When the OnePlus One flagship-killer was launched back in April, it seemed like its relationship with CyanogenMod is never going to end. Now, the manufacturer is forced to build its own ROM to keep users satisfied.
If hardware-wise Chinese flagship smartphones are on par with the Samsung, Motorola or LG devices of the day, the software experience is entirely different, and I would dare say that the Chinese products are somewhat better from this point of view. It definitely looked like the partnership between CyanogenMod and OnePlus One is going to bring the owners of this flagship killer something they could not get by default on other, better-known devices. However, on November 26, CyanogenMod made an announcement that surprised OnePlus, and not in a good way.
More precisely, CM announced that its ROM will be available exclusively on Micromax devices in India. With the launch of the OnePlus One smartphone in India scheduled for today, the Chinese manufacturer was cornered and forced to announce the launch of its own ROM: “It was surprising and disappointing to hear from Cyanogen on November 26 that they had granted exclusive rights in India over the Cyanogen system to another company. Prior to this, OnePlus and Cyanogen have successfully cooperated to release the OnePlus One or carry out commercial operations in 17 countries and regions (including India). It is truly unfortunate that a commitment we both made to our Indian users will now not be upheld.”
Here is what the company said about its future ROM in a blog post meant for its Indian users:
“Our system will be based on Lollipop, and will be built to be stable, fast, and lightweight. True to our original promise of putting user experience first, it will be bloatware-free and only carry the features important to our users. We appreciate the work that Google has put into Android, and we have no plans of departing from Material Design nor adding unnecessary customizations. We can’t wait to hear your feedback and to build it together with you. We will commit to at least two years of support for the OnePlus One, starting from the release of our first community build.”
That being said, OnePlus’ custom ROM will be launched sometime in next four weeks, as the company promised it won’t let Indian users enter 2015 without their devices running Lollipop.
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