OnePlus 2 Kernel Source Now Available to Download

If you wanted to make custom ROMs for the OnePlus 2 smartphone, the Chinese manufacturer is officially making it possible. The company’s CEO Carl Pei announced on Twitter that the kernel source for the OnePlus 2 is now available to the public via GitHub. The move will allow developers to make custom ROMs for OnePlus’ latest flagship smartphone.

The kernel source will provide developers with full access to OxygenOS. The custom ROM was launched as a beta in April earlier this year, based on Android 5.0 Lollipop. OnePlus had launched the OnePlus One, its first flagship smartphone with Cyanogen OS in 2014. Later, Cyanogen partnered with Micromax to give it the exclusive rights to sell Cyanogen-powered smartphones in India.

As a result, OnePlus was prohibited from selling Cyanogen OS-based Android-powered smartphones in the country, but received a reprieve to finish selling its stock, and was then allowed to sell non Cyanogen-branded handsets.

Amid the controversy, OnePlus announced that it would launch its own Android-based operating system. OnePlus realises that OxygenOS isn’t half as popular as Cyanogen’s Android builds, and if it wants to attract developers, it would require to open the kernel source to users.

The OnePlus’ custom ROM is now based on Android 5.1 Lollipop. It recently received an update which was designed to patch the Stagefright vulnerability. The update also brought along a new camera user interface to the phone, allowing users to take slow motion video at 120fps. The update also improved the battery life of the smartphone, and offered several bug fixes. You can download the kernel source from GitHub.