Android 5.0: Lollipop

Android Family's New member

A new member has joined the google android's family and its name is LOLLIPOP-More powerful than its ancestors and most ambitious release on android with over 5000 new APIs for developers.Lollipop is made for a world where moving throughout the day means interacting with a bunch of different screens—from phones and tablets to TVs. With more devices connecting together, your expectation is that things just work. With Lollipop, it’s easier than ever to pick up where you left off, so the songs, photos, apps, and even recent searches from one of your Android devices can be immediately enjoyed across all the other ones.

Lollipop Forest

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Release Date

If you're buying a Nexus 6 or Nexus 9, you can get Android Lollipop from November 3rd (if you're in the UK, you'll be able to pre-order in November and receive your phablet or tablet within a few weeks). But if you already have a Nexus 5, 7 or 10 you should get it in a free over-the-air update in the "coming weeks" according to Google's blog.

Motorola

If you have a Moto G or Moto X (all generations), a Moto E or various other smartphones, Motorola has said Lollipop will be available later this year. See Motorola's upgrade page for details.

Sony

Sony has confirmed that it will bring Android 5.0 Lollipop to the entire Xperia Z range (smartphones and tablets) which is quite impressive as some are pretty old now. Upgrades will start with the core Xperia Z3 and Xperia Z2 series in early 2015. See Sony's blog for more details.

HTC

If you have an HTC One M8 or M7, there's good news since the company has said it will deliver the update within 90 days of getting the final version of Android L from Google. All the other 'One' smartphones will get the update, but it will be after those first two devices.

Samsung

Samsung hasn't yet said which devices will get Lollipop, nor when, but all current Galaxy smartphones should be updated, and quite possibly some older ones. The issue is that Samsung has never been quick to roll out Android updates, so don't hold your breath.

LG

LG is another firm which has remained tight-lipped about Lollipop rollouts, but G3 owners can probably rest easy knowing one is on the way. G2 owners might be pleasantly surprised, too.

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All Features List

• Material Design

  A bold, colorful, and responsive UI design for consistent, intuitive experiences across all your devices
  
  • Responsive, natural motion, realistic lighting and shadows, and familiar visual elements make it easier to navigate your device
  • Vivid new colors, typography, and edge-to-edge imagery help to focus your attention

• Notifications

  New ways to control when and how you receive messages - only get interrupted when you want to be
  
  • View and respond to messages directly from your lock screen. Includes the ability to hide sensitive content for these notifications
  • For fewer disruptions, turn on Priority mode via your device’s volume button so only certain people and notifications get through. Or schedule recurring downtime like 10pm to 8am when only Priority notifications can get through
  • With Lollipop, incoming phone calls won’t interrupt what you’re watching or playing. You can choose to answer the call or just keep doing what you’re doing
  • Control the notifications triggered by your apps; hide sensitive content and prioritize or turn off the app’s notifications entirely
  • More intelligent ranking of notifications based on who they’re from and the type of communication. See all your notifications in one place by tapping the top of the screen

• Battery

  Power for the long haul
  
• A battery saver feature which extends device use by up to 90 mins
• Estimated time left to fully charge is displayed when your device is plugged in
• Estimated time left on your device before you need to charge again can now be found in battery settings

Security

Keep your stuff safe and sound

• New devices come with encryption automatically turned on to help protect data on lost or stolen devices
• SELinux enforcing for all applications means even better protection against vulnerabilities and malware
• Use Android Smart Lock to secure your phone or tablet by pairing it with a trusted device like your wearable or even your car

• Device Sharing
• More flexible sharing with family and friends
  
  • Multiple users for phones. If you forget your phone, you still can call any of your friends (or access any of your messages, photos etc.) by simply logging into another Android phone running Lollipop. Also perfect for families who want to share a phone, but not their stuff
  • Guest user for phones and tablets means you can lend your device and not your stuff
  • Screen pinning: pin your screen so another user can access just that content without messing with your other stuff

• New Quick Settings

  Get to the most frequently used settings with just two swipes down from the top of the screen
  
  • New handy controls like flashlight, hotspot, screen rotation and cast screen controls
  • Easier on/off toggles for Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and location
  • Manually adjust your brightness for certain conditions. Then, adaptive brightness will kick in based on ambient lighting

• Connectivity

  A better internet connection everywhere and more powerful Bluetooth low energy capabilities
  
  • Improved network handoffs resulting in limited interruption in connectivity. For example, continue your video chat or VoIP calls without interruption as you leave the house and switch from your home Wi-Fi back to cellular
  • Improved network selection logic so that your device connects only if there is a verified internet connection on Wi-Fi
  • Power-efficient scanning for nearby Bluetooth low energy (“BLE”) devices like wearables or beacons
  • New BLE peripheral mode

• Runtime and Performance

  A faster, smoother and more powerful computing experience
  
  • ART, an entirely new Android runtime, improves application performance and responsiveness
    • Up to 4x performance improvements
    • Smoother UI for complex, visually rich applications
    • Compacting backgrounded apps and services so you can do more at once
  • Support for 64 bit devices, like the Nexus 9, brings desktop class CPUs to Android
    • Support for 64-bit SoCs using ARM, x86, and MIPS-based cores
    • Shipping 64-bit native apps like Chrome, Gmail, Calendar, Google Play Music, and more
    • Pure Java language apps run as 64-bit apps automatically

• Media

  Bolder graphics and improved audio, video, and camera capabilities
  
  • Lower latency audio input ensuring that music and communication applications that have strict delay requirements provide an amazing realtime experience
  • Multi-channel audio stream mixing means professional audio applications can now mix up to eight channels including 5.1 and 7.1 channels
  • USB Audio support means you can plug USB microphones, speakers, and a myriad of other USB audio devices like amplifiers and mixers into your Android device
  • OpenGL ES 3.1 and Android extension pack brings Android to the forefront of mobile graphics putting it on par with desktop and console class performance
  • A range of new professional photography features for Android Lollipop that let you
    • Capture full resolution frames around 30 fps
    • Support raw formats like YUV and Bayer RAW
    • Control capture settings for the sensor, lens, and flash per individual frame
    • Capture metadata like noise models and optical information
  • State of the art video technology with support for HEVC to allow for UHD 4K video playback, tunneled video for high quality video playback on Android TV and improved HLS support for streaming

• OK Google

  Easy access to information and performing tasks
  
  • Even if your screen is off, you can say "OK Google" on devices with digital signal processing support such as Nexus 6 and Nexus 9
  • Talk to Google on the go to get quick answers, send a text, get directions and more

• Android TV

  Support for living room devices
  
  • User interface adapted for the living room
  • Less browsing, more watching with personalized recommendations for content like movies and TV shows
  • Voice search for Google Play, YouTube and supported apps so you can just say what you want to see
  • Console-style Android gaming on your TV with a gamepad
  • Cast your favorite entertainment apps to your big screen with Google Cast support for Android TV devices

• Accessibility

  Enhanced low vision and color blind capabilities
  
  • Boost text contrast or invert colors to improve legibility
  • Adjust display to improve color differentiation

• Now in 68+ languages

  15 new additions
  
  • Basque, Bengali, Burmese, Chinese (Hong Kong), Galician, Icelandic, Kannada, Kyrgyz, Macedonian, Malayalam, Marathi, Nepali, Sinhala, Tamil, Telugu

• Device set up

  Get up and running in no-time
  
  • Tap & go: instant set up of your new Android phone or tablet by simply tapping it to your old one (requires NFC)
  • Whenever you get a new Android phone or tablet, you can bring over your apps from Google Play automatically from any of your old Android devices

• And a whole lot more

  • Tap & pay: easily manage multiple payment apps by quickly switching between them
  • Print preview and page range support
  • Revamped display for battery, Bluetooth, data usage, and Wi-Fi settings and new search functionality in settings
  • New device level feedback for Nexus devices in Settings > about phone > send feedback
  • Easier sharing with
    • Improved ranking of your options within the share menu
    • Android Beam: lets you share a file with someone nearby by gently tapping the two devices together
  • Where supported by the hardware, your device will wake up as soon as you pick it up or tap the screen twice
  • Improved hardware keyboard accessory support including support for multilingual, emoji input, search key, and improved app and system key chords