You typically would expect an SoC manufacturer such as Qualcomm to announce what new technology it has planned next at an event such as the Mobile World Congress. However, this time around, Qualcomm has announced a new partnership with Cyanogen to work on the software shipped on next generation reference devices.
Qualcomm makes special devices with every chipset launch, called Qualcomm Reference Devices or QRDs. The program basically simplifies the process for companies to make and sell a device in as little as 60 days. Although Qualcomm uses Android for its devices, it is usually built from internal software repositories with all the basic necessary software to make it work, which is often not optimized.
This is where the partnership between Cyanogen comes in. There are reports that the QRD program has already been updated and that the Snapdragon 200, 400 and 600 series QRDs will be available with Cyanogen OS (not to be confused with CyanogenMod) along with a set of feature options for each device tier.
The partnership would allow manufacturers to be able to customize their experience more on the devices they sell, as well as making the Cyanogen OS more popular on Android devices. Users would also benefit from the partnership, since manufacturers would be able to offer more QRDs with the latest Android and a significantly greater chance for software updates compared to the current QRD.
Thank you Android Central for providing us with this information
