Cyanogen launches Platform SDK, starting with a Quick Settings Tile API

Cyanogen wants to give app developers better access to the features of CyanogenMod/Cyanogen OS with the launch of the new, open source Platform SDK.

The Cyanogen Platform SDK will be a collection of APIs developed by Cyanogen, as well as the CyanogenMod community, that will give devs better access to “key parts of the platform.” The goal is to make developing for the Cyanogen platform more approachable and modular.

The inspiration for the project is a Stanford University-hosted hackathon, according to the Cyanogen team:

“Developing against an SDK rather than to an entire platform is a lot more approachable for developers, providing a lower barrier of entry to get a quality product up and running in a shorter span of time,” said Cyanogen’s Leigh Momii in a blog post.

Cyanogen hopes that developers will submit their own APIs, enriching the platform and making it easier for other devs to jump onboard. API submissions will be vetted by Cyanogen however and tested against its Compatibility Test Suite to ensure functionality and backward compatibility.

Cyanogen is “seeding” the alpha version of the Platform SDK with just one API for now, the Quick Settings Tile API. This will allow app developers to create their own tiles, for quick access to various toggles and settings. Cyanogen showed “Turn on Bike Mode” (seen in the image above) as an example of the kind of tiles that can be quickly created using the API.

If the project takes off, app makers will have a strong incentive to develop for Cyanogen and CyanogenMod devices. Making Android more open is one of the stated goals of Cyanogen, the business, and this initiative should make it easy for partners to access the core of Android and create richer experiences.

For more details on the Platform SDK, visit the project’s Github home.