Android updates: why is Cyanogen so much faster than Google / OEMs?

From the translator:

In the light of recent events , or rather, because of individual comments on this post by the highly respected alizar , I once again found a very interesting post on AndroidPit in my opinion and would like to take a closer look at the Russian-speaking community.

Translated the German version, occasionally looking into the original, because The style of presentation of the translation seemed to me to be more perceptible in places (and German has long been almost like a native language to me).



I don’t want to add in the heading “Rhetorical question - No answer ...” - I think it is nevertheless more correct if everyone makes up his own opinion or expresses himself.

For myself, I partially answered ( boldly highlighting the answer in the comment of the translator at the very end). A fuller answer I think will formulate a community.







ENG. Android Updates: Why Is Cyanogen So Much Faster Than Google / OEMs?

GER. Android Updates: Warum ist Cyanogen so viel schneller als Google / OEMs?

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My colleague Erik was an active member on xda-developers for several years and could “see” live, interesting, and impressive things that developers there could put on their feet.



He had two questions:

1. Why Google and OEMs do not hire xda developers to quickly release android updates;

2. How does Cyanogen manage to be so much faster than Google and OEM when it comes to releasing updates and optimizing / improving Android?

What is CyanogenMOD?

For those who do not know who Cyanogen is - he is initially the godfather of Android, when it comes to custom ROMs for Android. Accordingly, CyanogenMOD is the foundation for custom ROMs. Steve Kondik (aka Cyanogen) and his team created the foundation for most other existing Android ROMs. There would be no Cyanogen, and the scene of modding and rooting would definitely look different.

For example, the team allowed to install Ice Cream Sandwich on some Android smartphones, which were named by Google or OEMs as incompatible with the latest version of the mobile operating system. And with many previous versions, the situation was exactly the same.



In addition, Cyanogen was able to install ICS on various current devices 4 months before the first manufacturers and mobile operators.

A huge achievement is what the development team has already achieved and what it has been doing so far.



Samsung realized this at some point, too. Cyanogen was hired in August 2011 to work directly for a South Korean company. CustomROMs are much more than “just” fast and often better than the firmware released by Google and OEMs, because they are often updated weekly and offer many more features that have never been part of official products.



ROMs did not just change - they improved so much that after a smartphone or tablet was reflashed, sometimes there was a feeling that you were holding a completely new device in your hands .

Are lovers better than pro?

(Approx. Translator - I am a developer in a large company, so I can not fully share the point of view in the following paragraph).



I, like Eric, are not a developer myself, and therefore it is difficult for us to appreciate what exactly these talented people do to get such good results so quickly. What we want to know exactly how xda manages to post the latest version for their equipment a few months before the official release of Google and OEM manufacturers, while it is often even better for many than the official version. For example, let's take Romanbb (Android Open Kang Project) , which added a new item “ROM Control” in the ICS settings menu for various devices, where you can change almost everything on your device. For example, you can change the color of the virtual buttons or adjust the power of the processor, you can create your own Lockscreen and much, much more.



Just wondering why these or similar features are also not in the official release. Obviously, some things are only for experienced users (the key word is processor overclocking), but many other things will be interesting for less technologically savvy smartphone owners. If a student, like Romanbb, can create such changes, which are also still updated and improved weekly, why not Google and OEM?

Solutions to Android problems exist ... does anyone use them?

If fragmentation is a problem, the release of timely updates is a problem, the support of “old” devices is a problem and the addition of new useful features that many people want is also a problem, why it turns out that large companies do not turn to where literally dozens of developers have ready-made solutions for these problems?

Moreover, why are these people still overboard? These are the people who have had ICS ROMs just two weeks after the release of the source code, they are developing functions that no one else has, but which are very useful for many, etc.



What do you think about this in general? Are such talented developers as Cyanogen and co really? better developers google, samsung, motorola, lg, sonyx and htc co.? Or this “situation” is a sign of the “inertia” of Android OEM.



We hope that the title of the post did not make you think that we have the answer to these questions, because unfortunately we don’t know them either. But we look forward to your comments and opinions.

From the translator:

I am also familiar with some xda developers, but I don’t think that if someone offered them a job on Google or Samsung, they would have rushed to them with closed eyes. Some are already engineers in large companies, others are excellent programmers in a good place and / or in an excellent team.

I find it difficult to explain these questions simply by the “inertia” of large companies, but everyone who has ever worked in such companies knows about these cockroaches (policies, rules, etc., etc.).



As someone wrote in the comments to the original:

For some, this hobby, for others - work.