Android 4.3 Jelly Bean Update: CyanogenMod 10.2 Stable Build Now Available For Download; Android 4.4 KitKat Based Nightlies Coming Soon

The Android 4.3 Jelly Bean era at CyanogenMod has quickly some to an end as the as the ROM customization team is now rolling out the final stable build of CyanogenMod 10.2. CyanogenMod announced Monday the coming of its CyanogenMod 10.2 stable builds, which can now be downloaded for a number of currently popular smartphones and tablets.

CyanogenMod announced its release candidate builds in November, which quickly progressed to a general release. CyanogenMod 10.2 nightly builds were released on August, shortly after the July release of Google’s stock Android 4.3. In comparison to CyanogenMod 10.1.3 (Android 4.2.2), which took nearly a year to go from Google’s release to CyanogenMod’s stable build, the development of CyanogenMod 10.2 was quite speedy. The custom ROM is now considered on par with the Android 4.3 systems preloaded onto many smartphones on the market, with a few touches from CyanogenMod included.

Device compatibility includes all Nexus brand devices, as well as smartphones, tablets and high end Android-powered devices released within the last 18 months.

As always, users should take caution when installing custom firmware onto their devices, keeping in mind that their warranties may be avoided. Backing up your device is recommended.

You may download CyanogenMod 10.2 here.

The Gapps Zip file for Google Play Store and Google Services can be downloaded here.

Galaxy Nexus users will be pleased to know that the device is supported under this stable build release, as Android 4.3 appears to be the last update for the Galaxy Nexus on Google’s end. Many ROM customization teams have already begun developing Android 4.4 KitKat builds for the Galaxy Nexus and CyanogenMod is likely to follow suit. Currently, the Verizon Galaxy Nexus has still not yet updated to Android 4.3, and the update remains uncertain. CyanogenMod 10.2 stable builds are available for the Sprint, Verizon and GSM models of the Galaxy Nexus.

As CyanogenMod 10.2 is now stable, the team is now focusing its attention on Android 4.4, having announced not long after the Halloween unveiling of the stock Android 4.4 build that development of CyanogenMod 11 had begun. From the team, the CyanogenMod 11 manifest is already available for advanced users who would like to try their hands at building their own CyanogenMod-based custom ROM, and unofficial alpha build nightlies are also circulating the XDA Developer’s Forum. Official CyanogenMod 11 nightlies are expected soon.

Since CyanogenMod now has full stable support for Jelly Bean iterations of Android, the team says it will now cease post-release support for Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich iterations of Android. Support CyanogenMod 10.2 will continue in the background with nightly builds, bug fixes, and security patches, should any issues arise. Keep in mind that even stock Android builds are not perfect and often require post –release support. CyanogenMod builds are no different, though they are considered relatively bug free and compatible with their targeted devices.

Will you update your device to CyanogenMod 10.2 stable build? Let us know in the comments below.

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