OnePlus One, the newly formed company's first smartphone garnered positive reviews due to its flagship-grade specifications at a mid-range price tag. It was initially launched in 17 countries including China, some European countries, and the US. Following a huge positive response from Indian consumers, the company decided to officially launch itself in the country.
A few days ago, the company made it official that the OnePlus One will be officially available in India through Amazon from the 2nd of December and its official pricing will be announced on the same day. According to Carl Pei, Director of OnePlus Global, the 64GB variant of OnePlus One will be priced below Rs. 25,000.
The company has been carrying forward some positive steps, including the company's entry in India and the end of criticised invite-based system. But OnePlus received a bad news last week. Cyanogen Inc., the maker of OnePlus One's software, made an exclusive deal with Micromax to provide software for its new YU brand of smartphones.
This deal means that Cyanogen is forced to drop support for OnePlus users in India. OnePlus One won't receive any Cyanogen OS based software updates in India going forward, however all hopes are not lost. In its official blogpost, the company has announced that it does care about all its users and will make sure that its users get the best Android experience. Apparently, the company is already developing their own Android 5.0 Lollipop ROM for its devices.
Note: The company will offer a beta version of company developed Android 5.0 based ROM in December. Enthusiasts can try it out if they are interested. The company announced back in July that they were developing their official ROM based on stock Android.
What does this mean for OnePlus users in India?
- OnePlus One will be sold in India with Cyanogen OS (based on Android 4.4.4 KitKat) onboard.
- In February 2015, the company will provide a big software update to the device.
- After this software update, Cyanogen OS will be replaced with OnePlus' own home-grown ROM, which will be based on Android 5.0 Lollipop.
- This ROM will feature stock Android like UI, but it isn't clear whether it will have Cyanogen OS like customisability options.
- Those who bought the device from the company's international website will most probably continue to get software updates from Cyanogen. As announced by the company, they will also be awarded full warranty.
Will this affect the sales of OnePlus One in India?
One of the most desirable features about the OnePlus One is its software, which is Cyanogen OS based on stock Android UI like looks. On top of this, it offers a lot of customisability options including themes, customisable status bar options, customisable quick settings panel, various lockscreen gestures, an option to choose between on-screen or capacitive buttons, profiles, and improved privacy options.
Most probably, the OnePlus' company-developed ROM will not offer such features due to lack of time. It needs to be seen if the performance of the device will stay as fast as it currently is, be it the general processing performance or the battery life. It is good that the company has decided to develop their own software, rather than depending on a third-party provider such as Cyanogen Inc. Due to their decision, the company will not face such issues going forward.
The users in India, who have the understanding of flashing a ROM will mostly install Cyanogen OS after they buy the OnePlus One. Other users, who like OnePlus One only because its attractive price point, won't have a problem even with non-Cyanogen OS. Either-ways, I personally think that sales of OnePlus One in India won't be affected that badly due to the absence of Cyanogen OS.
What do you think about the mess and confusion which Cyanogen created? Will you buy the OnePlus One if it doesn't come with Cyanogen OS? Please let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.
