The team will release phone and PC applications soon

Sep 19, 2013 16:41 GMT  ·  By

CyanogenMod, the team of developers behind one of the most popular custom ROMs for Android-based devices, has announced a series of important changes, including plans to make one-click installers available for unlocked users.

The team also announced that CyanogenMod had become a legal entity, and that their focus moving forward is to make installing the custom ROMs on Android devices much easier than before.

This will materialize in the release of an Android installer companion app in the Google Play Store in the coming weeks, which will be accompanied by a Windows app as well.

Users interested in installing CyanogenMod will need both Android and Windows applications to kick off the process, as each of them has its own purpose.

The Android software was designed to check on the compatibility of the device with CM, while the Windows app will push the necessary installation files to the handset.

The team plans on releasing a Mac version of the app as well, and might even bring it to Linux, should people ask for it, as Android Police notes.

One thing that should be noted right from the start is that the installer will come with support for openly unlockable devices. This means that all those who have been locked by the wireless carrier or OEM will be left out of this.

The installer will not require pre-rooting the device, but it can do this as well. However, users will still be left out of Gapps (Google Apps), the same as before.

“Currently the installer supports unlockable devices and devices that come unlocked out of the box (ie, most Samsungs via Download Mode),” Koushik Dutta explains.

“We're still deciding how to handle locked devices. There's legislation (DMCA clause) in the US that allows the user to bypass copy protection to essentially root their phone. We could do it, it's not hard, but we have to make sure that this won't get us into any hot water later.”

In the beginning, no device that requires exploits will be supported, but the team plans on working closely with OEMs to receive official support from them.