China's OnePlus Set To Release OxygenOS Ahead Of OnePlus Two Smartphone Launch

Chinese manufacturer OnePlus started its journey to make the perfect smartphone by teaming up with popular custom software team CyanogenMod. Now, the smartphone maker will branch out on its own, with the help of quite a few former members of rival software customization team Paranoid Android.

OnePlus published a blog post Thursday, introducing its developer team, prior to a Reddit Ask Me Anything session hosted Friday. The company is not lacking for international reach. Six of OnePlus’ new developers were poached from Paranoid Android, including U.S.-based Aaron, the Android technical leader. Other members include Canada-based Helen, the head of mobile products and India-based Arz, the UI/UX designer and many more from locations including Italy, Colombia, Lebanon and Spain. (OnePlus did not provide surnames for its crew.)

Friday’s Ask Me Anything session delved into the nitty-gritty of software development, with the team explaining to fans that the OnePlus software, called Oxygen OS, won’t be open-source, meaning third parties won’t be able to develop their own systems and applications based on the code. They also clarified that Oxygen OS will be a system uniquely for OnePlus with no inspiration from Paranoid Android; and that the OnePlus One smartphone won’t receive wireless updates.