The latest Magisk beta, version 26, has been released with several big updates and improvements, building on the last canary release. In this article, we will dive into the key changes and provide a brief overview of what to expect with the new Magisk release.
Minimum Android Version Bumped to 6.0 for Magisk Beta
Unfortunately, Magisk’s support for Android Lollipop has been quite unstable for some time now. The main issue stems from the fact that none of the active developers have hardware capable of running Android Lollipop. Also, Google never released a Lollipop emulator image with SELinux support, making it impossible for the developers to do proper regression testing, especially for this magisk beta release.
As a result, the decision was made to drop support for Android Lollipop and bump the minimum Android version for Magisk to 6.0.
New Magic Mount Implementation
Magic Mount, the feature that enables modules to modify partitions, has undergone a major overhaul in this magisk beta release. The previous implementation had some compatibility issues, particularly when OEMs injected overlays into their systems using overlayfs. The new implementation improves how filesystem mirrors are created, resulting in a more accurate clone of the unmodified filesystem.
Improved sepolicy.rule Implementation
Magisk allows modules to offer custom SELinux patches via the inclusion of the sepolicy.rule file. However, due to the complex nature of SELinux patching, compatibility has been spotty, with many devices remaining unsupported. In response, the v26 beta introduces a new pre-init partition detection method designed to extend compatibility to a broader range of devices.
It is important to note that this detection method cannot be performed in a custom recovery environment. As a result, any installation of Magisk v26+ using custom recovery will be not be complete, requiring a re-installation through the Magisk app after booting up.
Zygisk Updates and API v4
The new Zygisk API v4 is now live in this magisk beta release, boasting new features and a refined PLT function hook API. In this magisk beta release, the implementation of Zygisk has also experienced a big refactoring, including new code loading/unloading mechanisms and a fresh PLT function hook implementation.
For more information on the new API and documentation, visit the Zygisk Module Sample repository (https://github.com/topjohnwu/zygisk-module-sample).
Full Changelog for Magisk Beta
To explore the full list of changes in the Magisk beta v26, head over to the official changelog at https://topjohnwu.github.io/Magisk/changes.html.
In conclusion, the latest Magisk release brings a range of enhancements and updates, including improved compatibility and new implementations. As always, users should exercise caution when using beta software, but these changes promise to make Magisk even more powerful and versatile for Android users.
Progress update
With the excitement of the latest Magisk Beta, we’d thought we’d like to let you know that we’re still working on updates to Font Manager and WebView Manager, even if they are much later than we anticipated. In addition, there are preliminary reports that Magisk v26 may cause issues with Font Manager. We’re investigating the issue.