DJs Mobiles | Expert Tech Insights & Mobile News Since 2010: Android L Release

When will my device receive Android 5.0 Lollipop

Android • 10/16/2014 07:39:00 PM

Android 5.0 Lollipop has arrived, and with it brings a brand new user interface, the ART runtime, a power savings mode and several other features and improvements. As usual, Google's Nexus devices will be first in line for the update, followed by the Google Play and Android One devices. Next we expect popular smartphones from various manufacturers will be updated to Lollipop.

[NOTE] The following list will be continuously updated as information is made available through the manufacturer. Be sure to bookmark this page and check back regularly for updates.

DJs

Android 5.0 Lollipop is now official, with Material Design, ART, power saving and more

Android • 10/15/2014 11:30:00 AM

After months of using the Android L release moniker, Google has finally revealed Android 5.0 Lollipop. The fifth major release of Android brings several new features and improvements, along with a brand new user interface.

For Android 5.0 Lollipop, Google has redesigned the user interface of the platform in a pretty thorough manner. In terms of UI structure - little has changed, but most visual elements have been tweaked to utilize Google's new Material Design paradigm. In a move that aims to improve user experience and provide consistency across different form factors in the vast Android ecosystem, Android 5.0 Lollipop's Material Design makes the platform look more mature and polished than ever. Not only is the graphical user interface supposed to look better, but the system's overall response and fluidity have also been improved. The performance enhancements come courtesy of the new ART runtime, which is now the default one (ART was available as an alternative runtime in Android 4.4 KitKat).

		Android 5.0 Lollipop - New Features Detailed
		When will my device receive Android 5.0 Lollipop

Google has designed Lollipop to deliver a more consistent experience across different devices, and is expected to make the multi-device experience a modern and seamless one. It will offer a "continuity" feature similar to the one offered on iOS 8, which will allow you to "pick up where you left off", according to Google. While this should generally refer to a phone and tablet, this implementation may also be offered between Android Wear devices.

While the Material Design elements of Android L will offer a more consistent feel across different devices, different device types (phones, tablets, watches), will rely on different UI solutions - ones that will try to get the most out of their respective assets. For example, the tablet UI will show more options and content than a phone, making use of the larger screen. Meanwhile, the watch will stay away from displaying too much info, and will focus more on delivering useful notifications to its owner, as seen in the picture just above.

Android Lollipop will also offer enhanced notifications, which will be delivered nearly and separately directly to your lockscreen. These notifications will be more flexible to work with, as you will be able to interact with them directly from your lockscreen itself.

One of the more notable enhancements Lollipop is its battery saver mode. This mode will aim to squeeze out up to 90 additional minutes of usage time out of your battery. The power management aspect of the operating system will also benefit from some new data that's going to be accessible from the battery settings screen. Users will be able to see how much time the battery has left at their current battery level, as well as how much time is left before the device is fully charged, while connected to a charger.

A new guest user mode that's making a debut in Android 5.0 Lollipop has the purpose of letting you safely share your Android phone or tablet with another user. Naturally, the idea here is to prevent that other user from seeing all of your private content.

Android 5.0 Lollipop will be available out-of-the-box on the Nexus 6 and Nexus 9, and will soon arrive as a free update to the Nexus 4, Nexus 5, Nexus 7, and Nexus 10. The Google Play Edition devices will also see a quick update to Android 5.0 along with the Moto X, Moto G and Moto E. Other manufacturers will also offer the Android 5.0 Lollipop update to their devices, and we will be sharing their update plans in the days ahead.

DJs

Android L names teased in new videos from Google

Android • 10/14/2014 05:35:00 PM

Google has just posted a teaser video hinting at some of the possible names it would choose for the Android L release. Android L was first announced back in June, but we have still to find out what the final name will be.

The teaser video was released on the official Android YouTube channel, and shows a set of desserts casting to be the official Android L dessert. Those in contention are Lemon Meringue Pie, Lava Cake, Lady Fingers and Lemon Drop. Even Oreo makes an appearance for no apparent reason.

At the end of the video we see the text "there can only be one L" and we are left guessing which dessert will make the final cut. Interestingly, Lollipop and Licorice - two of the names that have been rumored in the past, are nowhere in sight.

Rumors suggest that Google may unveil their next generation Nexus smartphone and tablet tomorrow, October 15 along with Android Wear 2.0, so we will likely see the final Android L name then. We saw these devices teased earlier today in a few other videos from Google.

What do you think the official name of Android L will be ? Leave us a comment and share your thoughts.

DJs

Google Nexus 6, Nexus 9 and Android L teased in videos

Android • 10/14/2014 05:44:00 AM

Google is expected to unveil the Nexus 6 smartphone, Nexus 9 tablet and release the Android L release sometime soon, and all rumors point to an official unveiling tomorrow. Now some new ads have leaked out, showing the new Nexus family which highlight Google's "be together, not the same" motto for Android.

The First shows a gigantic smartphone, which will very likely be the Nexus 6 (Nexus X / Motorola Shamu). This device is clearly aimed at the user looking for a large screen device and will feature a 5.9-inch Quad HD (1440 x 2560-pixel) display, a 13-megapixel optically stabilized camera, the latest Snapdragon 805 system chip by Qualcomm. The handset will come with the latest Android L release.

The next two ads highlight the Nexus 9 tablet and the Android Wear 2.0 platform. See if you can spot both devices in the following videos.

Are you ready for the Nexus party? Which device are you most excited about?

source - PhoneArena

DJs

Android Lollipop demonstrated on the Samsung Galaxy S5

Android • 10/02/2014 06:48:00 PM

A video has surfaced showing a test build of Android L (LRW58J) running on a Samsung Galaxy S5. The source has also confirmed that the final name of the L release will indeed be Android Lollipop.

The eight and a half minute long video shows the Galaxy S5 running Android Lollipop and more specifically how the new Material Design guidelines have been implemented within Samsung's TouchWiz user interface. We can see that the Dialler, Messages, Memo, and Clock apps (among others) have been redesigned from the ground up in in alignment with Material Design. However many animations are still missing, given this is still a test build.

One of the biggest changes is the theme, which is now predominantly white, and a nice change from the bluish visuals. Lockscreen widgets are either missing or not going to make the final cut, by the way, though the heads-up notification that we've come to love are there. Another stand-out new feature is MirrorLink, which will allow you to connect your Samsung phone to your car's infotainment system.

What do you like most about the Android L release on the Galaxy S5? Leave us a comment and let us know..

source - SamMobile

DJs

Android L Release Developer Preview 2 released for Nexus 5 and Nexus 7

Android • 8/07/2014 06:07:00 PM

Google Nexus 7 (2013) with Google Nexus 5

Google has released an updated version of the Android L Release Developer Preview for the Google Nexus 5 smartphone and the Google Nexus 7 tablet. The update, includes Google Fit compatibility along with other fixes and improvements to the latest version of Android as its fall launch draws closer.

The update is available as new factory images for both the above mentioned devices. The LG manufactured Nexus 5 receives the LPV81C version number, while the Asus built Nexus 7 which was introduced last year gets the LPV79 build number.

Keep in mind that these updates won't be pushed to developer devices OTA, and require users to manually download and flash the factory images to their devices. If you own either the Nexus 5 or the Nexus 7 and have the confidence installing such updates, feel free to try it out using the following links.

Download Android L Developer Preview for Nexus 7 (Wi-Fi)
Download Android L Developer Preview for Nexus 5 (GSM/LTE)

Its important to remember that these are pre-release builds, so we wouldn't recommend using it on your daily driver just yet. It is a little disappointing that Google chose to release the developer preview on only these two devices. As the latest devices, we assume folks would like to use their devices on a day to day basis. For example there were reports that the First Developer Preview caused battery devices on the Nexus 5.

The final version of the Android L Release is expected to arrive this fall, and should be made available for a wider array for Nexus and Google Play devices. The company is also expected to unveil a new Nexus 6 smartphone alongside a Nexus 8 tablet.

DJs

[GUIDE] How to Install Android L on your Nexus 5 or Nexus 7

Guides Android L Release • 6/27/2014 11:50:00 AM

Google's next version of Android was previewed at the I/O 2014 and developers who owned a Google Nexus 5 or Google Nexus 7 (2013) got an early opportunity to test the build alongside the SDK. General users will be able to get their hands on the Android L release this fall when it is released.

While it is not recommended that regular users install this developer preview on your daily use device, you can check out our guide if you want help getting Android L on your Nexus device.

[NOTE] This update is only meant for the Nexus 5 and 2nd Generation Nexus 7 (2013) Wi-Fi models. Please do not proceed if you do not have one of these two devices.

[NOTE] If you are comfortable with fastboot commands, you can check out our guide on how to install Android L on your Nexus 5 or Nexus 7 using Fastboot.

[NOTE] This guide is based on a Windows 8 computer, but the steps should be similar across other operating systems.

[NOTE] Your device will be completely wiped when you follow this guide and all your data will be lost. Please ensure that you backup your data properly before your continue.

Requirements

A Windows PC
A working USB cable

Step 1 - Enable USB Debugging

Since this method will utilize Android Debug Bridge, you'll have to enable USB Debugging on your device, which is in the Developer Options menu. If you don't see that menu in your Settings, let's go ahead and unlock it.

Start by going to Settings, then scroll all the way down to the bottom and hit About Phone. From here, scroll down to the bottom again and tap Build Number seven times in a row.

Now, just back out one level and you'll see a new Settings menu for Developer Options. Tap this menu, then tick the box next to Enable USB Debugging and press OK on the following pop-up.

Step 2 - Connect your Device to your Computer using the USB cable

This is a simple yet important step. Ensure that you have a USB cable in good condition and that your device and computer are correctly and firmly connected through the cable. You can face irreversible damage if you lose connection to your device during the installation process.

Step 3 - Download the Android L Developer Preview Image

You can download the Android L Developer Preview for the Nexus 5 or Nexus 7 WiFi (2013) by following the link above. You will have to install the Android L Developer Preview on your computer in order to install the update.

Step 4 - Download and install the Nexus Root Toolkit

The Nexus Root Toolkit (NRT) is a useful tool that guides you through some of the harder steps of getting ADB and drivers installed. It even helps you flash factory images at the click of a button

Download Nexus Root Toolkit for Windows and install it on your computer.

Once the setup is complete, NRT will ask you for your device name and Android build number. You can find the device name (Model Number) and build (Android version) by heading to Settings > About Phone.

You can also use the Auto Detect Device + Build button on NRT and see if your device is detected.

Now you will receive a dialog box instructing you to enable USB Debugging on your device. You've already covered that part in Step 1, but you'll also need to allow your computer to connect to your device at this point.

Unlock your device and you should see a dialog box asking you to Allow USB Debugging. Tick the box next to Always Allow From This Computer and tap OK.

Now, NRT will prompt you to download some files. Just click OK on the next two dialog boxes to allow it to download everything it needs.

Step 5 - Configuring Nexus Root Toolkit

Now you should be at the Nexus Root Toolkit's main screen. But before you get to flashing the images, you'll need to make sure your device drivers are in order. Right up top, click the button that says Full Driver Installation Guide to begin.

From the next screen, just skip directly to Step 3. In here, take a look at the Recommended Driver Solution and click the corresponding option below it.

This will install all of the appropriate ADB and device drivers, so you know that your device will interact with Windows properly when it comes time to flash the update.

Step 6 - Flash the Android L Developer Preview Image files.

At this point, the only thing left to do is install the Android L preview images. From the NRT main screen, click Flash Stock + Unroot to begin.

On the following screen, tick the box next to Other/Browse up top, and make sure that I downloaded a factory image myself that I would like to use instead is selected as the second option.

A file browser window will pop up at this point. Just navigate to your Downloads folder and select the hammerhead...tgz file that you downloaded earlier (or the razor...tgz file for the Nexus 7).

Shortly after that, you'll be asked to enter an MD5 number to verify the file's integrity. This number will defer on your Nexus 5 and Nexus 7. You can use the following tool if you need help finding your MD5 number

Download MD5 Checker

Simply unzip and launch the exe file to find your MD5 number. Now Copy your MD5 number and paste it into the field in that window and click OK:

At this point, the file will be verified and extracted, so give it a minute or two. When it's done, a window will appear that summarizes the install options you've selected. Click OK here to begin flashing the update, making sure that your phone doesn't get disconnected from your PC during this process.

For some reason, Android L doesn't seem to want to boot up if you're still connected to your PC. So disconnect your USB cable at this point, and give your phone at least 5 minutes to finish booting.

DJs

[GUIDE] How to Install Android L on your Nexus 5 or Nexus 7 (Fastboot Method)

Guides Android L Release • 6/27/2014 11:50:00 AM

One of the highlights of this year's Google I/O developer conference was the unveiling of the Android L release, which is expected to be made available for Android smartphones and tablets later this fall. However Developers who own a Google Nexus 5 or a Google Nexus 7 (2013) got an opportunity to try out a Developer Preview of the L Release ahead of the public.

While it is not recommended that regular users install this developer preview on your daily use device, you can check out our guide if you want help getting Android L on your Nexus device.

[NOTE] This is a Developer Preview not meant for public use. As such you will come across a fair share of bugs and non functional features as you use this preview. Note that this site nor Google will be responsible for any loss of data or damage which may occur from installing this update. Please proceed at your own risk

[NOTE] This update is only meant for the Nexus 5 and 2nd Generation Nexus 7 (2013) Wi-Fi models. Please do not proceed if you do not have one of these two devices.

[NOTE] This guide assumes you are familiar with using fastboot commands. If you don't want to mess with fastboot. Check out this automated process of installing Android L on your Nexus using the Nexus Toolkit and Windows.

[NOTE] This guide is based on a Windows 8 computer, but the steps should be similar across other operating systems.

Step 1 - Download the Necessary Files to Your Computer

Download the Android SDK, which includes fastboot, the tool you'll use to install "L" on your device. Once you have it, make sure to place it somewhere you can easily find it later, like your desktop—it will be called ADT Bundle.

Download the Android L Developer Preview for your Nexus 5 or Nexus 7, from the Preview SDK page and make sure you download the appropriate .tgz file. You will have to agree to the terms to continue.

Once it's downloaded, place it in the Platform Tools folder inside ADT Bundle -> SDK. If you did everything right, you'll have fastboot and flash-all in the same directory.

Step 2 - Enable USB Debugging

Since this method will utilize Android Debug Bridge, you'll have to enable USB Debugging on your device, which is in the Developer Options menu. If you don't see that menu in your Settings, let's go ahead and unlock it.

Start by going to Settings, then scroll all the way down to the bottom and hit About Phone. From here, scroll down to the bottom again and tap Build Number seven times in a row.

Now, just back out one level and you'll see a new Settings menu for Developer Options. Tap this menu, then tick the box next to Enable USB Debugging and press OK on the following pop-up.

Step 3 - Enable Fastboot Mode on your Nexus device

Make sure that all of the above has been completed and that you have backed up any important documents, images, and messages (apps and contacts will be restored if they were linked to your Google account). This process will wipe your device and put it back to its original factory state.

When ready, power down and enter fastboot mode. To do so, turn your device off, then back on by holding the Power and Volume down buttons - this will take you to your device's fastboot menu.

Step 4 - Connect Your Nexus

Connect your Nexus device to your computer using your USB and place it aside. You will be performing the rest of the process.

Step 5 - Flash Android L Developer Preview

On your computer, head to the Platform Tools folder we copied the extracted images files to (from Step 1), then hold the Shift key, right-click in the folder, and select Open command window here.

If you've never performed any hacks or mods on your device, you'll likely have a locked bootloader, which we'll need to unlock in order to continue. In the command prompt, type the following, followed by the Enter/Return key:

fastboot oem unlock

Now you're ready to flash the Android L factory image, so type in the following:

flash-all

The process can take a few minutes, and when it's done, you'll see the last command line say Press any key to exit... - press any key, and unplug your USB cable. At this point, your Nexus device will be booting up (give it time), after which you'll be at the main setup screen.

You can now access the Android Developer Preview on your Nexus 5 or Nexus 7 and enjoy the latest and greatest version of Android to date.

Have fun looking around, and let us know what you think. This is a big change from the Android we all know and love, and I like it!

DJs

Android L Release Developer Preview factory images now available for Nexus 5 and Nexus 7 (2013)

Android • 6/26/2014 11:00:00 PM

Google has released a Developer Preview Images of the Android L Release for the Google Nexus 5 and Google Nexus 7 (2013). This is a pre-release version of the upcoming version of Android and may contain bugs, so we don't recommend installing it unless you have a secondary device lying around.

According to Google, "[the] image is not a stable release, and may contain errors and defects that can result in damage to your computer systems, devices, and data. The preview Android system image is not subject to the same testing as the factory OS and can cause your phone and installed services and applications to stop working." In other words, you can damage your phone by installing this update.

It is also important to note that not all the user features of the L Release are currently finished, nor is the build optimized for current apps. This is the first time Google has released a preview version of an upcoming Android release, which indicates that the implications for L are larger for the company’s entire development platform than ever before.

Download Android L for your:

Google Nexus 5
Google Nexus 7 Wi-Fi (version 2, released in 2013)

As the preview release is a factory image, it will wipe your Nexus device to factory settings, so before following the installation instructions make sure to back up your important apps and data.

Related Posts

DJs

Android L Release (5.0) announced - Here's all you need to know

Android • 6/25/2014 03:22:00 PM

Today during the ongoing Google I/O, Sundar Pichai, the company's head of Android and Chrome was on stage to unveil the latest developments from his team. One of the announcements was for the next version of Android, which is simply being referred to as the Android L release.

According to Sundar, Android L is one of the most comprehensive Android updates in the mobile platform's history. Here are some of the key features available with this upcoming update.

A new "Material Design" interface

To give Android a proper facelift, Google challenged themselves to "create a visual language for our users that synthesizes the classic principles of good design with the innovation and possibility of technology and science." It wanted to achieve a "single underlying system that allows for a unified experience across platforms and device sizes", regardless of their form-factor and input method. Touch, voice, mouse, keyboard - Material Design takes it.

See the Material Design in action in the following video demo

Android's new visual language is inspired by nature, physics, and the bold, graphic look of print-based design. Or in other words, a design based on the qualities of paper. When experiencing Material Design, look for material metaphors - "use of familiar tactile attributes" and "realistic lighting" to provide a"rationalized space" and a "system of motion".

The second foundation is motion. Google is being very specific about how Android has to move on your device's display - "All action takes place in a single environment. Objects are presented to the user without breaking the continuity of experience even as they transform and reorganize. Feedback is subtle yet clear. Transitions are efﬁcient yet coherent."

Finally, Google gave print design its mobile device 'renaissance' - "The fundamental elements of print-based design—typography, grids, space, scale, color, and use of imagery—guide visual treatments - create hierarchy, meaning, and focus. Deliberate color choices, edge-to-edge imagery, large-scale typography, and intentional white space create a bold and graphic interface that immerses the user in the experience."When was the last time you read a print magazine? Now is the time to buy a beautiful mag and immerse yourself in its pages in preparation.

"A critical aspect of motion for material design is to retain the feeling of physicality without sacrificing elegance, simplicity, beauty, and the magic of a seamless user experience."

What this means is that Google has abandoned mechanical, linear movement in favor of swift, elegantly dancing elements. Objects entering the screen space move at peak velocity, as natural movement commands. "A person entering the frame of vision does not begin walking at the edge of the frame but well before it. Similarly, when an object exits the frame, have it maintain its velocity, rather than slowing down as it exits the frame." It's safe to say Google and app developers will no longer distract you with unnecessary changes in velocity.

Another big push towards making Android in tune with nature is Responsive Interaction. This means the interface elements will react to user input in a logical, predictable manner guided by principles Google has broken down to Surface Reaction (instantaneous visual confirmation at the point of contact), Material Response (transforming materials upon touch or click), and Radial Action (actions will visually connect to their input epicenter - voice enters through the mic icon, keyboard through keyboard keys, etc).

Another way in which Material Design delights users is Meaningful Transitions. "Transitioning between two visual states should be smooth, appear effortless, and above all, provide clarity to the user, not confusion." - proclaims Google, adding that "as transitioning elements move around the screen, they should behave in a coordinated manner. The paths elements travel along should all make sense and be orderly."

To make apps look beautiful and appealing and make you want to touch them more and more, Google urges designers and developers to use animations beyond obvious ways. "A menu icon that becomes an arrow or playback controls that seamlessly change from one to the other serve dual functions: to inform the user and to imbue your app with a moment of wonder and a sense of superb craftsmanship."

According to Google, Material Design's color representation is all about "bold color statements juxtaposed with muted environments, taking cues from contemporary architecture, road signs, pavement marking tape, and sports courts." Bold shadows and highlights, unexpected and vibrant colors are in tow. App menus will, generally, adhere to a palette of three colors - primary, secondary, and accent. Grey text, icons, and dividers will use alpha values instead of solid colors for better representation.

In terms of typography, Android's signature Roboto font has been given a new look too - it's now wider and rounder, clearer and "more optimistic".

Android's new icons are "simple, modern, friendly, and sometimes quirky", as described by Google. Designers will be playing with symmetry and consistency of shapes to give icons an unique quality. Round curves will trump over sharp, dangerous corners. Bear in mind, though - "consistency is important". Thus, developers are urged to use Android's system icons whenever possible across different apps.

Quantum Paper

App designers must switch to thinking of each pixel (with the exception of system/status bars) as if its residing on a sheet of paper. Layouts will be arranged like paper sheets, which are joined by seams, moving and overlapping together. You really have to see it in action to understand what the philosophy is about. What's most important, however, is that Google has laid down strict principles on how different windows and menus should be behaving. Hopefully, this will lead to seamless, uniform apps.

Check out the following gallery which shows off the new Android L design in action..

(coming)

New Features and Improvements

Design is just one of the improvements coming to the Android L Release. Google has also heavily invested in improving the user experience in many ways of the end user

Search

When you think Google, you usually surprised to find out that Android L will brings some enhancements to search. For example, Google has put an emphasis on 'rediscovery', meaning that Google Search will now be better aware of what you were doing immediately before looking for something online. 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 searches, and you'll be able to jump right into a given app and start right where you left off.

Additionally, this new API will be made available to developers, so third-party apps will also be in a position to take advantage of this new functionality -- it doesn't have to be a Google app. This opens up a number of possible use case scenarios, and we look forward to seeing how developers make use of this.

Updated Multitasking

With Android L, Google is also changing things up when it comes to what we usually refer to as the 'recents' menu. Apart from sporting a different design, the new recents tab will now decouple existing Chrome tabs into separate, clickable, entities.

The new user interface actually looks more like how Google Chrome on Android manages its tabs. You can select whichever open app you want by selecting it from the stack. You will also be able to swipe away the apps you want to close.

What's more, Google is again opening up this API to developers, so if that kind of functionality makes sense for a particular app, devs will be able to take advantage of it.

The new multitasking user interface nicely fits into Google's Material Design, but it somehow doesn't feel as organized as it used to be previously. However it will be interesting to see how the functionality pans out in real world tests.

New Notifications

Another area Android L will touch on are notifications. Here, Google is improving the existing notifications functionality in two ways.

First, notifications are now even more interactive, and this holds true even when looking at those from your lockscreen. In Android L, you can expand or discard those (and more), and Google promised that algorithms will try and curate what you get served, in an attempt to keep it relevant. What's more, double-tapping a notification from your lockscreen will immediately redirect you to the app that triggered it.

Second, Android L will introduce what the community has come to recognize as heads-up notifications. This means that notifications can now be displayed in a much larger box, and will go beyond just notifying you through the tiny status bar strip. If you have an LG or Samsung phone, these are very much alike to their respective 'floating caller' functionality, which introduces a small box when a call is patched through, allowing you to continue whatever it is you're doing, instead of forcibly hijacking your experience.

Contextually Aware

With Android's L release, all your Android devices at home will be contextually aware of each other. For example, your Android smartphone will be able to detect you as its owner by checking for other Android wearables, like a smartwatch you may be wearing. This will allow the smartphone owner to quickly access their device. If such a device is not detected, the phone will revert back to its PIN or Pattern protection.

Google also demonstrated how an Android phone will be detected by a Chromebook, and if both are on the same Google account, the Chromebook will automatically be logged in.

Performance Improvements

Google has also been working on improving Android's performance with their L release. One of the new enhancements is that the Davlik runtime has now been replaced by ART. ART was initially introduced as an experimental feature with Android 4.4 KitKat, and is finally ready for prime time.

The new runtime is expected to bring Ahead-Of-Time execution of apps, so their code will be assimilated by the system upon install, which will bring notable improvements in performance over Dalvik, which uses JIT (Just-In-Time, meaning that code is executed when you start the app).

In practice, Google is reporting at least a 2x increase in performance, so apps will be now more readily available and also perform better. In fact, certain benchmarking suites (Chessbench, for example) indicate an improvement transcending 400%.

GPU performance improvements

Google also detailed their "Android Extension Pack" which brings several enhancements to GPU. Google claims that the update brings smartphone graphics closer to that offered by desktops and consoles. Mobile graphics have long lagged behind desktop, and even console graphics. Because of the smaller size of handheld devices, it limits the power of processors manufacturers can add to these handsets, which is inversely related with power efficiency.

With Android L, and the so-called Android Extension Pack, Google is hoping to close some of that gap, and get Android devices closer to consoles in terms of the visual candy they can produce.

The Android Extension Pack is a set of features that includes things like tessellation, geometry shaders, and others, which should help to arrive at more realistic environments, characters, and sophisticated lightning and reflections.

Project Volta

Keeping with tradition, Android L will serve as the proving grounds for yet another performance project, courtesy of Google. After Project Butter (Jelly Bean) and Project Svelte (KitKat), both of which were aimed at improving performance for both low and high end devices, we're now saying hello to Project Volta, which hopes to improve battery life.

Project Volta will mainly concerns itself with the various subsystems of Android, so stuff like Wi-Fi and cell radios, GPS, etc. will be more competently handled through new power-saving APIs. What's more, Google is adding a more sophisticated instrumentation to help identify power leaks called Battery Historian. This is mainly a tool for developers, but it should hopefully help them produce better-optimized code.

Lastly, and this one is rather big, Android L will finally bring a special Battery Saver mode to stock Android. Battery Saver can be configured to work only when your charge drops under a certain percentage (say <15%), or you can turn it on manually. What the energy-efficient mode does is simply limit your handset's performance by lowering processor clock speed and the display's refresh rate. According to Google, a Nexus 5 gets extra 90 minutes of juice with the new mode on. Not bad, though it should be noted that pretty much every manufacturer has implemented such a mode in their device by now. Google is a bit late to the party.

64-bit ready

Android's L release will be 64-bit ready thanks to the underlying ART runtime. This will allow future Android devices to bypass the 3GB RAM limit, and we will also start seeing devices with 64-bit processors make an appearance soon.

This should allow a huge performance improvement in future Android devices and allow mobile devices to be even closer in performance to desktop grade devices.

Bring Your Own Device to Work

Google was expected to address the enterprise market at Google I/O, and it did not disappoint. One way it's doing that is through Android L, which will now be a much better-suited device for enterprise users. Essentially, what happened is that Samsung contributed quite some of its KNOX security suite code to Android, and Google immediately implemented it into L.

In practice, this means that users with the latest Android software will be able to better separate their personal and work lives on their smartphones, as data will be separate between the two modes. Information beyond that is scarce at this point, so we're unaware if further security enhancements will be a part of this special new mode (probably).

Other Features and Improvements

While Google may have not had time to detail all the features and improvements heading to Android with its L release, we can expect the upcoming update to bring several enhancements.

Google teased all those little features of Android L in a slide which you can see below.

Burst-mode camera APIs
H.265, NDK media APIs
TV input framework
Low latency audio recording, audio patch-panel, improved AV sync, USB audio
Cast-receiver hardware-assisted hot-word
ART, 64-bit trusted execution environment
Volta, improved battery stats, predicted time remaining, battery historian
Battery Saver mode, time to charge, time on lock screen
JobsScheduler, multi-network
Bluetooth 4.1, BLE central and peripheral modes
HFP 1.6 SAP, multi HFP
Map Email
OpenGL ES 3.1 and Android Extension Pack
Personal unlocking, enterprise, lock to app apis
Document-centric multi-tasking
Lockscreen notifications, heads-up notifications, do not disturb
New quick settings, phone rotation lock
Improved game controller support
Closed caption, color inversion, color space correction, improved text rendering
Material theme, activity transitions, view shadows, view elevation
RecycleView, CardView, path animations, color extractor

Availability

The Android L release will be available to the public later this fall. Developers who own a Google Nexus 5 or a Google Nexus 7 will get access to the Android L Developer Preview tomorrow (June 26). Find out when your device will receive the Android L Release.