Home
Mobiles
Mobiles News
Cyanogen OS No Longer Exclusive to Micromax's Yu in India: Lenovo

Cyanogen OS No Longer Exclusive to Micromax's Yu in India: Lenovo

By Ketan Pratap | Updated: 2 May 2016 16:55 IST

Highlights

Micromax's Yu had exclusive access to Cyanogen OS in India.
Lenovo's Z1 smartphone to launch in India running Cyanogen OS 12.1.
The new Zuk Z1 will be an online exclusive smartphone.

Cyanogen back in 2014 announced an exclusive partnership with Micromax that led OnePlus to remove the Cyanogen OS branding from its OnePlus One smartphones just ahead of the India launch. Cyanogen last year parted ways with OnePlus after several months of rough weather in their relationship, and the Chinese OEM has since been releasing smartphones with its own custom ROM - OxygenOS.

Micromax's Yu Televentures subsidiary on the other hand has been releasing Cyanogen OS powered Yu handsets ever since. However, it seems the exclusive Cyanogen-Yu deal no longer exists as Lenovo will be soon launching a Cyanogen OS-powered smartphone in the country.

The Chinese company has confirmed plans to launch the first smartphone under its online-only sub-brand - the Zuk - in India which will be running Cyanogen OS out-of-the-box and will see light of day in the second week of May. Ahead of the launch, Gadgets 360 met Anuj Sharma, Head of Product Marketing - Lenovo, to talk about the company's strategy for the new sub-brand.

On being asked about whether the exclusive deal between Cyanogen and Micromax will limit Lenovo to sell Z1 in India, Sharma said, "It [the deal] was there before that's what I was told by Cyanogen team. But the team now said its ok now. So we are going ahead with the launch."

The Lenovo Zuk Z1 will be running Cyanogen 12.1 based on Android 5.1 Lollipop when launched in India.

This will mean that now Micromax's Yu will no longer be the only brand launching Cyanogen OS-powered handsets out-of-the-box in India. Gadgets 360 has also reached out to Yu Televentures for a comment, and will update this story when the company responds.

Sharma also confirmed that Lenovo will be launching a 64GB model of the Z1 in India. Considering that the Lenovo's 64GB Zuk Z1 was priced at CNY 1,799 (approximately Rs. 18,250) in China, we can expect the company to price the smartphone at around this range only in India.

While talking to Gadgets 360, Sharma also hinted that Lenovo will try to price the Lenovo Zuk Z1 aggressive to take on other smartphones in the same price category.

Comments

For the latest tech news and reviews, follow Gadgets 360 on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News. For the latest videos on gadgets and tech, subscribe to our YouTube channel. If you want to know everything about top influencers, follow our in-house Who'sThat360 on Instagram and YouTube.

Further reading: Cyanogen, Cyanogen OS, Lenovo, Lenovo Mobiles, Lenovo Zuk Z1, Micromax, Yu, Zuk, Zuk Z1

Ketan Pratap

Email Ketan

Ketan Pratap is the editor at Gadgets 360 - with over 12 years of experience covering the technology domain. With a breadth and depth of knowledge in the field, he's done extensive work across news, features, reviews, and opinion pieces. But what's truly inspiring about Ketan is how he spends his free time. He's often found gazing at snow-capped mountains from over 20,000 feet while sitting on the hood of his car, taking in the breathtaking beauty of nature. His passion for the great ...More

Solar Impulse 2 to Soar Again on Round-the-World Flight

Berlin Cracks Down on Airbnb Rentals to Cool Market

Cyanogen OS No Longer Exclusive to Micromax's Yu in India: Lenovo

Related Stories