CyanogenMod is one of the most popular custom-made ROMs out there. It is an open source mobile OS based on Android mobile platform. CyanogenMod has been in active development since its beginning; there is a dedicated company called Cyanogen Inc. which overlooks the development of CyanogenMod based on new releases on Android OS. It was stated by Steve Kondik in 2009 since then;CyanogenMod has even been released as the official OS of many smartphones including the One Plus One.
Is it a stable OS or good for an average user?
A popular misconception is that CyanogenMod is an unstable OS or not as good as the ‘established’ ones supplied by various manufacturers like Samsung, LG, HTC etc. CyanogenMod is as stable as any Android flavor even more. CyanogenMod is not available for all devices, yet however, most popular devices now have their CyanogenMod OS. The full list of supported devices can be found here.CyanogenMod offers a lot of benefits compared to conventional OS:-
1. Free of unnecessary bloat-ware. CyanogenMod doesn’t have any pre-installed custom apps found in the official OS supplied by manufacturers. This makes the OS very light and drastically improves the overall performance of your device.
2. The root access of your device is built-in making it easy to customize and completely remove any app which for you have no use
3. CyanogenMod has a lot of privacy options to completely safeguard all your data.
4. CyanogenMod is highly customizable there are numerous themes which can be applied and many more things.
How to install CyanogenMod?
You will have to flash your ROM to install CyanogenMod. While this sounds trick CyanogenMod has taken a lot of steps to make it hassle free for you. But still you will need basic information on how to root your device. Many people confuse flashing ROM or custom ROM to physically changing ROMs. All software in mobile devices is stored in Flash memory. So ROM here is just used as an analogy. You can find instructions to install CyanogenMod on their official website.
How will I benefit as a user from CyanogenMod?
CyanogenMod is better than Android in performance, customization, privacy and features. The user interface is very much like stock Android. You will definitely notice the performance boost not just in speed but also on the battery life of your device. Other features like universal Equalizer, Super User, button options, developer options, interface tweaks make CyanogenMod more user-friendly.
The negatives of installing CyanogenMod.
CyanogenMod has some disadvantages especially if you are installing it by removing your existing Android version. The foremost is that when you root your phone to install CyanogenMod, your warranty will be void. Secondly, there is a chance that you may brick your device is you don’t install it correctly. Thirdly, there is limited support for the average user as compared to other Android versions where companies have dedicated brick and mortar service centers.
CyanogenMod is a great OS and can be of significant help to many people stuck with bloated Android ROMs. The choice to switch is yours. Have a brand new phone? Then switching to CyanogenModposes the risk that you willlose your warranty. If you have an old phone which has slowed down considerably switching to CyanogenMod may make it usable again. What do you think of CyanogenMod?
