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OK, so Cyanogen was only half-joking about their operating system being “powered by Microsoft” on April Fools day. The company today announced that they’ve entered a strategic partnership with the Redmond-based company to have their apps pre-loaded on Cyanogen OS.
Bing services, Skype, OneDrive, OneNote, Outlook, and Microsoft Office will all find homes on devices that come with Cyanogen OS (and not necessarily CyanogenMod, the community-focused ROM). The apps will be “deeply integrated” with Cyanogen OS at its core, though we’re not expecting them to enable you to do anything that simply downloading the apps from the Google Play Store doesn’t already.
And that’s it folks — Cyanogen and Microsoft definitely are a thing, no matter how many rumor-busting reports wanted to deny it. Let us know how you feel about that in the comments ahead.
[via Digital Journal]
Makes good business sense for them I guess but I don’t like it. Microsoft bloat….awesome. I don’t use (test) CM much anymore so I guess it doesn’t matter.
Wants to take Android away from Google and give it to Microsoft.
great, MS bloat included now. I used to flash nightlies….then I got tired of all of the bugs and the lack of an actual solid build for my G2. I dont blame them for going this route….but dont blame me for not bothering with flashing =)
Not a fan of this!
*uck Cyanogenmod! I used to live by them but I don’t like how there trying to separate from Google. I’m not down with them anymore.
I’m about to start the social media anti rom rhetoric without using their name. I didn’t flash my LG G3 and I’m not flashing my G6. I don’t see a big need for it anymore.
not like it used to be. at one point i couldnt see owning a phone i couldnt root, now i have a verizon Moto X 2014. Still would like to root tho but not needed as much as before like you said.
I agree David. I feel like Google has grief to tighten the leash on the manufacturers and they are responding by reducing the bloatware and making changes that match the rooted communities mods, which made them so popular in the past. And if you get a Moto X, Google Edition or Nexus device I see even less temptation to flash away from what came pre-installed.
I don’t hate this.
I don’t get this guy. Google makes him essentially and then he bashes them non stop. Without google, he is nothing
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
Ha. Agreed, money talks. This CEO is lucky that Android is open source otherwise they couldn’t have made it to where they are today.
A lot of peeps are going to jump ship from CM because of this.
I see it happening, read quite a good of comments stating such as well.
I hate Bing. Google 4 life!!
Never have been a fan of CM, never will be.
I’ve never been a fan either, their OS looks cool though. I’ve just never had a reason to flash I guess.
this seems like a good partnership from the latest news concerning cyanogen. We hate microsoft and Cyanogen is following with the comments made from the CEO
Another in a long line of terrible decisions.
Cyanogen should first and foremost be the way to get the latest near vanilla android on any device.
If it was to diversify it should’ve moved into autorooting and flashing tools to grow the aftermarket ROM availability and eventually into being a ROM distribution repository where you can pick and chose service providers (Google, Amazon, Microsoft), ROMs and Kernals and install them hassle free.
This will probably spell the end unless MS fully buys them out to try and disrupt Android.
Do you really think MS buying them could disrupt Android?
My comment was meant to be that Microsoft could keep Cyanogen alive with a reason why they might try.
I can’t honestly see MS and Cyanogen being able to cause much disruption to Google on Android but it might be a cheap punt.
True the company does need to make money if they want to continue to try and take Android from Google.
I look forward to seeing how this plays out with their community, I’ve never been a CM user myself but from everything I read most of their community are avid Google lovers when it comes to mobile, not Microsoft. Microsoft’s apps for Android don’t then to be the best after all for what they attempt to do for Android’s users.
Whelp, I guess that I’ll be going with OxygenOS on my oneplus then; I’m glad they’re providing the option for that, at least. So, I guess that cyanogen’s goal is to liberate android from google and give it to microsoft? Hmm.
Yeah… I have 12s now but if I’m getting ms bloat in the future … I’m going to oxygen
I’m going to get my sister to switch to OxygenOS on her One as well.
Ironically the Hate Microsoft fad continues despite all evidence that MS is less bloated and releasing more open products than Google now. Google crowd is becoming no better than the iFan.
“despite all evidence that MS is less bloated”
“The apps (MS) will be “deeply integrated” with Cyanogen OS at its core”
IMHO ‘bloatware’ are apps you’re unable to easily remove due to OS restrictions, isn’t the article providing ‘all evidence’ against your argument that MS is less bloated???
Sounds to me like you read too much Verge :/
I mean isn’t Cyanogen OS, Android at it’s core? Last I checked no one has built a branch OS from Windows Mobile? I haven’t been up to date with the developer dealings of the desktop Windows OS but both Mac OS X and Chrome OS have some open source availability.
Psst… Android isn’t Google. It predates it. Ever branch the play store? Hangouts?
Android IS Google! They bought the platform in it’s infancy and has developed it for years being the only true competition to iOS right now. What does Microsoft have to show for the the numerous innovative tech it’s purchased only to see them wither and die under their control? Use this news right here as a testament to that lack of innovation, what are they really contributing to cyanogen but an ‘office suite’ that is no longer relevant today and whose sales have been largely in the past, almost solely, from users attempting to maintain compatibility with the latest versions or as ‘bloatware’ installed on PC’s running their OS.
You mention Google’s ‘suite’ of Android apps as comparison but it’s really not the same. Most all Google Android apps are easily uninstalled on AOSP and ‘stock’ Android if it comes pre-installed at all. There’s also fair competition for Google’s Play Store, Amazon’s Appstore is huge and many phone manufacturers provide (albeit not impressive) phone specific App stores. That being said it isn’t perfect and my z3 compact has several Google products I could care less about and that required root for it to be able to be removed.
If Microsoft had made a similar announcement with a major ‘carrier available’ handset manufacturer it would make perfect sense to me for them since the average consumer probably doesn’t uninstall apps and may even still consider Microsoft products a selling point even if they weren’t attracted to a Microsoft phone or tablet. Most consumers who are tech savvy enough to even consider a One Plus probably aren’t also fans of Microsoft and won’t be persuaded like this. It may actually make the most sense for Cyanogen as Microsoft may help them get exposed to a larger mainstream consumer audience and even the more advanced users will know that there may still be a way if they’re willing to wait for, or work on a root exploit to remove it if they like the phone with Cyanogen OS enough to avoid being dismayed.
Microsoft is doing more to buy ‘cool’ or market ‘cool’ than they appear to have success actually being cool.
“releasing more open products than Google”
How are they more open?
Compare published API. Google is notoriously bad
The difference is, I actually use Google products. I do not and will not use Microsoft products.
You don’t use office? I’ve yet to find an alternative that holds a flame to Excel.
Hell no. I work in a Linux/Mac shop. Plenty of free and better alternatives. LibreOffice, StarOffice, hell Google Drive. We havent used Office in a decade.
Are you suggesting that Sheets is better than Excel? Maybe for the average user you could argue that Sheets is adequate, but for power users Sheets is still pretty limited. Same with Calc.
“power user” lol. trust me if you can’t figure out how to do everything you do in Excel, i assure you that you are doing something wrong. cutting that Microsoft umbilical cord is a good first step.
I can’t speak for Sheets, but Calc does enough to cover what 99% of people need. If you in the 1% that needs a feature it lacks, obviously you’d need to use Excel, but submit a feature request to the LibreOffice people, you might get it eventually.
Oh please.
If you play games you have a copy of windows (wine is crap).
If your work in an office you encounter Microsoft.
I play games on Windows. That is the only thing it’s useful for.
I work in an office. We’re all running Linux and OS X. No Windows is allowed. We work in network security, Windows is garbage.
Many games available on OSX and iOS. Linux runs office products and runs server end services more stable thatn any iteration of Windows has ever done.
Just buy your pos windoze phone if u need ms virus ridden Eco sphere.
Like if Android didn’t have viruses too, naive people everywhere
Android doesn’t have virus’ you troll.
It does, and a lot of malware as well, and don’t forget the bloatware
More open than Google? Bahahah! That was a good one
This move is great for Cyanogen, but I’m assuming will upset a lot of Cyanogen fans that could easily download these apps themselves and yield a similar experience, if they so desired.
Well, I guess there’s always CyanogenMod, which is different than Cyanogen OS.
And speaking of CyanogenMod, I do find it funny that CyanogenMod became so popular because people wanted to get rid of OEM bloat and get back to a stock-like experience and now we have Cyanogen Inc creating an OS that is putting the bloat back into their offering. It’s comical, but I hope it works out for them and I wish them the best.
As long as the “community” CM remains pure, I’m sticking with it. None of the other ROMs (many of which are BASED on CM) are as polished.
You need to explore more then. There are way more stable roms out there
CM isn’t unstable in the first place, except for the first few weeks after new Android version nightlies are released, and even then they’re minor inconveniences
Provided, they stick to their policy of differentiating between the two. From a November 2014 Android Headlines article. “Cyanogen is clearly stating that they are not replacing their open source CyanogenMod with the newer commercial version but instead will continue to support CyanogenMod as open source and alongside their commercial Cyanogen OS.” Honestly, I can only hope that sticks. If the company’s past decisions are any indicator of the future, they make some pretty “different” decisions.
That’s what I call corrupt company.
Is it April Fools again? This sounds disgusting and I will have no interest in Cyanogen OS.
CM turning crap zoid now
Way to go against the reason your ROM was created….as a light, non-bloated, customizable alternative to phone manufacturer ROMs. They’ve all but assured that I won’t be installing another CM ROM.
This is just great
Anyone that thinks this is a good partnership, a good deal, or a good idea either has a short memory or are too darn young to know the massive force for evil that Microsoft has been through it’s history.
It will not end in good things. Badly played CM.
CM got as crappy as windows lately anyways.
Now we just have to wait for them to rename it Windows Cyan, and the line between Windows and Linux will be irritating to explain.
You won’t see me buying or recommending Cyanogen devices. I’m not sure what Google did to make Cyanogen so upset that they would want to “take Android away from Google” but I personally hope Cyanogen dies in their attempt. That’s my strong opinion on the matter. I just hope the masses agree with me.
So Cyanogen ceo was talking about how Google was closing up its apps and not that open…and now he goes with one of the most anti-open source companies out there lol . That guy is a joke
That’s the bit I don’t get either. Cyanogen was concerned how Google was basically moving the goalposts and making Android less relevant than all the Google services and locking out competing services at the same time (I get why Cyanogen had issues with that)…but then they turn around and do the same thing….that I don’t get.
If this is one of MANY possible partnerships then OK…but if it is the ONLY partnership they are doing then it will fail for sure. Shame coz Cyanogen were addressing a legitimate gripe that was growing against Google.
On my new Windows PC’s the first thing I do is remove Bing and all bloatware. Now on my Android devices the first thing I will have to do is remove Bing and all bloatware. It’s been fun CM but I think it’s time for me to say goodbye.
I imagine this may save Cyanogen Inc. a little bit of money now that Mircrosoft is offering discounts for bundling their services. Microsoft currently makes around 12-15$ per android device sold – and I’m sure Cyanogen has to consider that somehow now that they’re Incorporated.