If the popular custom ROM CyanogenMod was one of your top reasons for buying OnePlus One, be prepared for some disappointment. OnePlus announced that its flagship phone, the One smartphone, will not be supported by Cyanogen in India. This means, OnePlus One smartphone will ship with CyanogenMod out of the box in India without any software updates.
The buyers who were anticipating the One with CyanogenMod pre-loaded will be hugely disappointed .
OnePlus' Plan B in the works
OnePlus has put together a team to develop a "stable, fast, and lightweight" custom ROM based on Google's latest Android 5.0 Lollipop. To test out the software, the company will release a community build for its One owners in India sometime next month with a production-ready build to be available to all of its customers in February next year.
Like CyanogenMod, OnePlus promises to keep its new software bloatware-free without any heavy customizations. To assist customers with the installation of the new software, OnePlus said it will set up centers across India to help OnePlus One owners to flash their phones with the company's own software. For those who wish to do it themselves, the files will be available online along with instructions on how to get the new software up and running.
OnePlus is also committing to 2 years of updates to the new build.
What does it mean for international OnePlus One customers?
If you are ordering the One smartphone from outside India, there will be no change in support from Cyanogen. The popular ROM developer struck a deal with India's leading smartphone maker, Micromax, last week to exclusively run CyanogenMod on just Micromax phones.
What are your options?
If getting CyanogenMod without flashing the device was your main reason behind buying the OnePlus One, then you need to explore other options. But the OnePlus One is still a worthy phone with high-end specs that are value for the money spent.
But if you are disappointed with the news of Cyanogen's withdrawal of support for OnePlus One, Micromax is working on a new phone based on CyanogenMod. The first smartphone powered by Cyanogen in India, called the YU phone, is expected to hit the market sometime in December. The phone will be sold through online channels, much like Xiaomi and OnePlus.
If reports are true, the specs for the YU phone will be impressive. With a 5-inch display, the YU phone will feature 18-megapixel camera, octa-core MediaTek processor, 2GB RAM, 16GB space, all for under $360.
If you find OnePlus One still attractive without the custom ROM, we suggest you have a look at these top tricks to get an invite from the company to buy the phone. The One smartphone is set to release in India on December 3.
