14 DAY TRIAL // Popular custom ROM maker Cyanogen plans to take over the world of mobile. You probably remember that a while ago, the company’s own CEO Kirt McMaster claimed the company was working towards a version of Android that’s envisioned to be Google-free.
Cyanogen also wants to go mainstream and make its ROMs more accessible to mainstream consumers and not necessarily Android tinkerers.
Until now, Cyanogen has collaborated with a handful of phone makers to produce devices such as the OnePlus One and Micromax Yu. Recently, Alcatel has announced that it will ship its Hero 2+ product with Cyanogen OS onboard.
These smartphones arrive with an Android version that is fully compatible with Google’s services, including Google Play Store and your usual Google apps that come pre-loaded on them.
The first Cyanogen phone without Google services will arrive in 2015
But as we’ve told you above, the Cyanogen of the future will be relying on Google less and less. And later this year, we can expect to see the first smartphone running Cyanogen’s custom ROM, arriving without Google’s proprietary apps.
According to a report coming out of FORBES, US budget phone maker BLU, which so far launched a bunch of very thin and sleek smartphones, will apparently be the first to roll out a product under the parameters we mentioned above.
By taking Google out of the equation, Cyanogen wants to allow users to customize their Android experience in a way that just wouldn't be possible under Google’s banner.
Other mobile makers like Samsung or Amazon also crave the same level of control over their products, but alternate versions of Android like Tizen OS haven’t proved to be that successful up until now.
So it remains to be seen whether the BLU smartphone will be able to attract enough customers onboard or not, but there will be consistent perks to owning a Cyanogen OS-based smartphone.
According to sources familiar with the matter, future devices taking advantage of Cyanogen OS might actually ship out with Microsoft Bing and Office apps instead of Google Search Drive.
So when a BLU phone ships out later this year with Amazon Appstore installed, Microsoft Apps, Cortana, Nokia Here for Maps and Opera as a web browser, will it manage to stir users away from mainstream Android offerings?
Cyanogen is betting big here and they are probably taking a huge risk, but the outcome of this experiment will hopefully prove that people are ready to let go of the past and look towards a future where Android can be customized in any way imaginable.
