve, the music player, loads large libraries faster and shows most-played albums. WebView is updated to 155.0.8059.30.

The kernel line LineageOS is drawing

The most consequential policy change is for maintainers. LineageOS said devices on Linux 4.4 and 4.9 kernels, though some have been ported to 23.2 and 24.0, will only be accepted as LineageOS 22.2 submissions. It calls the legacy kernels' platform commits "rather hacky and difficult to continue to pull forward." 22.2 keeps monthly security merges until Google stops distributing Android 15 bulletins.

On 23.2 and 24.0 the project ships only kernels with 1:1 eBPF backports that build fully without GCC. It also lists shared kernels maintainers can base their devices on.

SoC family	Kernel	Android versions
Qualcomm SM8150	4.14	13 to 17
Qualcomm SDM660, SM8250	4.19	13 to 17
Qualcomm SM8350	5.4	13 to 17
Amlogic G12A/G12B/SM1/NE/NO	5.15	16, 17
Qualcomm MSM8998/MSM8996	4.4	13 to 15

The last row shows the cutoff in practice: the 4.4 and 4.9 common kernels stop at Android 15, which is LineageOS 22.2.

Security patches and the next milestone

Security patches from August 2025 to October 2026 are merged into LineageOS 18.1 through 24.0. The project only changes the security patch level string on branches for which Google distributes bulletins, which it says is Android 14 (LineageOS 21) and newer. Legacy branches 15.1, 16.0 and 17.1 have patches through November 2025, and the project says the December 2025 bulletins pulled in patches it could not adapt.

The post also reports a free accessibility audit by the a11y project of the installation process and application suite, plus a web seminar on accessibility for more than 40 contributors. LineageOS has not published the audit's outcomes yet.

Alternative Android distributions have been in the news elsewhere on the site: F-Droid released version 2.0 ahead of Google's verification deadline, and GrapheneOS advised against buying the Pixel 11 because it lacks memory tagging.

The date to watch is Dec. 24, 2026, when LineageOS turns 10. The project says 24.0 precedes that anniversary, and more devices will join the build list as maintainers meet the project's charter requirements.