Cyanogen has unveiled its Cyanogen Modular OS program. This open-source program lets smartphone manufacturers use parts of the custom Cyanogen on their main operating systems such as Android.
Cyanogen said that the modular program eliminates issues related to a full Cyanogen OS stack. This way, the smartphone manufacturers will be able to use best bits of Cyanogen builds.
In addition to its Modular OS program, Cyanogen also has a separate MOD platform, which can be used for exploiting core platform programing interfaces within the Cyanogen OS. However, it requires the use of Operating System's full stack, which makes the entire process quite cumbersome.
With the Modular OS, manufacturers can use individual parts of the Cyanogen OS to customize the main operating system. This is made possible with MODs and dynamic modules. Manufacturers can use any ROM including stock Android to suit their requirements.
Cyanogen also announced the appointment of Lior Tal as its new CEO. Tal, who used to work with Facebook, joined Cyanogen as its COO in June 2016. Kirt McMaster, the outgoing CEO, will assume the position of executive chairman of the board. Steve Kondik, the company co-founder and CTO, has assumed the position of "chief science officer."
Tal commented in a blog post that Android has become too fragmented, which exposes it to various security threats. Cyanogen can help in patching these loopholes.
Cyanogen has been going through a rough patch. The company laid off 30 employees in July. This number accounted for 20 percent of its workforce.