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Android One phones getting CyanogenMod 11

• Egon Kilin
• October 7th, 2014

We have become quite accustomed to seeing CyanogenMod everywhere, because we are currently witnessing the actual expansion of Cyanogen Inc. The company has purportedly been approached by Google’s Sundar Pichai who supposedly offered to buy Cyanogen. Rumors say that the company declined Google’s offer, which is odd. At the same time, we’re hearing rumors that Cyanogen will be teaming up with one of the Android One partners for a future device, namely Micromax. The timing and synchronization of these events can certainly be called weird and off-putting, but that’s all we can say at the moment. And now, CyanogenMod supports Android One phones.

Nonetheless, CyanogenMod is continuously expanding support for devices, the newest line which is now included, is Android One. The Android One program is Google’s attempt to give emerging countries the opportunity of buying inexpensive smartphones with stock Android and reasonable specs. So far, three phones have been launched in the Android One, the Micromax Canvas A1, the Spice Dream Uno and the Karbonn Sparkle V. All three phones have adhered to Google’s minimum requirements, with 4.5 inch 845*480 resolution, dual SIM support, Android 4.4, powered by a quad core Mediatek CPU clocked at 1.3 GHz, backed by 1 GB RAM and 4 GB internal storage expandable via miroSD card to 32 GB and dual camera and their prices range from $100 to $115.

CyanogenMod has been made available for Android One devices thanks to an XDA developer forum member called varun.chitre15, who managed to port a custom recovery to all three Android One models, and gain root access in the process. According to developers, CyanogenMod 11 is a universal ROM and it should work with most Android devices. On Android One devices, CyanogenMod 11 works ok, but there are problems with connectivity, Wi-Fi and with the second SIM card not being recognized.

In any case, progress has been towards popularizing CyanogenMod even more, and that says a lot about the ROM and the company behind it. Coupled with the Google buyout offer and the new Micromax partnership, we expect to see CyanogenMod and co to climb the steep steps of fame even higher. We don’t know what kind of partnership will ensue between Cyanogen and Android One partner Micromax, but we suppose a new phone is involved and rumors say it will be launched just in time for the holidays. Cyanogen is looking really promising at the moment, so we’re curious about the company’s future.