In a move that’s sure to get a few people scratching their heads, OnePlus has released their own official version of stock Android 4.4.4 for their first phone, the One. If you’ve been keeping up with the OnePlus One or may even be one of the fortunate few who own one right now, you’ll likely know that it’s the first phone to ship with CyanogenMod 11S out of the box. CyanogenMod 11S is a special version of the popular custom ROM CyanogenMod, and it adds a few unique features to the device including a camera that’s chock full of features, 4K and slow mo recording, and others, as well as a great audio mixer, custom lockscreen and more. Some people don’t care for CyanogenMod’s flavor of Android though, for a number of reasons, and would rather just be on stock Android.
If you’re among that crowd then now is the time to celebrate, because an official stock Android 4.4.4 with no added features is now available for the OnePlus One straight from OnePlus themselves. This is sort of a Google Play edition ROM that’s available for many other popular phones like the HTC One M7 and M8, Galaxy S4 and Moto G since it’s a pure stock Android ROM. Since this is also built by OnePlus and not CyanogenMod this doesn’t include any of the unique software features that might set the OnePlus One apart from other GPe phones, other than actual hardware differences of course. This also means that you’re likely to be on the latest version of Android nearly immediately after Google releases the code publicly.
Right now there are a few little bugs that are being worked out by the team, including some weird gyroscope issues for some phones, as well as encryption and VPN not working at all. OnePlus is looking for community feedback on this to build a better ROM, so head on over to the OnePlus One Forum link below and give it a shot if you’re interested. Check out our review for all the goodies if you’re interested in finding more out about the OnePlus One, and remember to check out our top 5 ROMs for the OnePlus One if you’d rather go that route.