OnePlus releases non-CyanogenMod ROM
I had mentioned in the comments of Aaron’s OnePlus article that the development environment on the OnePlus was a little strained. What you might have missed in the past few weeks is that the marriage between Cyanogen Inc and Oppo appears to be over (the day after Aaron’s post). This leaves the fledgling phone maker with a promise of support for existing software (KitKat), but no Cyanogen-centric future assured.
Although it’s been a few months without an update, it’s not the end for OnePlus, as the developers have released an alpha version of a very stock Android Lollipop ROM they’ve been cooking up themselves, which you can assume will be the basis for the official future ROM on the device. This shouldn’t come as a complete surprise, as they ran a contest to name the ROM last month, although they didn’t mention the split there. The ROM’s name will be announced on the 11th of this month.
What this effectively means is a step back to square one in terms of what the phone will look like. A stock Lollipop with few frills, bells, or whistles, built in yet.
And bugs … don’t forget the bugs. Lots and lots of them, if the forum is to be believed.
Whether there will be official CyanogenMod support for the OnePlus past what currently exists, or whether that bridge has burned, remains to be seen.
It appears the split might have been caused by Cyanogen Inc. signing an exclusivity contract with a company that was able to produce enough phones to not have a waitlist for months like Oppo did, but who knows.
Whatever the case, the end-user experience in the near future may not be where people want it to be.
If you’re interested in trying out the new as of yet unnamed ROM, you can head on over to the OnePlus forums and see where to download and get instructions for flashing. The forums don’t link to a GAPPS package, but do suggest it.
[Android Police]
