Android 5.0 Lollipop New Features List

Google previewed 'Android L' at its Google I/O developer event in June, and since then, developers and consumers have awaited the final version, which was finally announced on Wednesday as Android 5.0 Lollipop. The company also launched the platform lead devices for Android 5.0 Lollipop, namely the Nexus 6, Nexus 9, and Nexus Player.

Android 5.0 Lollipop is Google’s latest operating system update for smartphones, tablets and even Android Wear-running smartwatches. It's arriving in the coming weeks and the newly announced Motorola Nexus 6 and HTC Nexus 9 tablet will be among the first devices to run on it.

Android Lollipop comes with more customizations and control on the device. You can adjust your settings so that only certain people and notifications can get through and you can see it directly from the lockscreen.

First up is the ambitious Material Design. Remember when Google had introduced Android L saying that this next version will receive a complete visual overhaul for a consistent experience across devices? Well, here it is. Android 5.0 Lollipop features a cleaner, flatter design with a more fluid interface and animations.

We saw the revamped navigation and status bar in the Android L preview, and Google has stuck to the design but now the status bar can be coloured or kept transparent (depending on the app) and features refreshed status icons. The 'Quick settings' menu has also been revamped, and includes new controls like flashlight, hotspot, cast screen controls and more. Also new is the toggle for location services. The recent apps menu or task switcher now appears like a stack of cards instead of a list of screenshots of recently open apps.

Google explains the new Material Design for Android 5.0 Lollipop as "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."

The depth is not just about the way the interface is laid out, either. Android 5.0 introduces real-time generated shadows for interface elements.This should really help to spruce-up the look of Android, giving it some of the visual tactility of iOS 7. We have seen attempts at this kind of more substantive look in some third-party custom interfaces before, but they generally don't get it right.

Others end up looking busy, and there are often performance hits to any visual flashiness. But we don't expect any of that with Android 5.0.

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. 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 tp of the screen.

Project Volta is adding new tools to allow developers to more easily figure out how and why an app is affecting battery life, and tools to make sure certain tasks don't trigger when battery life is running down. The first part of that is called Battery Historian, which does exactly what the name implies. It gives a detailed history of when the battery was drained and what exactly caused the usage to help devs identify features that affect battery life too much. Next is the Job Scheduler API, which makes it easier for devs to choose when tasks are performed, meaning battery intensive tasks could be done while the device is charging, or the device will avoid updating apps when the battery is now.

On the user side of things, there is now going to be a built-in Battery Saver mode, similar to what you would find on a new Samsung or HTC device. Google's built-in version will scale down display brightness, throttle your CPU, and limit background updates.

The look of the nav buttons that are a key part of Android have been changed as well. Their functions seem to be the same as ever – back, home and recent apps – but the look seems to have been pilfered from a PlayStation controller.A triangle, circle and square do manage, strangely enough, to encompass what each of the soft keys are for well enough, though. And the extra simplicity of this is no doubt all a part of the Material look.

Google has introduced new ways for users to set up their devices with Android 5.0 Lollipop. Users can instantly set up their new Android phone or tablet by simply tapping it on their old device - though this requires NFC support. All apps from Google Play are also carried over on the new device, as long as the same Google account is being used.

Other new features in Android 5.0 Lollipop include the new ART Android runtime for improved application performance and responsiveness; support for 64-bit devices and SoCs; native 64-bit apps; improved hardware keyboard accessory support (including support for multilingual, emoji input, search key, and improved app and system key chords), support for 15 new languages (including Bengali, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Tamil and Telugu); improved accessibility features (such as text contrast boost, colour inversion, and enhanced colour differentiation); improved audio, video, and camera capabilities, and improved Internet connectivity everywhere and with more powerful Bluetooth low energy capabilities.

Google announced that Android Lollipop will offer new features to make it easier for people to use one device for both work and personal life. This includes keeping data separate, and getting help from a surprising source.

We've been seeing increased cooperation between Google and Samsung recently, but this is a big deal. Samsung has contributed part of its Knox security software to run as a core part of Android. It will keep work and personal data separate, and be standard in Android Lollipop. It will also allow Samsung Knox Independent Software Vendors (ISVs) and developers to reach a wider audience outside of Samsung branded devices.

It's not just the Android interface that has been given a refresh. The Google apps have too. Much more colour has been injected into Gmail, and the look of the app is both a lot cleaner and more modern.

The square avatar pics of current Gmail have also been traded-in for circular ones.It seems highly likely that you'll have control over what apps can send you these pop-up notifications. As otherwise they'll become very, very annoying.

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. Up to 4x performance improvements. Smoother UI for complex, visually rich applications

Google has put an emphasis on 'rediscovery', meaning that Google Search will now be better aware of what you were doing before. One primer Google demo'd is Search's knowledge of a user's previous Google Earth search for a location.

This query, which was performed in an app separate from Search, is then incorporated in the results you get for the same or similar search queries, and you'll be able to jump right into a given app and start right where you left off.

While not a core part of the Android system, Android TV is a huge development in the Android universe. It's a version of the platform designed for your TV, and it'll eventually be built into set top boxes and TVs. You'll control the thing with your Android phone, and will be able to play Android games, watch video and do pretty much anything you can with your Android phone.

Android 5.0 L offers native support for Bluetooth 4.1. Top-end phones have Bluetooth 4.0 these days, but what's the difference?Bluetooth 4.1 doesn't clash with 4G signal like Bluetooth 4.0, and it gives manufacturers much more control over the timeout times of the connection. This gives much more scope for controlling power consumption. Bluetooth 4.1 also improves connectivity, letting Bluetooth peripherals talk to each other more easily.