Google recently
started rolling out the latest version of its mobile operating system Android,
5.0 Lollipop and it brings lot of new features along with this new version. It
not only gets visible changes but also major changes in terms of functioning.
The latest android version is already running on the Nexus devices and soon
other OEMs will also start rolling out the updates to their devices soon.
We
have been exploring Android lollipop for a while now and here are some of the
best new features that Google added on the latest Android operating system.
Switch to ART
With the Android
L, they have switched from Dalvik to ART (Android Runtime). The difference
between the two is very simple. Earlier the apps used to compile themselves
from the source when you launched them making them a bit slow to launch even on
the most powerful devices. With ART, the apps are stored in their compiled form
and a tap on the icon would launch them quickly. The difference is clearly
visible when using the device. Though the apps take up lot more space now and
we realised that the 16 GB Nexus 4 that was doing good for us is short on space
now. This explains why the Nexus 6 starts at 32 GB now.
Material design
Well this is the
most obvious change here. Android has been the same visibly since ICS came out
and the android L has got an entirely different design. It brings a much
cleaner and lighter design which looks really impressive. Instead of the depth,
the flat appearances and layers work really well.
New lock screen
The lock screen
on the new android has been considerably improved. Instead of being just a
screen to key in your pin and display time, it can do a lot more now. The
notifications are displayed on the lock screen itself and you can interact with
them directly. You have the option to choose what notifications can be
displayed without entering your pin. Double tapping on the notifications will
take you directly to the app like it would do in the notification drawer.
Battery saver mode
Smartphones tend
to be power hungry and even the devices with the largest batteries don’t last
very long. Android Lollipop features a battery saver mode which allows you to
keep your device running longer in desperate times. While the option is available
all the time in the battery settings, it offers the option to do that when you
are low on battery.
Priority notifications
We took a while
to understand how to make full use of this option but once we did, it turned
out to be very useful. Using the volume control will not only show the volume
bar but also the option of allowing all notifications, priority notifications
or no notifications at all. If you tap on none, you won’t get any
notifications, not even the alarms and reminders. In priority mode, you will
get notifications like alarms and the ones you choose as priority.
Smart lock
This is another
interesting option that they have added on the latest android. You can add some
trusted devices to your device. This would allow you to unlock the device
directly without the need to enter a pin or pattern when the device is in
range. This option can be found under the security settings as Smart Lock.
Search everywhere
Have you ever
felt lost inside the settings menu? It was very simple with the earlier versions
of android but with the newer versions, more options are added in settings and
you might find it hard to figure out where you found a particular option the
last time. So now they have added the search option in settings as well.
Guest mode
This is one of
the best features to be added to the Android Lollipop. You have the option to
add multiple user profiles on your device if the device is shared between
multiple users. There is also a guest mode for temporary users. The option can
be found on top right of the notification drawer.
Quick settings
Along with the
notification drawer, they have made changes to the quick settings as well. You
don’t have to tap on the corner or pull down with two fingers now (actually two
fingers thing is still here). You can simply pull down the notification drawer
twice to access that. The options are also more useful as compared to past
android versions with options like flashlight and data switch/monitor.
Adaptive brightness
Android versions
until now offered you the option of manually setting the brightness or letting
the sensor handle it all by itself. There was no adaptive brightness option,
something that was seen on Symbian devices long back. So with the AndroidLollipop phones, it finally gets the option. So now you can choose a base
brightness for the sensor to start with and adjust in its range according to
the surroundings.
Overview
The first thing
is that the multitasking view is now called overview and it looks really nice
with app windows stacked over one another. It is easy to scroll through the
apps and one app can create multiple cards making switching easier. Another
interesting thing is that even after you restart the devices, apps are retained
in the overview so that you can continue working on whatever apps you were
working with even if you have to restart the device for some reason.
Heads up
This feature was
seen on the Cyanogen mod based on android KitKat and was a really nice feature.
If you are in the middle of, say a game, the notification would appear briefly
on top of the screen and then go away. Even the incoming calls won’t take up
the entire screen if you are using some other app. And you can simply swipe
away the notification sideways and continue with your game.
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Courtesy : Kundan Srivastava
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