OnePlus unveils its own Android build without Cyanogen
Following a temporary ban in India, OnePlus has released its own alpha Lollipop ROM for the One based on stock Android 5.0 -- with no Cyanogen influence. For now, the alpha software is only available as a download, and you'll need to wipe your phone in order to get it. It's also very basic and OnePlus said it includes "no extras beyond the stock features of AOSP Lollipop," though it promised to build on it over time. OnePlus started talking about its own Android fork shortly before Cyanogen inked an exclusive deal with Indian smartphone maker Micromax.
When ready, the new ROM will no doubt be used in India to avoid any conflict with Micromax. It's not clear, however, whether OnePlus will use it for One models elsewhere and eschew Cyanogen software completely. That might not sit well with buyers who specifically signed up for the Cyanogen experience, though most users would likely be happy with something close to stock Android. So far, OnePlus models are still running the Cyanogen 11s, KitKat 4.4.4 version, and Cyanogen's Lollipop flavor (12s) for the One still looks far off. As for future OnePlus models? We wouldn't be surprised to see the company go down the same road as Xiaomi and others with its own Android build.
