Cyanogen will shutdown services on December 31, CyanogenMod will live on as Lineage

Cyanogen's grand plan of taking Android away from Google has failed. The company has announced that it is shutting down all of its services and discontinuing Cyanogen-supported nightly builds by end on the month. 

"As part of the ongoing consolidation of Cyanogen, all services and Cyanogen-supported nightly builds will be discontinued no later than 12/31/16. The open source project and source code will remain available for anyone who wants to build CyanogenMod personally," the company said in a blog post.

This means that all Cyanogen-based smartphones like OnePlus One, Yu Yureka, Lenovo Z1, Wileyfox handsets to name a few, will no longer get any further update (bug fixes, security updates, improvements and more) starting January, 1, 2017.

Moreover, the community driven CyanogenMod will also shutdown. However, the team behind the ROM plans to fork the existing CyanogenMod source code and relaunch it as a new Android based operating system called Lineage, though is not clear when it will be released.

According to the CyanogenMod team, Lineage "will return to the grassroots community effort that used to define CM (CyanogenMod) while maintaining the professional quality and reliability you have come to expect more recently." 

The announcement comes just days after it was reported that Cyanogen Inc. will be shutting down its headquarter in Seattle and layoff employees. Moreover the company also parted ways with founder Steve Kondik.

Cyanogen OS came into the lime lights in a short span, thanks to its partnership with OnePlus for OnePlus One. The aim of the OS was to give users more control of their device by offering high customization options as well as to increase the overall performance of the system. 

However, the relationship with OnePlus went south, when Cyanogen signed an exclusive deal with Indian smartphone maker Micromax, for using Cyanogen OS in Micromax's Yu device. But the deal with Micromax ended earlier this year, when Lenovo launched the ZUK Z1 in India. 

Via | Source

Cyanogen not pivoting to apps, we are an OS company, says CEO

Last week reports suggested that Cyanogen is cutting its workforce by 20 percent, most of them in the open source ROM development team team, and the company is pivoting to apps. However, Cyanogen CEO Kirt McMaster has denied and rubbished these reports, and reaffirmed the company's commitment to its OS plans.

McMaster on Twitter tweeted "Cyanogen NOT pivoting to apps. We are an OS company and our mission of creating an OPEN ANDROID stands". He also mentioned that the report claiming Cyaongen's plan of pivoting to apps as "FALSE reporting was outstanding". As for the layoffs McMaster confirmed the news past weekend.

Earlier a report had suggested that Cyanogen under supervision of Lior Tal (former Facebook employee) who joined Cyanogen as COO was working on new strategy, pivoting to apps.

Cyanogen co-founder and CTO, Steve Kondik also had a say in this matter. In a blog post Kondik stated "I wanted to quickly address the circus of misinformation which has sprung up recently, particularly for everyone who uses CM or has been involved with the project. CyanogenMod isn’t going anywhere, nor has Cyanogen Inc. discontinued it’s efforts towards the goal of bringing it to a larger audience..Cyanogen Inc (including myself) will still be sponsoring the project and will continue to have an active role in it’s development. Contrary to popular belief, we are not “pivoting to apps” nor are we shelving CM." 

Via

Cyanogen reportedly lays off 20 percent of its workforce, switching strategy to apps

It appears that Cyanogen's dream of taking Android away from Google may have shattered. According to reports Cyanogen is laying off some of its workforce around the world as part of restructuring. 

The reports states that Cyanogen has laid of 30 out of 136 employees, which is about 20 percent of its staff, and the majority of those layoffs have been in the team that works on open source ROM development. Along with  open source team, systems and QA teams in Palo Alto and Seattle had the majority of lay offs, but Cyanogen's offices in Lisbon and India have been entirely shut down.

The layoffs most heavily impact the open source arm of the Android ROM-gone-startup, which may be eliminated entirely (not CyanogenMod itself, just the people at Cyanogen Inc. who work on the open source side).

The report also claims that Cyanogen could switch its strategy away from OS development to focus on apps.

Another report from Recode states that the move was made by Lior Tal, who joined Cynaogen as its new COO in June. It further adds that several executives have also left Cyanogen in recent weeks, including long time product head Dave Herman.

Cyanogen's custom Android ROM was pitched as the best alternative to Google's Android OS, but results were mixed. The ROM made its debut on the flagship killer OnePlus One, but later the partnership fell through, when Cyanogen did an exclusive partnership with Micromax's sub-brand YU Televentures. However, YU has gone ahead an built its own ROM.

Cyanogen has yet to confirm these reports.

Via | Source 1 , 2

Cyanogen OS 13.1 with Mod support now available for OnePlus One

OnePlus One has started receiving Cyanogen OS 13.1 that brings support for the Cyanogen Mods, that allows developers to deeply integrate their apps and services into the OS, making them 'native experiences'

These MODs will be available for built-in apps including Phone, Messaging, Lock Screen, Email, Camera, Contacts and more. The update adds MODS for Twitter, and Microsoft's apps and services like Hyperlapse, Skype, Cortana and OneNote.

To enable a Mod in the lock screen you will have go to settings > Lock screen >  Lock Screen Mods, and select the mod you want to appear on lock screen. Currently only Twitter and Cortana works with Lock Screen mods and more will be added in future.

The Twitter mod brings trending tweets and news to the lock screen. On swiping left, one can access fullscreen Twitter experience, without the need to unlock the device or access the app.

Cortana that was introduced to Cyanogen device, with Cyanogen OS 12.1.1 has received and upgrade to Mod status. You can now command Cortana to take selfies. On lock screen you can swipe left and use your voice to search, set reminders, get to your schedule and more with Cortana.

With Skype mod you can quickly start Skype conversation directly from the Cyanogen phone app and seamlessly switch from cellular voice to Skype video call with a Cyanogen powered devices. Additionally you can straight away search see and call your Skype contacts via contact app.

The OneNote Mod is available in the Phone and Email app and lets you take notes easily while in a call or writing email. In the Email app, you can save an important email to OneNote for later. During a phone call you can add notes, such as a phone number or a to-do.

The Hyperlapse Mod for camera lets you create smooth and stabilized time-lapse videos.

In addition to MODS, the update also includes Android security update for June. The Cyanogen OS 13.1 update is based on Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow with build number 13.1-ZNH2KAS1KN is being rolled out over-the-air (OTA) and the download package weighs 396.3. You can check for the update via Cyanogen Update Tracker app on your device and if you haven't received the update yet, you can download the OTA ZIP file here and flash it using recovery.

Cyanogen details plans for 2016: $75 devices, flagship product, CM13

The year 2015 was an eventful for the company as it announced rebranding at the beginning of the year, raised $80 million in fundinch which involved big names including Twitter, Qualcomm, Telefonica and more. The company also struck a deal with Microsoft to pre-load Microsoft apps on Cyanogen OS based smartphones.

Now, Cyanogen Co-Founder and CTO Steve Kondik, while speaking at Big Android BBQ Europe revealed the company's roadmap for the year 2016 and the plans are bigger. Cyanogen is working on developing $75 handsets in collaboration with multiple OEMs in the year 2016. The highlight of these devices would be High performance, inexpensive software and elimination of software bloat. Cyanogen is going head-to-head against Android One with plans for bloat-free, budget handsets running up-to-date software.

Cyanogen will start with CyanogenMod 13 which will be based on Android 6.0 Marshmallow and the company plans to have a stable build ready before the end of this year, followed by the retail version- Cyanogen OS 13 based on Android 6.0 Marshmallow in 2016. 

The OS will make use of common APIs and SDKs to tie partner apps directly meaning that the OS developer will not require to pre-load a lot of apps itself. Also Cyanogen will make sure that there are no overlap between apps so that no two apps perform the same function. For instance, Android devices often has two browser or calendar apps and so on.

Currently Cyanogen has tied up with companies like YU, ZUK, Wileyfox, BQ and in the past OnePlus. Although the focus is on low end smartphones and to push Cyanogen to as many people as possible, Steve also hinted at plans of making a flagship product, but did not reveal any specific details. "You didn't here it from me" said Kondik

Overall the year 2016 seems promising for OnePlus, as the focus shifts on competing at the low end market segment, making sure Cyanogen powered devices land in the hand of more people. 

Via

Cyanogen introduces C-Apps for CyanogenMod users

Even though Cyanogen OS and CyanogenMod share the same name and numerous same features, they are actually two different Android ROMs. CyanogenMod is an open source, custom version of Android, developed and maintained by a community of volunteers. Cyanogen OS on the other hand is a modified, commercial version of CyanogenMod, that can only be found on  few devices, such as the OnePlus One, WileyFox, ZUK Z1,  and YU branded ones (Yureka, Yureka Plus and Yuphoria). 

Cyanogen OS includes a variety of apps and services that until now were not present in the CyanogenMod's open platform. Now, Cyanogen has announced the Cyanogen Apps Package (C-Apps), a way for CyanogenMod users to load official Cyanogen OS apps on their smartphones.  

C-Apps is basically a set of apps that bring some of the features from Cyanogen OS on phones to CyanogenMod devices. The first C-Apps package will include the following features:

• Theme Chooser with per-app theming
• Theme Store
• AudioFX
• Cyanogen Accounts
• Gallery
• Dialer with TrueCaller integration
• Email powered by Boxer 

The C-Apps package is available for devices running Cyanogen Mod 12.1 and the developers say it will always be an optional add-on. Cyanogen has no plans to intergrate them directly into CyanogenMod. 

Source | Via

Cyanogen Inc. still working with YU, Yutopia to run Cyanogen OS 12.1

YU after launching the Yunique smartphone running stock Android, relaunched Yuphoria and Yureka Plus with stock Android Lollipop. This led to speculations that Cyanogen Inc. has ended its tie up with YU.

However, now Cyanogen Inc. has come forward, and in a statement to Android Police, put a stop to the rumours and said that it has not ended the partnership with YU.

Cyanogen Inc. also said that YU's flagship device Yutopia will run Cyanogen OS 12.1 based on Android 5.1.1 Lollipop. It also confirmed that it will be rolling out Cyanogen OS 12.1 update to older YU phones running Cyanogen OS.

In a statement to Android Police, Cyanogen Inc. said "We have a great partnership with YU, and happy to announce that Cyanogen OS 12.1 will be powering YU’s upcoming flagship – Yutopia. We’ll also be rolling out the latest 12.1 update to Yureka / Yureka Plus very soon. It doesn’t always makes sense for us to support every device in a partner’s portfolio, and there are one-off model variations. We want to put the unfounded rumors to rest."

YU Televentures is yet to come forward and respond to the speculation. It is being said that selling Yuphoria and Yureka Plus with stock Android might be a test run for the company, to see how well users respond to it.

Cyanogen announced its partnership with Micromax in December last year and said that Cyanogen OS will be made available exclusive to YU devices and will not support any other devices in the country, for which it decided to part ways with OnePlus.

Cortana to be deeply integrated into Cyanogen OS

Cyanogen CEO Kirt McMaster in an interview with International Business Timer revealed that Microsoft's digital voice assistant Cortana will be deeply integrated into future version of Cyanogen OS. For this Cyanogen is closely working with Microsoft.

McMaster said that Cortana is currently available as an app on Android, and in order for it to make a real difference, it needs to be integrated at the OS level so that it would significantly improve user experience.

“Natural language coupled with intelligence is very important but as an application it doesn’t rally work because you need to be embedded into the framework of the OS because that is where you get all the signal from the services that makes that intelligence smarter," said McMaster.

Cortana is Microsoft's answer to Google Now and Apple's Siri. It offers personalised results for weather, news sports and more and even takes command. It is already present in Windows 10, Windows 10 Mobile, Windows Phone 8.1 and available as an app in Android and iOS.

Cyanogen is finding alternatives to Google's service. Back in April, the company announced its partnership with Microsoft under which Cyanogen will integrate Microsoft services across core categories including productivity, messaging, utilties and cloud-based services. This includes Microsoft services like Bing, Skype, OneDrive, OneNote, Outlook and Microsoft office.

Cyanogen OS 12.1 update based on Android 5.1.1 Lollipop now available for OnePlus One

Cyanogen has started rolling out Cyanogen OS 12.1 update to OnePlus One devices. The update bumps the Android version of the device to 5.1.1 Lollipop. The update is being rolled out over the air. Unfortunately, the roll-out is slow and only a fraction of OnePlus One owners are getting the update. In the coming days more users will get the update.

The latest update brings performance improvements and other fixes. In addition, it also brings patches for Android's Stagefright security exploit which allows attackers to take control of an Android device by sending a media file delivered via MMS. OnePlus has already released Stagefright patches for OxygenOS for the OnePlus One

"This update provides critical security fixes for your device to address recently publicized vulnerabilities on Android devices. As this is a sizable update, please allocate 20 minutes for the installation process and ensure your device is fully charged before proceeding with the install," notes update notification.

 The Cyanogen OS 12.1 build number is YOG4PASIN0 and the update package is around 645MB, if your running an update prior to Lollipop. If you're OnePlus One is currently on 5.0 Lollipop, the update size is 304MB.

One of the notable change is the activation of the home button option in Chrome which is set to open Bing by default. This is likely the result of Microsoft and Cyanogen tie-up. You can choose to turn it off if you don't want it.

Changelog:

• Features- New Icons for File Manager,Camera,Gallery App,Audio Fx
• New Browser with Bing as default search engine
• Alphabetical Menu...No White Background-Check attached screenshot
• Touch is very responsive and fast
• Integrated True Caller
• New Calendar Application

OnePlus Forum

Lenovo ZUK Z1 international version With Cyanogen OS 12.1 coming mid-october

ZUK, Lenovo-backed startup introduced the ZUK Z1 smartphone in China earlier this month. The Chinese version of the phone runs on ZIUI based on Android 5.1 Lollipop. Recently the company revealed their plans to bring the ZUK Z1 to international market. For this, the company joined hands with Cyanogen to provide the ROM for Z1's international variant. 

Now, Cyanogen revealed that the ZUK Z1 will be available internationally starting mid-october. The international version will run Cyanogen OS 12.1 based on Android 5.1.1 Lollipop. Unfortunately the comapny did not reveal the pricing details and which market will be getting the ZUK Z1.The partnership with ZUK marks third major partnership for Cyanogen's OS after OnePlus and Micromax.

ZUK Z1 went on sale on August 18 in China and has become an instant success as over 2 million users have already pre-ordered the phone within one week. In China, it costs CNY 1799. ($285 | Rs. 18,000). 

Besides change in the OS, the ZUK Z1 international version is likely to come with the same specs as seen in its China version. The ZUK Z1 features a 5.5-inch 1080p display, is equipped with 2.5GHz quad-core Snapdragon 801 SoC with Adreno 330 GPU, 3GB RAM and 64GB internal storage. Camerawise, it sports 13-megapixel rear camera with LED flash and 8-megapixel front shooter. Other features include aircraft-grade aluminum metal frame, reversible USB 3.0 Type-C port, 4G LTE support and fingerprint sensor.

Alcatel OneTouch and Cyanogen terminates Hero 2+

Alcatel's OneTouch Hero 2+ with Cyanogen OS was unveiled at MWC and was expected to be launched in Canada and the U.S in Q2, but that did not happen.

Now Alcatel and Cyanogen has called off the release of the Hero 2+. According to both the companies, there was a problem in Android 5.1 Lollipop, the device "does not have a clear Android 5.1 upgrade path'. 

It's worth noting that the Hero 2+ shipped with Cyanogen OS 11 based on Android 4.4 KitKat. As the device was not capable of  Android 5.1 Lollipop upgrade, both companies decided to scrap the phone.

Alcatel and Cyanogen released a statement that reads- "ALCATEL ONETOUCH and Cyanogen, Inc. have made a mutual decision to forgo the release of the HERO 2+. At its announcement, the goal of bringing this device to market was to offer the most advanced hardware and software at an affordable price. The bar was set high and unfortunately the device does not have a clear Android 5.1 upgrade path. We therefore are committing to refocus our joint efforts on a next-generation product that can exceed the expectations of end users. Our teams remain dedicated to releasing an ALCATEL ONETOUCH device powered by Cyanogen OS, and are looking to share an update when we have more details to share."

Both companies still have hope and announced that they are committed to releasing a Cyanogen powered Alcatel OneTouch device in the future.

The Alcatel OneTouch Hero 2+ features a 6-inch full-HD IPS OGS display with DragonTrail glass, 2.0GHz octa-core Mediatek MT6592 processor paired with Mali 450GPU, 2GB RAM, 16GB inbuit storage, microSD card slot, 13-megapixel auto focus rear camera with LED flash, 5-megapixel front shooter, 3100mAh battery and the usual suite of connectivity options. It also comes with an integrated stylus pen for writing on the go. The price tag was $299.

Zuk Z1 is a Lenovo-backed smartphone with Cyanogen OS, large battery and fingerprint scanner

Zuk a Chinese startup, backed by Lenovo and 360 (software company based in China, also known as Qihoo) is planning to launch a high-end smartphone dubbed Zuk Z1 with CyanogenOS in the second half of this year. 

Zuk has reportedly accumulated $409 million in the venture from 360, indicating that the Cyanogen phone is serious business.  Zuks's product portfolio include innovative gadgets including air fresheners, smart accessories and next generation routers. The collaboration with Lenovo and Cyanogen OS tips that Zuk will be bringing the Zuk Z1 to international market.

The specs of Zuk Z1 is still a mystery, however, the phone will feature a large battery and a finger print scanner apart from running Cyanogen OS out of the box.

Zuk will be giving some serious competition to its Chinese counterparts OnePlus and Xiaomi.

Via : GSMArena

Smartfren unveils Andromax Q with Cyanogen OS 12 in Indonesia

Smartfren Telecom Tbk, a leading mobile operator and device maker based in Jakarta, Indonesia in partnership with Cyanogen Inc. has unveiled the Andromax Q smartphone running Cyanogen OS 12. The Andromax Q has been manufactured by China's Haier Telecom and will go on sale via Smartfren Telecom stores in the country for Rp 129,000 (Rs 6,300 | $100)

The Smartfren Andromax Q features 4.5-inch (854 x 480 pixels) IPS display and is powered by 1.2GHz quad-core Snapdragon 410 processor paired with 1GB RAM. The phone comes with 8GB internal storage and microSD card with storage support up to 32GB.

Camera features include 5-megapixel rear camera with LED flash and 2-megapixel front facing camera. Connectivity features include 4G LTE, 3G, WiFi, Bluetooth 4.0, GPS and support for Dual SIM. A 1900 mAh battery fuels the Andromax Q which comes in Black and White colors.

Smartfren said that the company will launch more Cyanogen OS powered smartphone in the future.

Source : Cyanogen

Micromax, OnePlus case closed; OnePlus One will continue getting Cyanogen OS update in India

OnePlus announced that its legal proceedings with Micromax over Cyanogen OS has been resolved and cases have been withdrawn though mutual consent. The settlement comes five months after OnePlus's flagship killer 'One' smartphone entered Indian market.

The company also announced that OnePlus One will receive OTA updates from Cyanogen, in-line with its users globally.

 Vikas Agarwal, General Manager – India, OnePlus said:

OnePlus remains vindicated of the recent trials and tribulations that has surrounded the company due to legal tussle with Micromax over exclusivity on CyanogenOS. We are happy to confirm that all ‘OnePlus One’ users in India will continue to receive OTA updates from Cyanogen in-line with our users in markets around of the world.

The controversy started when Micromax entered into an agreement with Cyanogen, under which Micromax acquired rights to sell CyanogenOS based smartphones in India. As a result Micromax filed a lawsuit against OnePlus and the company was banned from importing, marketing and selling Cyanogen branded smartphones in India if they bear the Cyanogen logo. This also caused uncetainity around the update for OnePlus One as Cyanogen stopped offering OTA update to OnePlus One smartphones sold in India.

Source: OnePlus

Also Read : Cyanogen ends OnePlus partnership, looking forward to work with bigger Chinese vendors

Cyanogen ends OnePlus partnership, looking forward to work with bigger Chinese vendors

After months of rough relationship with each other, Cyanogen and OnePlus, are now finally parting ways. Cyanogen CEO Kirt McMaster and Founder CTO Steve Kondik announced this while speaking about the company's future at the Global Mobile Internet Conference, Beijing.

Steve Kondik said that both companies had different goals for its software which resulted in collisions between personalities. It all started when Cyanogen signed an exclusive deal with Micromax in India for their Yu Yureka, which caused the ban of OnePlus One sales in India, shortly after its release.

Kirt McMaster said that OnePlus One banked on the Cyanogen brand name to sell their smartphones. He further added that OnePlus built their brand on the back of Cyanogen and without Cyanogen, OnePlus would have sold one device in international markets. 

Cyanogen executives also revealed that the company is looking forward to work with new Chinese smartphone vendors to makes its CyanogenOS reach more consumers in international markets. China has more than 100 smartphone vendors, most of which are bigger than OnePlus and have global ambitions.

Lastly, McMaster mentioned that Cyanogen will continue to support OnePlus One smartphone which are still running CyanogenMod OS.

Via : Android Authority

Cyanogen OS will come with Microsoft apps pre-installed

Cyanogen and Microsoft announced that Cyanogen OS will come pre-installed with several Microsoft apps and services. Both companies will work together to offer unique experience for Cyanogen with native integration.

Under the partnership Cyanogen will integrate Microsoft services across core categories including productivity, messaging, utilties and cloud-based services. This includes Microsoft services like Bing, Skype, OneDrive, OneNote, Outlook and Microsoft office.

Kirt McMaster CEO of Cyanogen Inc said people around the world use Cyanogen's OS and Microsoft services on their mobile devices. The partnership with Microsoft will enable the company to bring new kinds of integrated mobile services to mobile users. 

Peggy Johnson, Executive VP of Microsoft corp said "We’ll continue to deliver world-class experiences across productivity and communications on Windows, and we’re delighted that Cyanogen users will soon be able to take advantage of those same powerful services"

Last month, Cyanogen CEO Kirt McMaster said that, the company intends to take Android away from Google. Cyanogen also announced that it is working with smartphone maker BLU on a smartphone that will not include any Google services and apps.

As for Microsoft, it recently partnered with Samsung and 10 other tech companies to integrate Microsoft apps on their devices. The recently launched Samsung Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge are the first Android device to come pre-loaded with Microsoft apps.

Also Read : 
Samsung, other OEMs to ship Android devices with Microsoft apps this year
BLU working with Cyanogen on an Android phone without Google apps

BLU working with Cyanogen on an Android phone without Google apps

Cyanogen's CEO, Kirt McMaster has announced that, the company would be working with smartphone maker BLU. BLU is an American based company that manufactures mid-range Android smartphones to suit a wide variety of consumer needs.

The companies will launch a new smartphone later this year with CyanogenMod as OS. The main highlight of the smartphone will be it will not include any Google services or appps. 

The BLU made Cyanogen smartphone will come pre-loaded with Amazon's Appstore for Android for downloading apps and games, Opera's web browser, Nokia Here for maps and navigation, Dropbox and Microsoft's OneDrive for cloud storage, spotify for music, Bing for search and Microsoft's Cortana as virtual personal assistant. Other details of the smartphone is still a mystery.

This is part of Cyanogen's plan to take Android away from Google by making users less reliant on Google for their services. Kirt McMaster in an interview to Forbes said, "We're putting a bullet through Google's head."

Android controlled by Google is an open-source software which is pulled down by the fact that device makers are forced to use Google apps like Gmail, Chrome browser and YouTube even if they don't desire to do so. Not only that, the apps are placed in such a way that users feel nearly forced to use them. 

This is where startups like Cyanongen appeal in the first place and a strategy like this could be a win win.

CyanogenMod is currently available on a handful of smartphones that include Alcatel OneTouch Hero 2+, OnePlus One and Micromax's Yu Yurka.

10,000 Units Of Yu Yureka To Go On Sale Via Amazon On January 13 In India

Micromax subsidary, Yu Televenture's, first smartphone Yureka will go on sale via Amazon on January 13 for Rs.8,999 ($150) in India. The unique selling point of Yu handset is that they run on CyanogenMod-powered Android OS, with added features over stock Android.

The company will offer 10,000 units of the handset on the first flash sale starting 2PM IST for registered users of its Yureka smartphone. Last month the registrations for the online sale closed after an "overwhelming response"

Micromax Co-founder, Rahul Sharma said "We saw unprecedented response with over three lakh registrations. Registrations were to be open till December 25. However, owing to the mega response they had to be closed a day earlier." He went on to add, "We are working on ramping our capacities. Given the kind of enthusiasm that we have seen, we will increase the number of units put out for sale gradually."

To recap, The Yu Yureka will feature a 5.5-inch 720p IPS display and is protected by Gorilla Glass. It is powered by a 64-bit 1.5GHz octa-core Snapdragon 615 SoC, Adreno 405 GPU and paired with 2GB RAM and 16GB Internal storage with microSD card support upto 32GB. The 4G enabled handset runs Cyanogen OS 11 based on Android 4.4 KitKat.

Camera features include 13-megapixel autofocus camera with a Sony EXMOR CMOS sensor at the rear, and a 5MP shooter at front. Connectivity options include  Bluetooth 4.0, Micro-USB, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, GPS, and a 3.5mm audio jack. The handset also features dual-SIM support, with slots for Micro-SIM cards (4G+3G).

OnePlus Celebrates One Year Anniversary : Announce Power Bank, Sale and Contests.

On its first anniversary, OnePlus announced its first power bank accessory in China which is due to launch next year. The company will also be celebrating its first anniversary, by hosting an open sale for the OnePlus One and also announced a couple of contests on oneplus.net/anniversary/.

On December 17 OnePlus will host a open sale of the OnePlus One handset without an invitation to purchase the handset. As for the contests, users get a chance to win the OnePlus One if they wish the company happy birthday on its Vine page. Also there is a naming contest for the upcoming Android Lollipop based ROM from OnePlus. Winners will get a chance to win a trip to Hong Kong to meet the OnePlus team, OnePlus One handset and the newly launched OnePlus Power bank.

Coming to the OnePlus power bank, it offers a battery capacity of 10,000mAh. The power bank comes with a host of safety features- protection against electrostatic, short-circuit, overcharging, and overheating. The power bank features two USB ports for simultaneous charging. the Power Bank can do is deliver 3 complete charges for the OnePlus One smartphone. Look at the details of the power bank-

• Battery type: LiPo
• Capacity: 10,000 mAh
• Input: DC 5V / 2A
• Output: 2 × 5V / 2A
• Approximate charging time : 5.5 hours
• Dimensions : 142.8 × 72.6 × 16.2 mm
• Weight: 220 grams

The OnlePlus power bank will be available in two colour variants - Silk White and Sandstone Black. It will be priced at $14.99/ EUR 15.99 (Rs. 1000)

Source : OnePlus

After Xiaomi, OnePlus One Banned From Selling Phones in India

According to a report by Live Mint,  OnePlus has been banned by the Delhi High Court following a petition by Micromax. As a result of this ban, OnePlus will not be allowed to import, market or sell Cyanogen branded smartphones in India if they bear the Cyanogen logo since Micromax has acquired rights to be Cyanogen's exclusive partner in India.

According to the court order, Indian handset manufacturer, Micromax has been granted an injunction as the OnePlus One infringes its exclusive right to have the Cyanogenmod ROM in India.

Both OnePlus and Micromax work with CyanogenMod to bring the Android alternative to their handsets. According to Micromax, OnePlus is infringing upon its exclusive license to use and sell Cyanogen-powered devices in India.

Micromax claimed that it had “incurred major expenses for creation of a brand exclusivity for providing to Indian customers mobile phones with Cyanogen operating systems” and “it would suffer irreparable harm and loss if the defendants (OnePlus) are permitted to continue with their illegal acts in violation of the agreement between Micromax and Cyanogen”.

The injunction comes just days before Micromax launches its Yu smartphone, which will be powered by Cyanogenmod. The handset is expected to launch on Decemeber 18.

However OnePlus One is allowed to clear  its existing stock in the country.