Google made available to the general public Android Lollipop, the next major version of Android, more than a month after Apple launched iOS 8. (version 5.0). In the first of these two parts, we go over the changes made to the earlier version.
But, the upcoming Android version, which some of you may have already received, takes a different way to performing an OS’s capabilities (or should, for that matter).
New bottle of old wine?
The more adventurous among you may have attempted to flash custom builds of Android from third-party sources if you don’t like how your Android device operates. Today, none other than domestic retailer Micromax revealed the “Yu” line of smartphones, which would ship with CyanogenMod pre-installed rather than vanilla Android. This is in addition to the fact that Micromax already utilises devices like the Canvas A1 that are a part of the “Android One” ecosystem. Some improvements that were not present in some earlier versions of stock Android but were present in the then-current builds received from third-party sources are now included in Android 5.0 (for example, the ability to dismiss all notifications at once).(which manual installation by you, the consumer, will probably void the warranty on your device). Depending on your preferred source of third-party build (if any) as well as its own version, you can choose which of these cute tiny adjustments are now included in standard Android. One thing is certain, though: You no longer have as much of a need to use an Android build from a third party (that is, unless your device already came pre-installed with it).
Speaking of indigenous languages, Android now supports more than ever the following: Bengali, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Tamil, and Telugu. But putting localization aside, what are the five enhancements—or lack thereof—that can affect how tasty this lollipops is? Let’s look at this:
1 : Near-cross-device hibernation
Your device has a lot of windows and tasks open, the battery is becoming low, and you’re concerned about how you’ll remember to open each of the open apps and tasks in case your device suddenly shuts off. If you can identify with this predicament, Lollipop has taken care of this concern. It enables you to carry over information from one device to another as well as across reboots, including songs being played, photographs being viewed, most recently launched apps, and recent searches. Please be aware that if you deleted the offending app yourself from the list of recent apps before turning off the device, this won’t apply. Also, although it will remember which open apps were at the time of shut-down, it is still unclear (based on initial impressions) whether the apps themselves will reopen in the same form (such as at a certain level in the middle of a paused game or at a specified message in your inbox).
2: A little “material,” with some substance
“Material design” has been extensively publicised as the most “visible” change users can expect in Android 5.0, and for good reason. Let’s consider another circumstance: You are using a smartphone that has been heavily used for a while with a lot of apps and games, and when you are completing particular actions in one app while many other resource-intensive operations are running in the background, you notice that the device seems to have suddenly stopped responding. If you can relate, Lollipop will provide you with feedback—that much-needed “reaction” expressing acceptance of your actions—but it can’t directly control everything in a third-party app. This is provided in a variety of modest but effective ways so that you can recognise right away whether your order or touch has actually been “registered” and stop constantly tapping the screen and wondering what happened to the device.
This has a very small learning curve and is rather intuitive. You will notice the difference right away, from a fluid motion signalling that you have reached the end of a scrolling list to a light glow upon selecting an item from a menu. Take the image below as an example.
These animations for feedback and responses aren’t just there to be eye entertainment. You’ll gradually understand that the device is made with a specific purpose in mind as you carry on using it as you were before the upgrade. After all, there are already sufficient skins, themes, and custom user interfaces available to add as much eye-candy as you like or, for that matter, to deceive others into thinking you have successfully installed iOS on your device. Expect to see more full-screen immersive apps and visuals in Lollipop as well.
3: Experience across devices
After KitKat, the most recent minor update, Android Wear was introduced. So, it makes sense to assume that the upcoming major version, Lollipop, will make use of the compatibility between smartphones, tablets, and smartwatches. Hence, if you have a wristwatch, you can now anticipate being able to get a glance of what is happening on your phone or tablet with the perfect amount of information, while still freeing you to explore the actual phone or tablet to have a better understanding of the whole situation. It’s interesting to observe that numerous Google system applications (such as GMail) were all individually updated just a few days prior to the launch of Lollipop, and at first glance, there doesn’t seem to be much of a difference between their most recent KitKat versions and how they seem in Lollipop. The UI of many apps, including GMail, Play Store, and others, is almost unchanged from when they last received an upgrade in KitKat, despite the fact that Google seems to highlight them while praising Lollipop’s design.
4: Notifications for “Firewalled”
While you are in a brainstorming session, the last thing you want is for your device to suddenly interrupt you, only for you to discover that it was a text message from your telecom service provider tempting you to purchase a different number with the same digits as yours. Even worse, you might have set a specific ringtone for certain people to use when they call you. While you are applying for an interview, you don’t want your phone to start playing the laughing baby ringtone while the interviewer is waiting for your response to a challenging question. You also don’t want a pushy telemarketer calling you right before you make a mobile app purchase when the session would time out if you don’t submit the necessary information right away.
Help is nearby. The new notification system in Lollipop gives you a “priority” mode of notifications where you can choose which interruptions should notify you come what may (of course, that is assuming your device is powered on) and which are not as important. This is similar to how a firewall checks incoming and outgoing packets to decide what should be allowed and what should be rejected. Also, you will be able to manage important notifications right from your lockscreen. If you know in advance how long the meeting or interview will probably last, you can set a pre-defined trigger to programme the priority mode on and off for a certain period of relative time (starting now) or based on the absolute time/day of the week, etc., as shown in the image. For example, you could allow only priority notifications while you are sleeping.
5: Increased battery usage
Your battery should perform better with Lollipop and charge more quickly. Of course, this depends on your usage habits. If your battery is towards the end of its rechargeable life, you may need a replacement battery more so than the Lollipop update. But, Lollipop does come with a built-in “Battery Saver” option that, according to Google, can help you get an extra 90 minutes of battery life. Thus, it won’t happen if you expected your smartphone, which would generally run out of battery throughout the course of a day’s work, to now (after the update) have enough juice to endure for a whole movie at night. Yet, you will start to notice a noticeable improvement along with estimations that you see in your laptop or notebook, such as how much longer your battery is anticipated to last without charging and how long it is likely to take to fully charge if it has already been charged.
But, Lollipop does come with a built-in “Battery Saver” option that, according to Google, can help you get an extra 90 minutes of battery life. Thus, it won’t happen if you expected your smartphone, which would generally run out of battery throughout the course of a day’s work, to now (after the update) have enough juice to endure for a whole movie at night. Yet, you will start to notice a noticeable improvement along with estimations that you see in your laptop or notebook, such as how much longer your battery is anticipated to last without charging and how long it is likely to take to fully charge if it has already been charged.
