In its bid to walk further and further away from Google in its own Android OS, Cyanogen announced a recent partnership with Boxer, the third-party email app. As of Cyanogen OS 12, which will be available in the coming weeks as an update to the OnePlus One and YU Yureka (and will launch on future devices), Boxer will come installed out of the box as the default email client.

The collaboration with Boxer comes hot on the heels of Cyanogen's rebrand and Qualcomm partnership, and will provide users with all of the benefits of Boxer's premium service, including multiple accounts (Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo! Mail, iCloud, etc) and Exchange support. Of course Boxer's regular features of task management and integration with Evernote, Dropbox, Box, and other services are there as well. But for Cyanogen's personalization-hungry crowd, the multiple customization options will be the most important aspect. Things like different LED color notifications for each email account, choosing which action takes place when you swipe an email left or right, and picking different notification sounds will definitely sweeten the deal compared to Gmail's preset options.

And Boxer isn't content with just providing its current Android app to Cyanogen. To sit well with the Lollipop-based Cyanogen OS 12, the app has a fresh new look that seems to employ a good dose of Material Design.

Given that Cyanogen started as a darling of the AOSP crowd, it's interesting to see it adopt a strategy that relies less on Google. And whether its bid to build an alternative Android experience will bear its fruits remains to be seen.

PRESS RELEASE

Alternate title: Cyanogen OS Wears Its Boxer Gloves And Throws Its Hat In The Ring Against Google

Source: Boxer