The final line of the story of the ugly breakup between OnePlus and Cyanogen is yet to be written – it’s a very public spat that is now fodder for tech blogs and industry pundits alike. OnePlus is now pushing for what has now been revealed as a closed-source software in OxygenOS as replacement for CyanogenMod (CM), which was the software of choice at the beginning when the OnePlus One smartphone began to ship.


According to a OnePlus ROM team member named Helen, OxygenOS “won’t be a community build, it will be a real OS.” The statement itself is dripping with negative attitude towards CyanogenMod – a very open-source software made from contributions of a developing community. The problem with the statement is that CM still has a very real – and a very large – Android community behind them, and they will not look too kindly on this affront.

Cyanogenmod’s own Steve Kondik suggested the following: “you can love CM or you can hate us, but we have no plans of taking our toys and going home.” This means that CyanogenMod is here to stay, with or without OnePlus. It will take a lot more to bring the open-source community down.

OxygenOSLogo1

OnePlus needs to start learning whom to take on at this point and how to go about it correctly. The breakup with Cyanogen is not pretty, we know that. But the OnePlus One was a big hit because it carried an open-source, community based software in CM11. OnePlus needs to start thinking about how to leverage the dwindling amount of goodwill they have with the Android community in general as they plan for the release of the OnePlus 2.

VIA: SlashGear

17 COMMENTS

  1. Oneplus is doing just fine, they don’t need an open source ROM. As long as it is bloat free and works, people will use it, also One Plus is friendly towards Unlocking, and 3rd party Roms.

  2. The cm11s (note the S, not the community version) variant that runs the current oneplus one is a closed source piece of software based on CM (the open source version) which puts it in a similar category with slightly different roots. Cyanogen is making money off this build, and that’s because it is indeed closed source. So this squabble is reaaaaallyyyy ironic.

  3. And what’s wrong with vanilla lollipop? I’d prefer an OS that will get instant updates than a closed OS that updates 6 months after Google releases… If they choose to update at all.

    I’d rather pay extra for the Nexus 6 than being forced to upgrade my phone for the latest build.

    • I prefer to wait at least 3 Months before and upgrade. Lollipop has its issues and we are running version .2 already I think. OnePlus must be sure to give the customers a nice experience without battery leaks issues and that kind of stuff. Beside that I will prefer to wait for 3 Months and have things like the double tap to wake up the phone. Vanilla is good but I do prefer some of the things OnePlus One have besides vanilla.

  4. “But the OnePlus One was a big hit because it carried an open-source, community based software in CM11”

    I call bull, that wasn’t the entire reason that the OPO became so successful. If you ask most owners it would have been the specs to price ratio that made it desirable, not the OS specifically. If they would have ran stock Android people would have still bought it. I sense alot of bias in this article. OnePlus did nothing wrong but at least they will keep their promise to offer continued support until their own rom gets released.

  5. No. Actually CM is the one that needs to learn a few lessons. They claim they are open but since they formed Cyanogen Inc a lot has changed. The community helped develop a strong ROM and now they use other people code to build a company. That wouldn’t be an issue if they remained open and neutral but that is not the case. For starters they announced they will compete with Google. Why compete with the company that allowed open source forks of their OS? Microsoft funding raises some eyebrows for a reason. But worst is what they have done with OnePlus. OnePlus signed a worldwide non exclusivity agreement with CM. It was CM that signed an exclusivity agreement in India that basically forbid OnePlus from marketing their phone in that territory. Imagine if CM decided to sign an exclusivity agreement in other markets as well. It was OnePlus that was left in the cold. Obviously CM knows that any exclusivity agreement would limit their non exclusivity partners.
    I love the Cyanogenmod ROM. The ROM is a true community effort. But what Cyanogen is turning into is not a community effort. It’s just another company doing the usual dirty corporate work. The company is a start up and its already involved in lawsuits.

  6. The one plus one was a hit because of the specs and the price, it had NOTHING AT ALL TO DO WITH CYANOGEN software.
    Cyanogen are a bunch of idiots and are losing respect and fans left and right with their bulls*it they’ve been pulling lately, they’re a joke and more and more people are seeing that.
    Cyanogen will go under from their own undoing just watch, it’s already begun

  7. “”you can love CM or you can hate us, but we have no plans of taking our toys and going home.”” – Like they did with the Oppo N1?

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