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CyanogenMod 13.0 Release 1 Released (androidpolice.com)
An anonymous reader writes: CyanogenMod 13.0 Release 1 is now available as the Android community's first release based off Google's 6.0 Marshmallow. [...]
Not long after Google released the code for Android Marshmallow, CyanogenMod started rolling out nightly builds. Now, CyanogenMod has officially released its first Snapshot release for those looking for more stable development. Many of the improvements detail changes to the privacy settings. For example, CyanogenMod 13.0 has removed encrypted Whisperpush text messaging, and Privacy Guard has been altered to comply with Marshmallow's new permission model. Some other changes include a new AOSP SMS/MMS application, memory screen that shows memory usage over a selected period of time, new controls for the status bar icons, and an enhanced Snap camera app based on Qualcomm's Snapdragon camera. A Cyanogen Apps pack is not yet available, but should be coming in a week or so.
Not long after Google released the code for Android Marshmallow, CyanogenMod started rolling out nightly builds. Now, CyanogenMod has officially released its first Snapshot release for those looking for more stable development. Many of the improvements detail changes to the privacy settings. For example, CyanogenMod 13.0 has removed encrypted Whisperpush text messaging, and Privacy Guard has been altered to comply with Marshmallow's new permission model. Some other changes include a new AOSP SMS/MMS application, memory screen that shows memory usage over a selected period of time, new controls for the status bar icons, and an enhanced Snap camera app based on Qualcomm's Snapdragon camera. A Cyanogen Apps pack is not yet available, but should be coming in a week or so.
For those of us that do not sync with Google, or as is my case, do not have any Google services or apps, the new messaging app is worse than the previous one.
The CM12 messaging app allowed all SMS/MMS to be exported as a zip file, that could be imported to another phone, or to the same phone after a clean wipe. The CM13 messaging app is missing this functionality, and I could not find another one that would replicate it.
Otherwise, CM13 is pretty solid. I've been running the nightlies since they came out on an LG G3 d852, which is a bit of a crappy phone, and it is much more stable than CM12. I do like the new camera app, as it has a lot more functionality than the old one, and the OS overall is a bit more polished.
YMMV, as it really depends on the hardware. I'm sure on a Nexus 5p or 6x, CM13 is stellar. On my frankenstein LG G3, it's ok, as I am forced to run a KK bootloader (only rootable bootloader), a LL modem (most recent modem released by the Canadian carriers) and a MM CM13 OS.
For some reason the CM releases have had immense problems with implementing full-disk encryption over the years. It just doesn't work, not even on popular flagship models.
On my Galaxy S3 (CM11) I was once able to encrypt my phone, but it would only allow the use of either a PIN or password – and CM also wiped the user data clean one day by itself. The use of a password is very much desirable per se, but the thing is you'd have to enter it every time you unlock the screen. A PIN is as secure as leaving your phone with a post-it note on it with the actual PIN written on it.
After trying the new CM13 nightlies on my Galaxy S5, I'm still having problems with full-disk encryption. This time around it won't encrypt at all, and even if it would, the aforementioned limitations with the password/PIN are still present. In the newer version you theoretically could use a pattern too, but it's still not secure enough (nor does the whole damn encryption work to begin with).
It's been discussed for several years now how people could have a secure FDE key and a also use a pattern or PIN to unlock the screen. For some god-knows-why reason the password has also been limited to 16 characters in the official Android documentation and nobody came up with the idea to actually increase that. Having experimented with encryption on my Android/CM devices, I have to say that security never really was a key feature in the whole damn ecosystem.
-SR
A PIN is as secure as leaving your phone with a post-it note on it with the actual PIN written on it.
You should submit that as expert advice in the current Apple vs Three Letter Agency debate case.
For some god-knows-why reason the password has also been limited to 16 characters in the official Android documentation and nobody came up with the idea to actually increase that.
Stupidity protection. You get all sorts of strange issues when you start allowing users to enter stupidly long passwords such as them forgetting them mid typing, timeouts, and my favourite: complaints that they take a long time to enter as it is :-)
Having experimented with encryption on my Android/CM devices, I have to say that security never really was a key feature in the whole damn ecosystem
Depends. Are you trying to protect yourself from the NSA, or just want your data encrypted so when you lose your phone no one sees your dick picks? The vast majority of uses cases are the latter and for that it is well and truly good enough.
Since he asked let me add a question myself: now that CyanogenMod is in bedsheets with M$....
CyanogenMod isn't in bed with Microsoft. You're thinking of Cyanogen Inc., which commercializes CyanogenMod and includes MS services, but CyanogemMod doesn't align with any single provider, and can be used with Google, Amazon or FDroid app stores, or no app store at all.
citation
BTW. I actually find the Microsoft Arrow Launcher quite good.