Why Fairphone OS?

Waiting for a stable version of CyanogenMod to come for Fairphone 2, because I simply can’t imagine using a phone with Fairphone OS or AOSP (I used both several times on Fairphone 1) one question keeps coming up on my mind. It’s a difficult one, because it questions the path this project has taken.
Are there persons who used both CyanogenMod (10-12) and Fairphone OS and liked Fairphone OS better? Which features does CyanogenMod lack or what are things Fairphone OS does better? I ask, because I can’t think of one reason to not ship the Fairphones with CyanogenMod or a modified version of CyanogenMod instead of Fairphone OS.

I’d like to add a poll here, but I don’t know how. Maybe a mod can do this…

“Users who tried both: Which OS do you prefer?”

  • CyanogenMod
  • Fairphone OS
2 Likes

I would guess licensing issues, and the amount of work required to port.

There’s actually quite a lot of topics already covering a number of the issues you raise. The main ones are listed below (see those topics for links to similar discussions, or use the search function - the magnifying glass towards the top right of the page):

Also, for an in-depth list of features in CyanogenMod that are not in FPOS:

You may also be interested in this poll on OS preferences (which is admittedly wider than what you’re asking):

3 Likes

Thank you for your reply, but that doesn’t cover what I’m interested in. I read all quoted topics some time ago. This is not about a geany, but about a realistic decision. I tried to make myself clearer by editing the first post a little.

Licensing issues regarding CyanogenMod? It’s free software…
And the amount of work for porting CyanogenMod should be much less than for creating Fairphone OS, right?

You got that wrong: I asked for things Fairphone OS does better than CyanogenMod or has, that CyanogenMod hasn’t, because I can’t think of any.

1 Like

I think of the Fairphone-specific features like Privacy Impact or the Inactive Apps.

1 Like

True! Those could have been integrated in a modified CyanogenMod as well, but you’re right!

1 Like

Which doesn’t mean that there are no licensing issues. It could be that the Qualcomm license for the binary blobs is an issue. Also Google doesn’t license the play store to just everybody (and famously got into a spat with… CyanogenMod). These licensing issues are why Cyanogen OS (preloaded, with Google Apps / drivers etc.) exists separate from Cyangogen Mod (which brands itself as aftermarket firmware).
The existence of CyanogenOS does show that you can, in theory, work round the licensing issues, but it doesn’t mean that it is a very viable route for a small company to take.

1 Like

I’ve never used CyanogenMod but the whole Android development process is a big mess.

It’s not that you can just take google’s code and compile it. You can’t do anything. You have to wait for the SoC manufacturer and for the other bin blobs. Also the Fairphone (= SoC) comes with tons of apks and java apps as well, it’s not just “bin” drivers for the hardware. It’s pretty ugly software-wise right now and so far, not even the licence issue was clarified. It’s all just fear, uncertainty and doubt and there are no changelogs for the “blobs”.

But I assume FP will release their non-google builds soon. They have to and it’s pretty easy as well.

Better ask about anti-features and look at “free software” more in detail. CyanogenMod contains more non-free software than AOSP or FP-OSOS. You may want to have a look here:

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2550769

2 Likes

Well, last time I checked you can opt out of the cm statistics, and the device admin also is not mandatory. I think this is a bit overstressed, here… THere are, on the other hand, lots of really interesting features in CM, that I would love to see on the FP2…

2 Likes

Yeah, very cool way to implement opt out: “we just sent your data out. If you don’t want that in the future, look: here you can change it”

1 Like

Sure this has to be opt in, but let’s face it, for American behavior it’s a lot already if you can opt out. Didn’t say it’s optimal

Really, I don’t care to opt-out from CM statistics, if the other choice is FPOS with GAPPS ;).

2 Likes