Spanish handset manufacturer BQ has teamed up with Telefonica to announce the first smartphone with the alternative Android-based OS from Cyanogen to be launched by an operator in Europe. The Aquaris X5 is now available in Spain and will arrive in Germany and the UK in the coming weeks. The Cyanogen 12.1-powered smartphone comes with a 5-inch display, 4G connectivity, a Qualcomm Snapdragon 412 processor, 2 GB RAM and 16 GB of expandable internal memory. It also features a 13-megapixel main camera, 5-megapixel front camera and a 2,900mAh battery, which BQ says provides a longer battery life than other smartphones with similar specifications thanks to operating system optimisation and low-power components.
The Aquaris X5 will be available through the Movistar commercial network in Spain for EUR 209, with Movistar customers able to finance it up to 24 months interest-free from EUR 8.70 per month. Telefonica and BQ said they’re supporting the Cyanogen OS due to its customisable interface and higher levels of privacy and security via the Privacy Guard app, which gives users control over their personal data shared with third parties. Although Telefonica is the first major operator to offer a device with the Cyanogen OS in Europe, in September UK-based startup WileyFox launched two smartphones, the Swift and the Storm, also powered by Cyanogen 12.1.
Earlier this year, Cyanogen announced that it had reached over 50 million users worldwide, up from around 10 million the previous year, thanks to investments from the likes of Telefonica, Qualcomm, Twitter and Foxconn.
