Cyanomen OS is definitely the most popular and easy to install third party ROM for Android. It came as a primary OS with One Plus One which was indeed a great breakthrough for a third part Android ROM developer and now company has partnered with Microsoft which means Cyanogen Mod will now come with a lot of Microsoft exclusive applications and services.
Earlier this year CEO of Cyanogen made it clear that this partnership with Microsoft will go a long way and the first step would be bring Cortana on Android. In an Interview he said:
McMaster revealed that Cyanogen is working with Microsoft to deeply integrate Cortana into the next version of Cyanogen OS. This is key to catapulting Cyanogen into the mass market, he asserts: Cortana is currently available as an app on Android, but in order for it to make a real difference, it needs to be able to be integrated at the OS level so that its full potential can be leveraged.
Cortana is a highly intelligent voice assistant on Windows. It made it first debut on Windows phone and now it is also available on laptops and desktops in Windows 10. Cortana is already available on Android smartphones without OS integration. However, with Cyanogen Cortana would be deeply integrated with the OS and this will certainly pose a strong threat to Google’s own voice assistant Google Now.
If we analyze this partnership with Microsoft and Cyanogen it is quite clear that it is a win win situation for both parties. Cyanogen will enjoy the perks of Microsoft partnership whereas Microsoft will get access to Android market through Cortana as it will come preinstalled on some Android smartphones.