Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

With Cyanogen Dead, Google's Control Over Android Is Tighter Than Ever (greenbot.com)

Posted by msmash on from the in-the-aftermath dept.

Last week, Cyanogen Inc announced it is shutting down all its services. A day later, CyanogenMod announced that it is going away too. Regardless of how you found Cyanogen's commercial operating system or open source fork CyanogenMod, the demise has bigger implications. From a report on GreenBot: Cyanogen might never have seriously threatened to take control of Android, but the upstart's shutdown still represents a major victory for Google. As Google showed with the launch of the Pixel, the company is taking steps to ensure no one ever gets close to stealing Android's soul ever again. [...] In many ways, Cyanogen encapsulated more of the spirit of Google's mobile OS project than Android itself ever did. As an early offshoot of the mainstream project designed and supported by habitual modders, Cyanogen was in many ways more aligned with the iOS jailbreaking community than Android proper, bringing customization and features far beyond those available in the stock OS. But almost as quickly as Android took off, Google began reining it in. By implementing stricter rules for manufacturers to prevent further fragmentation -- including licensing of its apps and mandatory inclusion of its search bar widget -- Google actively worked to keep deviant versions of Android on the fringes. Nonetheless, CyanogenMod persisted, surviving cease-and-desist orders, takeover rumors and general Google-led consternation. And now it's all over. Google won, not by waging war with Cyanogen but by doubling down on its own vision, forging partnerships with manufacturers, and working to ensure that Google's Android remained the world's Android.

5 of 212 comments (clear)

  1. Probable FUD by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    Unless you want to be accused of contributing the the Google-FUD, be sure to make mention of this whenever Cyanogen/CyanogenMod is mentioned:

    https://github.com/LineageOS
    http://lineageos.org/

  2. Lineage OS by gti_guy · · Score: 4, Informative

    http://lineageos.org/Yes-this-...

  3. LineageOS by lactose99 · · Score: 5, Informative

    So CyanogenMod is only closing-down due to trademark stuffs surrounding Cyanogen. The actual OS is going to live on as LineageOS, still organized by Steve Kondik.

    --
    Fully licensed blockchain psychiatrist
  4. Re:No basis in reality by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Informative

    1) OSMand
    2) K9-Mail
    3) Yes, K9-Mail supports IMAP-IDLE
    4) The Youtube web site works in Firefox (in the background too, if you're into that)
    5) F-Droid
    6) Many apps are available with embedded ad libraries replaced by dummies.

  5. Re:What's wrong with Android uniformity? by Miamicanes · · Score: 3, Informative

    > I mean Android is just a use of an OS kernel and some standard services, including application security, and some UI conventions.

    And Google's very, very proprietary, non-opensource, and defacto-required (if you don't want your phone to be crippled) Google Play Services, which are required for installing apps from Google Play, using Google Maps, using Google-assisted location services, Google Pay, and plenty of other things. Over the past couple of years, Google has been systematically moving more and more of Android's core functionality into Google Play Services.