What Is New in Android 5.0 Lollipop
Android 5.0 Lollipop
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306 'Android 5.0 Lollipop' stories
June 2014 - June 2017
Android Lollipop was the 5.0 release of Google's mobile operating system. This version of Android launched with groundbreaking features, including an all-new "Material Design" language, enhancements to notifications, performance improvements, and more. Google called this release the biggest in Android history at the time, with over 5,000 completely new APIs.
Features |
Material Design
Google separated Lollipop from the strictly flat design of Apple's iOS with Material Design, which allows developers to specify the "elevation values" of elements within apps — automatically creating shadow and perspective for the user. The company also updated its famed typeface Roboto, allowing developers to use one optimized font across a number of different platforms.
As part of Material, there are several animations for developers to use that include sleek visual feedback to freshen up the experience when users are navigating Android apps.
Notification Enhancements
Google also enhanced the notification experience in Lollipop, bringing full access to notifications right on the lock screen. Swiping down gives you the full list of notifications, essentially combining the lock screen and the notification pane. The company also introduced a completely new kind of notification called a "heads-up" that is really easy to dismiss or engage with.
Lock Screen Enhancements
Google also announced something called "personal unlocking" alongside Android Lollipop, which enables your device to determine whether or not it is in the owner's hand. It can take advantage of locations, Bluetooth devices that are in range, and even voice. In the Keynote, the example of a Bluetooth watch was used and when the watch was removed, the device prompted for a passcode.
Performance Improvements
Android Lollipop also included a plethora of performance improvements. Lollipop runs on the "Art" runtime that was (first previewed with the release of Android 4.4 KitKat), which is truly cross-platform covering ARM, x86, and MIPS processor types. The runtime is fully 64-bit compatible, which brings "larger number registers," "newer instruction sets," and "increased addressable memory space."
Better Graphics with Android Extension Pack
Android Lollipop also shipped with better graphics capabilities through something the Android Extension Pack. This set of capabilities includes tesselation, geometry shaders, computer shaders, and ASTC texture compression. The feature was demoed at the event with a video of EPIC's Unreal Engine 4 desktop rendering pipeline running on Android Lollipop.
Battery Improvements
Rounding off the performance improvements in Android Lollipop was improved battery life. Project "Volta" was announced, which — amongst other features — improves the "instrumentation" of battery data through a tool called Battery Historian. Also announced is the JobScheduler API, which helps developers optimize power consumption in apps. And finally, Google added a "Battery Saver" mode in Lollipop which can be triggered manually or configured to be enabled automatically when the battery is low.
How to download |
- How to update to Android Lollipop manually using OTA downloads
- How to update Android Wear devices manually using OTA downloads
- Nexus OTA download links for Android 5.0.1 Lollipop rolling out, here's how to update
- Android Wear 5.1.1 OTA download links now available, here's how to install them
- Android 5.1 OTA download link for Nexus 4 now available, here's how to install it
- Android 5.0.2 Lollipop OTA files start showing up for Nexus 7, here's how to install them
- The wait is over: Android Lollipop has arrived for Nexus 4, 5, 7 and 10
- Android 5.0 Lollipop begins rolling out OTA to Nexus devices
Compatible devices |
Android 5.0 Lollipop works with most Android phones released after mid-2014, and many that were released prior. Phones that shipped in 2016 onward likely shipped with Android 6.0 Marshmallow or later, which you can read about here.
One of the arguably biggest efforts pulled off by Google in recent times is its massive visual facelift that goes by the name of 'Material Design'. Among the most prominent concrete examples of its practical application, Android certainly stands out, and in Google's commitment towards bringing a more unified and consistent looking OS, the company may be taking things a step further by the time Android N lands.
In a report from Android Police, the publication independently confirmed that screenshots found on the Android Developers blog post about Android Support Library v23.2 are coming from a yet-unreleased version of the OS, which seems to be implementing the famous hamburger menu inside the Settings app…
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Google has released the latest distribution numbers for the various shipping versions of Android, with the latest version, Marshmallow, picking up a marginal increase.
Last month's numbers showed Android 6.0 running on only 0.3% of devices, while this month's chart puts it at 0.5%, making it the least-used version of Android except for Froyo.
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Meet the Blackberry Priv. And in case you're curious, that stands for "Privilege of Privacy" thanks to its super strength data encryption. What makes this phone unique though comes from a couple of places. First off, it's a BlackBerry phone running Android 5.1.1 Lollipop and second, that physical keyboard. But before you instantly dismiss this new smartphone, let's take a look under the hood…
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At long last, I've got my hands on the affordable, premium-looking Honor 7 handset by Huawei. In Europe, the Honor brand is known for releasing good quality phones, at cheaper-than-expected prices. Considering the specs, the £249 price-point is fantastic. In the US, the $440+ price isn't as appealing, but you might like the phone nonetheless…
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ZTE AXON and AXON mini
ZTE AXON and AXON mini
ZTE is continuing its push in to the market of competitively priced premium smartphones with today's official announcement of the ZTE AXON mini. The phone was initially unveiled back in July, but today it gets official pricing and release details for the first time…
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The ASUS ZenPad S 8.0 is the company's latest attempt to bring us a competitively priced product at an affordable price. The 2GB RAM model featured in the video costs just $211 in the US (£199 in the UK) and packs a 2K resolution 8-inch display, a quad-core Intel Atom processor, 8MP f/2.0 rear camera and Android Lollipop, all in a device which looks and feels fantastic…
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Google today announced that Android Marshmallow is coming OTA to several Nexus devices in the coming days and weeks. If you like to get the latest from Google, you know that "coming weeks" could be a pretty long wait. Thankfully, you can head to the front of the line and install the over-the-air (OTA) update by following our quick guide…
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As device launches go, the BlackBerry PRIV's announcement has been anything but ordinary. The first teaser was at BlackBerry's press event at MWC in February, at which point it was assumed this would just another BlackBerry 10 OS device, albeit one with a slide-out keyboard. We then learned through multiple leaks and rumors that it would be, in fact, an Android phone.
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Google has an event scheduled for September 29th, at which the company is expected to launch its upcoming lineup of Nexus phones, new Chromecast hardware, and more. The two new Nexus devices are surely going to ship with Android Marshmallow, and that means that over-the-air rollout of Marshmallow to older devices is set to begin sometime soon as well.
According to leaked schedule from Canada's second largest mobile carrier, Telus, the day that's set to happen is October 5th… expand full story
Meizu has just taken the wraps off its latest flagship smartphone and — from the spec sheet alone — this could be one device worth paying attention to. Apart from the display resolution, everything about the device is high end. From the build quality to the camera and processor, the Meizu PRO 5 is a beast…
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I'm fairly new to Huawei's lineup of smartphones, but since I was such a big fan of Huawei Watch, I had some high hopes and expectations for this new device. As with Huawei Watch, the unboxing experience is excellent. Huawei knows how to do packaging. It's clean-cut and presented well. Though packaging is only a small part of the battle…
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LG's G4 is one of the best phones on the market this year. It has a phenomenal camera, great display and lasts all day on a single charge. So, when LG used the same brand name for a mini version, expectations were understandably high. Does the G4c deliver as a mid-range smartphone?
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UPDATE: BLU has officially announced the new device. The device is made predominantly from metal, like many of the current high-end phones on the market. BLU has partnered with MediaTek and claims the Helio X10 chip being used to power the new smartphone is among the fastest chips available on the market, and scores some of the highest benchmark results on AnTuTu. What's more, the camera on the back is covered by sapphire crystal while the 8MP front camera is wide angle, to fit more in to your selfies…
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If the only thing holding you back from buying the awesome and super-affordable Alcatel OneTouch Idol 3 is the color choices (or lack thereof), you'll be glad to know the company is releasing a more colorful range. The Idol 3C is identical to the Idol 3 in almost every way, except you can kit it out with an interchangeable rear shell in a choice of five "juicy" colors.
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As far as the major manufacturers go, Motorola is one of the few trying to push the boundaries of what we should expect to get for our money. It wants to give us the best mobile Android experience possible for each price range. The Moto G is the king of the low-end phones and the Moto X has been a wonderful high-end phone. The Moto X Play sort of sits in between, and despite not being absolutely perfect, it's a very good phone overall.
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After weeks of speculation and leaks, Huawei has finally announced the Ascend Mate S, what many see as a direct competitor to the likes of the iPhone 6 Plus and HTC One. It has a bunch of flagship staple features as well as a couple of unique selling points which will get you talking, if nothing else.
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There's no denying the beauty of Samsung's latest Note iteration. The Note 5 is simply amazing when it comes to its form, but how does that affect function, if at all? Today, we're going to find out. The Galaxy Note 5 was unveiled and released within about a week and it seems to be the talk of the town in the mobile tech space, both good and bad.
Samsung's previous iterations of the Note's design have been more evolutionary than revolutionary, but this year that all changed. We now have a device that's built from metal and glass, much like its smaller brother the Galaxy S6. It may prove to be quite fragile if you drop it, but damn it feels good in your hand…
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Just a few days ago, Motorola sent me its latest smartphone, the Moto X Play. It's a sort-of halfway house between its super-affordable but awesome Moto G and the more premium unreleased Moto X Style/Pure. Although it's not available in the US yet, it is available to buy in the UK and Canada, and evidence suggests it'll be rebranded as a Verizon DROID of some kind. It costs under £300 in Britain, putting it in the same price range as devices like the OnePlus 2 and the 4GB Zenfone 2. In fact, it's slightly more expensive than either of those.
I've been using the device as my daily driver since I unboxed it, and for the most part, but almost every part of my experience could be described as 'I love it, but…" Each part of the phone almost has something not quite right. It's not perfect, but I still think it's great overall.
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Evan Blass — otherwise known as Evleaks — shared with us an image last week showing what looks to be some silver variant of the much-rumored BlackBerry Passport running Android Lollipop. Tech blog 4GNews then went on just before the weekend to share images of what it called Passport Silver Edition. It turns out those images were from Dudu Rocha Tec., an Android-related Brazilian YouTube channel, and now we have a look at what is likely the much-rumored BlackBerry device in its full glory… expand full story
LG has announced a brand new tablet ready to compete at the 10-inch screen size category, and by all accounts, it looks to be a decent piece of hardware. The LG G Pad II 10.1 is going to make a full appearance at IFA in a couple of weeks. Pricing and availability details won't be announced until then, but in the mean time, LG has given us the lowdown on all the tablet's internal specifications.
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Today we're taking a look at Samsung's Galaxy Note 5. As we've seen with Samsung's previous release, design changes are happening across the board, but it's not without some compromises…
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Earlier today, Google announced that it would soon begin improving its security efforts for its Nexus line of devices by rolling out monthly security updates. To go along with that, Google this evening has posted new factory images for seven Nexus devices. The factory images all appear to address the recent security bug that saw "Stagefright" exploited, as well as other fixes.
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As it does at the beginning of almost every month, Google today has updated its Android distribution data to reflect a 7-day period ending on August 3rd. It's been two months since the data was last updated, so some more significant changes have occurred. Most notably, Android 5.0/5.1 Lollipop is now installed on 18.1 percent of devices, up from 11.6 percent last time around.
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After almost a dozen leaks over the last couple of months, Motorola has today made the 2015 Moto G official. As with previous years, this handset is made for the budget-minded customer in mind, but it definitely is one of the better options in its class and you won't be sacrificing much in terms of the overall Android experience…
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When Google launched the Android One program, its goal was to bring reliably-updated devices at affordable prices to developing countries. We've seen the program make its way to nine countries, most recently Pakistan and Myanmar, and now it's bringing a new device to India. It's called the Lava Pixel V1, and it has some decent specs and a modest price tag… expand full story
As Motorola's July 28th event draws near, more and more leaked images and renders of the upcoming Motorola handset refreshes continue to hit the Internet. This time we're getting a look at leaked images (via MobileSyrup) of what is assumably a 3rd gen Moto G display dummy unit, and there just so happens to be a sticker affixed that confirms some previously rumored specifications of the device… expand full story
Update: This article states that the upcoming Commodore PET smartphone is being made by Commodore. While this is true, it's not the same corporation, nor is it under the same management, that created both the Commodore 64 and Amiga computer line. The company creating this smartphone was incorporated just this past March in the United Kingdom, while the original Commodore International was founded in Ontario, Canada and shut its doors in 1994. It's an example of deceptive practices.
My first real taste of technology was as a kid. Myself and two of my siblings would huddle around the TV with a Commodore Amiga plugged in and sit playing Buggy Boy, Lemmings, Batman, ThunderCats and bunch of other titles for hours. If it wasn't for my brother's temper and his destruction of too many joysticks, I'm sure we'd have enjoyed many more hours. So I couldn't just skip over Wired's piece on the upcoming Commodore smartphone without writing about it.
You read that right: A smartphone made by Commodore is coming to market soon. Dubbed the Commodore PET, it's coming with a couple of emulators built in out-of-box so you can play all your favorite Amiga and V64 titles.
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If you've been following our thoughts on this year's flagship smartphones, you know that we think that Samsung's offerings are some of the best. The Korean company really stepped up their game with the Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge, introducing a much more premium build, a cleaned up version of TouchWiz, and internals that are worthy of 2015. In that vein, the Galaxy S6 Active is pretty much identical. It has a really nice hard plastic body, the same less-horrible TouchWiz, and the exact same internal specifications as its standard S6 brethren. But it's not perfect, and there are always going to be compromises. Maybe fewer compromises than ever before, but compromises nonetheless… expand full story
Turing Robotic Industries recently took the wraps off a phone which — if it lives up to its promises — could be essentially indestructible and ridiculously secure. The Turing Phone is built from a "revolutionary liquid-metal" called Liquidmorphium which is stronger than steel and titanium. If that sounds familiar to you, there's good reason for that. Apple has been in partnership with a company which manufactures a very similar material for some time now. expand full story
Android One has arrived in Pakistan at long last, and does so with the launch of the QMobile A1 smartphone. In a blog post this morning, Google announced that consumers will be able to snag one of these new handsets for just 11,500 PKR (around $110 USD) starting today. expand full story
What Is New in Android 5.0 Lollipop
Source: https://9to5google.com/guides/android-5-0-lollipop/