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Forking Away: OnePlus Introduces Android-Based OxygenOS
The Verge reports that phone maker OnePlus has introduced its own OS, an Android fork called OxygenOS.
OxygenOS was developed in-house by OnePlus, though at this point it is merely a modest refresh of Android 5.0 Lollipop. In a blog post, the company explains that it took a "back to basics" approach with the software, adding, "We place things like performance and battery life over gimmicks and bloated features." ... The company says its goal with OxygenOS "is to provide faster, more meaningful updates and a better-integrated range of services for every OnePlus user." What it doesn't say is that the software also gives it a way to reduce its dependence on Cyanogen. The two companies have had strained relations since Cyanogen signed an exclusive deal with Indian phone maker Micromax just before OnePlus' planned launch in the subcontinent. It's expected that OxygenOS will eventually be the default on future devices like the OnePlus Two, but, for now, you'll have to install it yourself over Cyanogen if you want it. You can find instructions on OnePlus' website.
(Also at TechCrunch.)
"We released an almost vanilla fork of Android Lollipop because it's the easiest thing to do to step away from Cyanogenmod."
And that's actually a good thing, because picking up an "Android" phone that's running some perplexing launcher with everything in the wrong place and packed with dozens of horrible branded apps that you can't remove is utterly stupid (Yes, Samsung, I'm looking at you).
Let's be fair: that was on a $35 phone. Android phones that cost that amount are pretty clunky to use. The criticisms may still be valid but it needs to be clear that the hardware Ars Technica tested was abysmal even compared to the original HTC Dream (excluding the 1 GHz CPU) and to quote Ars directly: "The $35 price tag should color every sentence you read about the device. Though it is so cheap that most flaws can be forgiven, we still feel it's our duty to point them out."
No source code? Yet another GPL violation.
I only fork with dongles!
Can someone please advise me about the one which is easy to install on a generic Android phone? (easy defined as "as easy as Kubuntu", "as easy as Mint", "as easy as Sparkylinux" etc.)
Which is closer to desktop Linux: Firefox OS, Sailfish, Ubuntu Touch, Cyanogenmod, OxygenOS, Tizen? Are there others like once we had Moblin (it was nice)?
There's an entry in Wikipedia, but as I am more of an user than a developer, I'd like something with an end-user approach. Flashing ROM, if possible at all, is a nice thing to avoid.
Any suggestions? (safe for work, I mean)
I'm waiting for Jolla and SailfishOS
It's also whispering that full blown Android is also not wanted; it's only that the big makers have no choice.
Am I the only one who thought that OnePlus was create by the same folks as Cyanogenmod?
Is oneplus.net/one down for anyone else?
I'm usually thoroughly annoyed by people asking this question, but I really don't get why this is news. So many good tech articles go around in the Firehose that never make it, then cruft like this floats up. If only my uid was shorter I could yell for you all to get off my lawn.
"Its own OS" ? It's just a bloody stock Android build with Google Apps and a handful of 5 minutes tweaks courtesy of the Paranoid Android developer they hired. It's literally 2-3 guys who 'built' this in a couple of weeks.
There really is nothing special about this whatsoever, many OEMs have this. OnePlus (A handful of Oppo rejects) marketing strikes again, and you all fell for it (again). Heck, OnePlus is more of a virtual OEM than a real one, relying on Oppo for their funding and production.
The only tiny part news about this is that they did this to have an alternative to CM, which isn't really news, as it's been known for quite a while that they'd be doing this.
I installed it on my OPO. It's not impressive. Going back to CM11 shortly.
NOTE: Do *NOT* install this if you use an encrypted filesystem. It will hose itself up and be stuck in a "couldn't mount /data; reboot" loop. First, format /data the hard way -- without preserving encryption or *ANY* files on there.
E
Who moderated my comment "overrated?" I made a perfectly legitimate point. If you have a problem with it, tough nuts.
No where do I see where this fork removes all the spyware from the phone. My bitch about android is the OS and the apps all spy on you. I did some research of what an android phone was phoning home. It is shameful the amount of data collected and sent home to Goog and other app developers.
Why is it that a phone uses an app where a normal computer uses a we browser to view the same data? So the company producing the app can drain your data.
Why is it that an app such as the A&E app need access to my camera and mic??? There is only one reason. To spy on you.
After doing this research I went back to a flip phone, a netbook running Linux, and a wireless router for normal use while on the road.
FUCK ALL THIS SPYING