Android L has been in development for quite some time now and the speculations about the latest Android OS has been all over the place at times. In the last few months, however, we’ve been seeing more and more of Android L released and detailed to the waiting public.
Now, Google has finally unveiled, with a bit of fanfare, Android Lollipop!
There seems to be quite a bit more than overhauled internals, a pretty new GUI, and Material Design to Lollipop, though little of the major details have been released yet. So we will hit a few of the major points of Android Lollipop.
Google is flaunting and promising that this version of their wildly popular mobile OS is not just for your phone or tablet. Google is poised to push Android Lollipop as an operating system for not just the classic devices such as your phone and tablet but as an OS for both your TV, your car, and, as Google is hoping, even more.
It seems that Google is taking a very seamless approach with how you interact with your mobile OS. With Android Lollipop, you will be able to pick up any movie, photo, application, or even search from a device that you didn’t start on. Basically Google’s intent with Android Lollipop’s ever-present design is that the OS itself is not hosted on the device but the device is a window into the OS. Picture Lollipop as a constant presence for your mobile needs, but now something that allows you to control all the devices in your life, and your phone or tablet is simple a means of accessing it.
Material Design is something that we have been aware of, and even subject to, for a few months now. The Play Store has been using Material Design for a short time now. Material Design is the touch interface that is incredibly intuitive and responsive. Apps and windows are organic in look, feel, and movement and, in a way, almost predictive in how they should act based on what it is that you want to do. Material Design is something that other OS manufacturers should take notice of considering that the old methods of design are becoming outdated. Material Design is a direct response to that fact.
A small score of other features are set to release with Android Lollipop. A sidebar of notifications such as messages and email will be available, with phone, tablet, and even your wearable such as the Moto 360. A power-saver feature unlike any we’ve seen yet will actually extend the usage time by upwards of an hour and a half. Notifications are quick and easily accessible, with modes such as Priority that allows only certain contacts to push through to your notifications, or extended quiet times for work or night. Security finds itself extended and deeper, though it seems even more intuitive much in the manner of Material Design.
There are a host of features that Google has packed into Lollipop that will best be seen for yourself. Though we don’t have a specific date for Lollipop’s release, expect it in the next few weeks for your compatible device!
