Google’s latest Android operating system ‘Lollipop’ is being rolled out today to an array of devices including Nexus and Motorola. Google I/O 2014 saw Google’s SVP of Android and Chrome, Sundar Pichai, announcing the Android L (now named as Lollipop) along with ‘Material design’ and the launch of 5000 APIs for developers.
Now that we are finally ready for the sweat treat of Lollipop, lets see what it has in store for us that makes life indeed better.
- Great UI: Material Design is brilliant interface through fluid tactile surfaces, bold graphic design, fluid motion, if this sounds too jargonish, just think of Material Design as a digital version of paper & pen, that’s how real it gets.
- Try this sample game to experience the difference.
- Material Design focuses on the fundamentals of good graphic design, using strong colors and bold typography to create clear hierarchy and focus attention on content, so reading and using your device running Lollipop is going to be more engaging experience.
- Continuity on multiscreen: You can now pick up tasks from where you left off across Android devices! Songs, photos, search..can be immediately accessed from another device running Android.
- Multiple Device Compatibility: Android Lollipop is built to work across not just mobile and tablets, but across Car, Wear, TV. It has been designed just for you, based on what you need and when you need an information with the right context.
- Better Camera functions: Lollipop makes way to support camera features like burst mode and fine settings tuning. it will also enable options to capture full resolution frames (30fps) and shoot in raw formats like YUV and Bayer RAW.
- Better Battery: The announcement of Project Volta during I/O 14 paved way for developers to be more cognizant of how apps drain battery, this obviously has lead to Lollipop promising better battery life. Plus, the new runtime called ART is also meant to make the devices more efficient, faster and still conserve battery.
- Improved Security and guest mode: No more worrying of someone swiping your picture gallery and ‘accidentally’ seeing your personal clicks. Lollipop has guest mode that takes care of this problem, besides, there’s Android Smart Lock to secure your phone or tablet by pairing it with a trusted device like your wearable or car. Google has enforced the SELinux security module for all apps to give better protection against vulnerabilities and malware.
- Notification reimagined: This is really convenient, now you can view and respond to messages directly from lock screen, choose to hide notifications for private or sensitive content. Notification control has very advanced options for avoiding interruptions while playing games or watching a video!
- Better use of NFC: If you are switching / upgrading between Android devices such as phones or tablets, then the NFC lets you tap and setup your new devices instantly including apps from your Google Play.
- All your favorite apps, now with a great new look: The Wall Street Journal, Tumblr and BuzzFeed have already upgraded to material design. Its only a matter of time until all of the apps move to the new design format.
- Google’s own apps reimagined: Email goes ‘inbox’, Calendar gets material design, Gmail 5.0, Google Fit, many more to come. The rise of Android and the introduction of Material Design is making our life seamless and has added more purpose to having multiple connected devices.
So what are you waiting for? Let the world’s most favorite operating system delight you. Check for an upgrade on your phone now!
A Happy & Sweet Lollipop to you!
p.s – Sharing this article on your social media makes the Android juggle the phone faster, try it yourself!
