14 DAY TRIAL // Although it must be confusing for many Android fans, Cyanogen MOD has nothing to do with the popular CyanogenMod ROMs that every tech-savvy has been using for years to customize their devices.
Cyanogen MOD is a new platform announced by Cyanogen Inc, which is meant to allow for deeper integration of Android applications.
Cyanogen's announcement is meant to open Android frame to developers even more and one of the first companies to benefit from the MOD platform is Microsoft.
Microsoft and Cyanogen Inc. teamed up a while ago to bring some of the Redmond's Android applications on smartphones powered by Cyanogen OS.
Developers who wish to further integrate their apps into the Android ecosystem will be provided APIs that will enable them to create native experiences.
Skype, OneNote, Cortana and Hyperlapse mods confirmed
According to Cyanogen, thanks to the partnership with Microsoft, a user can now install the Skype mod directly into their dialer to add VoIP calling functionality. Also, Cortana, Microsoft's personal assistant mod, can be installed to enable features like voice-activated selfies and more.
But these are not the only apps included in Cyanogen MOD. In addition to Cortana and Skype, Microsoft's Hyperlapse app will be available as a mod for smooth and stabilized first-person videos.
Also, OneNote mod for those who want a seamless dialer, browser, email, and calendar note taking experience, will be available as well.
Aside from Microsoft, Cyanogen also announced a partnership with Truecaller, so MOD users will be able to install this application for spam messaging. Also, social lockscreen mods will be available too.
The company announced the MOD platform would be available along with Cyanogen OS 13 update, which is based on Android 6.0 Marshmallow operating system. This major upgrade will be launched sometime in March.
Cyanogen also announced the MOD Ready, “a scaling program that enables OEMs and MNOs to rapidly launch phones across a broad range of chipset platforms.”
As part of this program, Cyanogen confirmed it would provide a PDK (Platform Development Kit) that would contain all major components needed to launch a MOD-enabled device.