It’s official: the Oppo N1 will be the first Cyanogen, Inc. device

When Cyanogen decided to incorporate, they also noted they’d be partnering with an OEM to showcase their OS. Speculation ran wild as to who would be brave enough to help Cyanogen challenge for the number three spot behind Android and iOS.

While not technically making it known just yet, Steve Kondik, founder and CFO of Cyanogen, stars in a very short video on the Oppo YouTube channel (below). In the video, he notes he’ll be at the Oppo event in Beijing, and has “exciting news” for us.

It looks as though Cyanogen Inc. will be partnering with Oppo to bring us their OS on the N1 smartphone, set to make its debut on September 23rd. While Oppo isn’t well known outside of the Asian market, their Find 5 handset was well received by our Josh Vergara. A beautiful screen, with some nice hardware nuances. Their UI could use some improvements, and who better than Cyanogen to take that burden from them?

The partnership could be a boon for both parties: Cyanogen needs an OEM to let them show off their OS, and Oppo could use some energy to get their name out there. Oppo doesn’t have a strong UI for Android, and Cyanogen always delivers something great. It’s definitely unusual to have the OS and OEM apart from one another, but in this case, it could be perfect.
We’ll be looking forward to just what Cyanogen has in store for us on the 23rd. If you’re curious, be sure to check back here for all your Cyanogen/Oppo news!