Cyanogen commercialized the OS CyanogenMod offering more features than Google Android, but the company has now pulled the plug on the OS.
The news does not come as a surprise, as even last month Ryan Whitwam, a contributor to Forbes had posted that Cyanogen was cutting down the staff and was likely to shut down totally.
Cease of Operations
Cyanogen is the company that commercialized the CyanogenMod OS, but it is said to cease all its operations with the end of this year. This means that Cyanogen will not offer any more updates or nightly builds and no additional security updates for CyanogenMod OS. Smartphones, such as the earlier OnePlus device running on the CyanogenMod OS will have to move to CyanogenMod’s open source variant.
Early Success
The CyanogenMod OS did enjoy some success in its earlier days, especially with WileyFox as well as OnePlus. This was because these companies did not have the necessary resources for building a customized Android interface on their own. In addition, it is only fair to say that the CyanogenMod OS offered a good platform for manufacturers wanting additional features than what was offered in Android by Google.
OnePlus Pulls the Plug
OnePlus was one of the high profile manufacturers using the OS and it is unfortunate that OnePlus has decided to pull the plug on it. OnePlus has moved on to its proprietary Android build, known as the OxygenOS.
Open Source Lives On
However, the open source version of CyanogenMod OS continues to live on and will do so in all probability. However, even the open source version does face issues, just like other operating systems, which is the time and the resources necessary to support it. It is tough to earn money through mods, especially with Android improving through each update. Such mods like CyanogenMod are not really necessary any more, unlike the situation when it was first released.
Death Blow
The mod will surely continue to exist, but it is going to be a difficult road. The team on the project has stated that the shutdown of CyanogenMod is a deathblow. It is difficult to continue with the project without resources. In addition, owners of devices running on the dead software will not receive official support any more in the form of security updates, etc. This will pose a major problem for users, as users might not like the idea of moving over to an open source of CyanogenMod at this stage.
Killing Google
Way back in 2015, Kirt McMaster, the CEO of the company had quoted that they would be putting the bullet on Google’s head with their new OS, but unfortunately it only proved to be an empty threat. Instead of killing Google, Cyanogen has ended up killing itself. Cyanogen was making an OS that was based on Google’s Android and it would be nothing if it did not have the open source Android project to go on. It goes to show that it is difficult to beat Google at its own game.