Nearly a year after the release of 4.4 KitKat, Google has announced the official name of its newest Android platform. Just in time for Halloween and sticking with its candy-theme, Google unveiled Android 5.0 Lollipop.
According to Google, Lollipop is their largest and most ambitious release on Android with over 5,000 new API’s for developers. With the tagline “Be together. Not the same,” Google reiterates their main focus on an open platform “for everyone to imagine, invent, make, or buy whatever they wanted.”
We have a brief rundown of a few new key Lollipop features: Material Design: A cross platform design that allows the mobile computing experience to stay the same, no matter what device is being utilized. Now content responds to your touch, or even your voice, in more intuitive ways, and transitions between tasks are more fluid.
Notifications: Improved notification alerts now allow you to view and respond to messages directly from the lock screen, and allow fewer disruptions withPriority Mode. Also, phone calls won’t interrupt what you’re watching or playing because you can choose to answer or just keep ignoring whoever doesn’t know to text you first, then call.
Battery: A new battery save feature extends device use by up to 90 minutes, displays featured estimated time left to fully charge and estimated time left before you need to charge your device can now be found in battery settings.
Device Sharing: Sharing with family and friends is now a lot easier with guest user settings. Now, if you forget your phone you can simply log-in to another Android phone running Lollipop and access your messages, photos and other phone features.
OK Google: Now the phone assistant is easier to use. Even if your screen is off, saying “OK Google” to devices like the Nexus 6 and Nexus 9 can quickly access the assistant and the information you need.
The newest generation Nexus 6 smartphone and Nexus 9 tablet will be the first devices to feature Lollipop. Other devices like the Nexus 5, 7, 10 will get 5.0 in upcoming weeks. Though not confirmed, it is expected that most high-end smartphones will be able to run Lollipop, eventually.
The full list of Lollipop features can be found here. Will you be installing Lollipop? Let us know what you think in the comments.