The main reason for the shutdown is the lack of business for the OS. First it was reported that 20 per cent of its employees were fired in July 2016 after running into financial trouble. Other than support from one or two phone companies, there weren’t enough smartphone manufacturers convinced that Cyanogen should be the de facto Android.
It tried coming out with more innovative software modifications, but that failed to gather any momentum either. Its demise was a done deal when after repeated poor financial performance. After 31st of December, there will be no more OS or security updates and nightly builds from the Android fork.
Cyanogen received funding in 2013 and in early 2015 it was reported that as many as 50 million phones had CyanogenMod installed as their choice of operating system (OS). CyanogenMod is an open source OS software for smartphones and tablet devices. It was developed based on the official releases of Android mobile platform by Google. Cyanogen would have modified and worked on the original Google Android by adding some of its own and third-party code. This is why it’s referred to as an Android fork. A fork is when a source code of a software is taken and independent development on it takes place, the result being a distinct and separate piece of software.
Cyanogen developers have claimed that its version of Android worked faster and was more reliable than official firmware releases.
As Cyanogen was just hitting its peak in fame, it was even considered the preferred OS by phone makers OnePlus. It even managed to get investment from Microsoft.
Its biggest headline so far has been when former CEO Kirt McMaster said Cyanogen will “put a bullet through Google’s head”, while promising to “take Android away from Google.” Behind the exaggeration however, was the earnest intention to make the most widely used OS in the world more customizable and move it into the realm of democracy, where less supervision is exerted by Google.
The silver lining is for Cyanogen is that some of its developers have taken on the task of continuing the work on OS development in the form of a new project named Lineage OS. So maybe with OnePlus’ OxygenOS and Nougat from Samsung also coming soon, we will see more Android forks out there trying to make Cyanogen’s dream come true.
BW Reporters
Regina is a reporter for BW Businessworld. In her previous assignments, she has worked with Independent television Network as a news anchor and reporter in Sri Lanka
