[Q] Fresh phone - lots of questions

.69 said:

Here's a little background before I ask my questions:
Currently I have a Verizon Galaxy S4 running android 4.4.2 and build number KOT49H.I545VRUFNC5 (NC5). It is not rooted. I like the phone, but the battery life isn't great and I find the front and back camera lag occasionally (especially with snapchat).

The only apps I use are: settings, phone, contacts, messaging, internet, music, gallery, camera, email, play store, alarms, calendar, calculator, svoice, soundcloud, twitter, snapchat, instagram, fb, card wars (yes really), td bank (us), and maps

I'm planning to use this guide to root my phone: http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=2769480

Questions:
What rom offers the best battery life? Do I even need to root to install a custom rom?
How can I fix the camera lag (something with touchwiz?) ?
What would be the best way to remove every single other app besides the one I have listed above?
I know upon installing a custom rom I'll void my warranty (which can be covered up), but will rooting void my warranty as well?

Thanks in advance.

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First off, please search the existing threads before posting a new one. Everyone of your questions except the one about the best rom has been answered a few hundred times. On XDA you are expected to do your own research whenever possible. Just judging by your questions you are not ready to root your phone and flash roms. You have a lot more learning to do before taking that kind of control over your phone. All that you need can be found here. Read the threads on the topics you need, then read them again. Learn everything you can before doing anything to your phone. Better to take an extra day and read everything so you truly understand what you're doing before rushing to root the phone and risk breaking it. (For example, if you are on 4.4.2 and you root the device you will NOT be able to cover up that you did it for warranty purposes. The Knox counter WILL show that you've rooted it.)

As for which ROM has the best battery life, there is no answer to that question. It all depends on how you utilize your phone. Do you need battery battery life when idle? When using wifi? Do you need maximum screen brightness? etc etc etc...

Different rom, different kernels, different settings, different usage....it all means that battery life will be dependant on how you use your device. A rom that gives me great battery life might be horrible for you. For this reason, any threads asking what the best rom for any purpose is are expressly forbidden on XDA.