Founder of CyanogenMod leaves Samsung, praises Galaxy S4

Steve Kondik, the founder of the alternative Android firmware CyanogenMod, has left his job at Samsung. A little over 18 months ago, Steve joined Samsung Mobile with the hope of “doing something cool in the real world.” It isn’t clear what his role as Samsung was, but it is clear that he did spend some time with the new Galaxy S4. When asked by a user, via a comment on Google+, about why he left Samsung, Steve replied “…not because of anything in particular. Samsung was great. Just decided to do something new…”

There are of course no shortage of Android smartphone makers who need talented and experienced Android developers, so Steve won’t find it hard to get a new job, but maybe he already has plans. He rather cryptically added to his reply, ” Ask me in a couple of months :)”

As for the Samsung Galaxy S4, Steve reckons that it “blows the competition out of the water.” He also praises the performance of the CPU along with improvements to the GPS subsystem. “GPS seems to work better than any other Samsung device, with a lock being acquired instantly in almost any condition,” wrote Kondik on Google+. About the only negative thing Steve had to say was about the changes to TouchWiz, Samsung’s UI which it adds on top of Android. “Unfortunately, it feels like it has been sent a few years back in time to the Froyo days,” he added.

Steve’s Google+ profile now shows that he has stopped working at Samsung. The question is, where will he go next?

Image credit: Jason Parker