Cyanogen Wants To “Take Android Away” From Google

CyanogenMod is a ROM that is very well known amongst Android users. It acts as an alternative to the skinned and customized versions of Android that OEMs tend to load on their phones and to a certain extent, it almost feels like stock Android, just with added features and functionality.

However it seems that the folks at Cyanogen Inc. aren’t too happy about their reliance on Google and are hoping to one day become more independent, or in the words of Cyanogen’s CEO Kirt McMaster, “We’re attempting to take Android away from Google.” McMaster spoke those words during The Information’s “Next Phase of Android” event that was held in San Francisco.

According to McMaster, “Today, Cyanogen has some dependence on Google. Tomorrow, it will not. We will not be based on some derivative of Google in three to five years.” Apparently the folks at Cyanogen feel that Google is holding back what developers can do with the Android platform, and that by breaking free, they will be able to allow developers to go as deep as they want.

The folks at Android Authority have pointed out an example such as Google Now in which no developer would be able to create such a feature on the Android platform. While we suppose that is true to a certain extent, is that really such a bad thing? After all, these tweaks and tools for Android are meant to enhance the operating system, not replace it.

This does not mean that Cyanogen will be giving up on Android, but rather they are looking to build an even “freer” version of it, which we guess could result in a forked version of Android which is what companies like Nokia and Amazon have done, although in the process they will lose services such as Gmail and Google Maps, but what do you guys think?

Tyler Lee
Categories: Cellphones
Tags: Android, Cyanogen, Google