This startup once thought it would 'put a bullet through Google's head' — now it's killing its own operating system

Cyanogen, the startup that once claimed its customized version of Android would "put a bullet through Google's head," has quietly announced that it's throwing in the towel on direct competition as it pivots its business after a tough year of layoffs and executive shuffles.

"As part of the ongoing consolidation of Cyanogen, all services and Cyanogen-supported nightly builds will be discontinued no later than 12/31/16," writes Cyanogen in a blog post released late on Friday night.

In plainer terms, this means that the Cyanogen operating system — which people could buy pre-loaded on smartphones like the OnePlus One or Lenovo ZUK Z1 — won't be getting any further updates. And Cyanogen will be discontinuing its homebuilt services, like the "Find My Phone" feature.

Cyanogen has raised $185 million in funding from investors including Andreessen Horowitz and Rupert Murdoch. And while Cyanogen had some limited success partnering with companies like OnePlus to preinstall its operating system on new phones, and a close relationship with Microsoft, manufacturers were hesitant to ditch Android entirely for fear of throwing the baby out with the bathwater.

In July 2016, following reports that Cyanogen had laid off 20% of its workforce, founder and former CEO Kirt McMaster told Business Insider that while the company was hard at work on a "modular OS" concept, it was committed to continuing to build the Cyanogen operating system.

In October 2016, Facebook veteran Lior Tal took the CEO role, with McMaster becoming executive chairman. Tal announced a renewed focus on that "modular OS" approach, where phone manufacturers can integrate bits and pieces of Cyanogen technology into their own Android phones, in lieu of investing as heavily in its own operating system.

"Android is this huge continent that everyone lives on," Tal says. "That's just how it is."

This announcement doesn't mean the end of Cyanogen as a concept: CyanogenMod, an open source version of the Cyanogen operating system that anybody can download and modify, still enjoys an active community who will keep hacking away at it as an Android alternative free from corporate control.

But for the average user, it's way more of a hassle to download and maintain an open source operating system like CyanogenMod than it is to use Cyanogen, the company's more streamlined, Google-like approach to system updates and services. It also means that if you already have a Cyanogen phone, it'll get far less useful as of January 1st.

All in all, Cyanogen's new mission is less dramatic than the company's original mission of "[taking] control of Android away from Google," but it provides those manufacturers an alternative way to offer their products without relying as heavily on the search giant's services and technology.

"I think we can achieve the same mission within Android today," Tal told Business Insider in October.

Android Phones: What to expect in 2017

There are  Android phones coming in 2017 – here’s our view.

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This is for phone lovers, the Android space is the place to be. Inside the Android Kingdom things move fast and, for the most part, set the goalposts for the rest of the market. Often, what you find in contemporary Android phones eventually makes its way down to iPhones and what few other rivals remain.

QHD panels is one example of this; dual-lens cameras and curved OLED displays are others. 2016 was a decent year for Android releases, with strong handsets from all major players. Sales were, once again, dominated by Samsung in the Android sphere (and Apple elsewhere).

There were some  big developments, however, such as the Galaxy Note 7 disaster and Google entering the fray with its Pixel phones. The latter point is a huge deal for hardcore Android fans, as this is the first time Google has actually taken the bull by the horns and released its own, bespoke smartphone.

We had Nexus phones before, phones that will be greatly missed, but what Google is doing with Pixel is bigger, better, and far more innovative. And while the entry of Android’s keeper into the mix will give Google’s many hardware partners cause for concern, from a user perspective it is brilliant.

The Android space now, truly, has an iPhone equivalent handset that will get timely updates as soon as they’re ready. That means no more waiting six-twelve months for the latest version of Android and access to a bunch of exclusive Android software features.

But if 2016 was good, well… you ain’t seen nothing yet. Already, next year’s Android space looks hugely innovative and very competitive. Below is a break down of the Android phones we’re looking forward to most.

Android Nokia Phones

Nokia is returning to the market it helped create. Only this time it will be releasing Android-powered phones. These handsets have been rumoured for over 12 months now, but it looks as if we’ll finally see them unveiled at MWC 2017 inside Q1 next year.

There will be a mid-range handset and a flagship handset. Obviously, we’re most interested in the flagship, which is tipped to build on Nokia’s existing design pedigree with support from the latest hardware and specs.

Out of all the phones on this list, the Nokia Android phone is perhaps the most tantalising. After all, it’s not very often one of the greats comes out of retirement for one last stab at the top spot.

OnePlus 5

OnePlus’ 2017 flagship release will not be called the OnePlus 4, apparently; rather, the company will skip the number four – it is bad luck in Asia – and go right along to five. This isn’t a big deal, but it does have the potential to confuse a few punters!

The handset is tipped to feature a unique ceramic chassis, Qualcomm's next-generation CPU, which has yet to be announced, mega amounts of RAM, a bump to QHD for the display and big advancements to its imaging capabilities.

Samsung Galaxy S8 Plus

Apple’s apparently doing three iPhones in 2017 and, as we all now know, anything Apple can do, Samsung can do better. True to form, and likely a move to make up for this year’s Note 7 fiasco, Samsung is prepping three versions of its market-leading Galaxy S flagship: the Galaxy S8, Galaxy S8 EDGE and Galaxy S8 Plus.

The PLUS model will be the ultimate flagship in the series, packing a 5.8in 4K AMOLED panel, crazy amounts of spec and hardware and, according to some sources, full support for Samsung’s S-Pen.

Nothing’s official in this regard just yet. But the move makes sense given Apple’s plans and the removal of the Note 7 from 2016’s market.

Samsung Galaxy X

The Samsung Galaxy X could well be the most interesting and controversial phone of 2017. Reports suggest this handset will be the first, truly flexible handset, meaning you can fold it, roll it and bend it.

Samsung has been trialling this flexible OLED technology for years, and apparently 2017 is the year we will FINALLY see it put to use inside a commercial release...assuming the Galaxy Note 7 debacle hasn't scared the bejesus out of the firm enough not to bother with anything new - that is one line of rumour, but hopefully an inaccurate one. You can read more about the handset in our Mega Thread ALL About The Samsung Galaxy X.

LG G6

The LG G5 was a flop in 2016. Big time. And this was a massive shame because the handset itself was one of the most interesting released this year. It was also a solid performer and it had a brilliant camera.

LG has confirmed it is ditching the modules for this year’s flagship, but hope to see plenty of additional innovation inside the handset, as LG, more than any other brand in the space, has been consistently pushing the boundaries of what’s possible with phone design