If you are a OnePlus One owner, then this week saw the news that finally the Android 5.0 OSes for the One will be arriving in the coming days. The news came from OnePlus directly and specifically noting by March 27th, the OnePlus homegrown OS, OxygenOS will be available. Likewise, OnePlus also announced that the Cyanogen based alternative for the One, CM 12S will be available a few days afterwards, on March 30th. Both of these dates were listed as the latest they would be available, with the announcement suggesting they might even land earlier than the days stated.

So now that the OSes are finally landing for the OnePlus One, are you happy? Or is this simply an "about time" moment. Compared to other manufacturers, OnePlus One owners have had to wait for their Lollipop offerings to land. In reality though, why has it taken them so long? Yes, updating to Lollipop is a big deal for OS developers. But is it any more of a big deal for OnePlus then any other manufacturer? OnePlus would like you to think so, but the truth might be very different. What's more, is now that OxygenOS is arriving, will it have been worth the wait? The company released an alpha version of OxygenOS back at the start of this year, but this was just pretty much stock android. By the time, the proper OxygenOS will be released, this will have been a full three months later. So what will be included. Will it have been worth a three-month wait? Speaking of which, and in case you missed it, there was a reported leaked image of OxygenOS that popped up yesterday


In fact, it almost seems as though Lollipop has become a 'selling point' to some companies. For instance, OnePlus released a stock version, then 'announce' their new ROM team (although not really providing any real details on the product). And now, announce they will release OxygenOS next week. It could be argued, if they were working less on the PR element of Lollipop, they might have managed to push it out quicker. In reality, an unannounced OTA pushed out weeks ago would have been very warmly received by users and might have generated just as many headlines.

Likewise, Cyanogen have been doing much the same when it comes to PR. The company has recently been on a push to promote its rebranding, its new logo and image and had been busy pushing out teasers of its updated OS. The recent teasers are such big headlines as people have been made to wait for the update. Why is it, they are both so intent on providing teasers of what's coming? It begs the question, could OxygenOS, CM 12S or Cyanogen OS 12 have actually been released sooner? Not to mention, there is also the strange coincidence that they both Oxygen and CM 12S are ready within a few days of each other. Manufacturers are having issues pushing out Lollipop updates to the same devices in different regions, let alone different carriers and let along between devices. Yet these two supposedly different OSes are both ready to push out to One's worldwide at the same time. Convenient?

So now, while One owners wait for a Lollipop update they are suddenly in the position, where they will be forced to choose between two. Does this seem right? It is also interesting that OnePlus will be releasing their option a couple of days before the Cyanogen option drops. Strategic planning by OnePlus, maybe? Give owners of the One a couple of days to test drive their OS before the one they have actually been waiting for, comes. Canny move there. But does that not again suggest, CM 12S could have rolled out a few days earlier. Maybe the bottom line, is that the Lollipop update has never been for (or about) the users. Instead, this is the 'manufacturer's update'. Either way, next week will see the landing in the customization world of both OxygenOS and CM 12S. Hopefully.