Android 5.0 Lollipop launched

The best feature of Android L is currently the least talked about yet most relevant to most of the conversation thus far.

And by that I am talking about stripping the last bit of Apps away from the Kernel or base of Android. All said apps can now update without the need to update the base.

Tad old but also talks about it: http://www.forbes.com/sites/gordonkelly/2014/08/06/stock-android-on-every-device/
 
Dolby said:
I know they can't force - which is why it was a wish ;)

Perhaps Google/Android could develop in conjunction with the makers before announcing to the public? Even if only with the current and previous flagship (S4, S5, Z1, Z2 etc). There must be something they can do to speed up the timing.

But it may just be a pipe dream
Click to expand...

That's a lot of work just to attempt to have a release cycle across multiple vendors the way Apple does with a homogenised group of hardware. And even then, you still leave people out in the cold (models older than 18 months). It also holds Google accountable for the stuff ups of the vendor.

Na, Google are doing well enough with their rollout policy.
 
Maverick Jester said:
But this has been around since Jelly Bean?
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The Launcher and most apps yes, but as far as I know, L is the 1st one where there rest followed suite. So from L going forward all you will miss is the kernel if your OEM does not support updates. GUI (incl animations) and the rest is now part of the play update service.
 
Maverick Jester said:
That's a lot of work just to attempt to have a release cycle across multiple vendors the way Apple does with a homogenised group of hardware. And even then, you still leave people out in the cold (models older than 18 months). It also holds Google accountable for the stuff ups of the vendor.
Click to expand...
I'd suggest that some greater accountability from Google over Android would be a positive thing. All the virtues of Android are Google's halo, while its failures are attributed to the hardware vendors. Nexus devices are invariably flawed (poor camera, subpar hardware, lack of availability, weird sizing choices) but they're held up as the exemplars of Android if someone points to an issue around rollout. Don't get me wrong, I think L is a beautifully designed OS but since I don't have the foggiest idea when it'll even appear on XDA roms for my phone.
 
Waiting for the Lollipop update is going to be excruciating. Really want that material design!
 
cerebus said:
I'd suggest that some greater accountability from Google over Android would be a positive thing. All the virtues of Android are Google's halo, while its failures are attributed to the hardware vendors. Nexus devices are invariably flawed (poor camera, subpar hardware, lack of availability, weird sizing choices) but they're held up as the exemplars of Android if someone points to an issue around rollout. Don't get me wrong, I think L is a beautifully designed OS but since I don't have the foggiest idea when it'll even appear on XDA roms for my phone.
Click to expand...

Google has taken greater accountability for Android over the past two years in particular. However, accountability =/= greater control over OEMs. And as shown above, on the models that they are directly accountable for, the rollout model is very similar to Apple's.

The failures of certain Android models are down to the hardware vendors- would you blame Google for Samsung's insistence on employing Touchwiz? It works for Google to have these allowances in place so that they can distance themselves from crap like that.
 
AstroTurf said:
No longer possible since the S4 and ADH...
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Even before that. I took my S3 in due to a dead motherboard (I also had flashed many, many custom ROMs, probably hundreds). Two days later I get a call from Samsung SA asking if I was happy with the repair and if Vodacom tried to pull any crap about liquid damage or tried to charge me anything.

It seems manufacturers are taking an interest in the networks' unscrupulous practices.
 
TJ99 said:
Even before that. I took my S3 in due to a dead motherboard (I also had flashed many, many custom ROMs, probably hundreds). Two days later I get a call from Samsung SA asking if I was happy with the repair and if Vodacom tried to pull any crap about liquid damage or tried to charge me anything.

It seems manufacturers are taking an interest in the networks' unscrupulous practices.
Click to expand...

Good on Samsung. I've been told by a few cellular repairers that the networks often return the device in worse shape than they received it in.
 
Maverick Jester said:
Google has taken greater accountability for Android over the past two years in particular. However, accountability =/= greater control over OEMs. And as shown above, on the models that they are directly accountable for, the rollout model is very similar to Apple's.
Click to expand...
The rollout model for updates to Nexus devices is similar to Apple's; the desirability, consistency and proliferation of those devices outside of the enthusiast community is completely dissimilar to Apple, and makes the Nexus line into quirky hipster offshoot projects for hardware vendors (a G2 with worse specs and half the price; an oversized more expensive MotoX; an 8" tablet with 16gb non-expandable memory, lack of contract options, etc) rather than a viable option for most people.

The failures of certain Android models are down to the hardware vendors- would you blame Google for Samsung's insistence on employing Touchwiz? It works for Google to have these allowances in place so that they can distance themselves from crap like that.
Click to expand...
You simply can't distance yourself from something you own and distribute. The buck gets passed indefinitely. Will the real Android please stand up?
 
This one's been coming for a while, but the experimental ART (Android runtime) software included in Android 4.4 KitKat as a developer preview is taking over full-time in Android L. ART is faster than the old Dalvik compiler thanks to its use of ahead-of-time compilation, but the fact that ART compiles Android apps into native code means it helps Android run across many different platforms, from ARM to Intel's x86. (We should note ART still supports just-in-time (JIT) compiling as well, expanding its compatibility with other apps.)
Click to expand...

Best thing about L IMO
http://www.androidcentral.com/top-ten-things-you-need-know-about-android-l
 
cerebus said:
The rollout model for updates to Nexus devices is similar to Apple's; the desirability, consistency and proliferation of those devices outside of the enthusiast community is completely dissimilar to Apple, and makes the Nexus line into quirky hipster offshoot projects for hardware vendors (a G2 with worse specs and half the price; an oversized more expensive MotoX; an 8" tablet with 16gb non-expandable memory, lack of contract options, etc) rather than a viable option for most people.
Click to expand...

Yes, because one of the functions the Nexus devices were meant to accomplish, was to decouple the device and user from needing a contract, to give you the freedom to shop around with any network you wanted. This hasn't worked, because of the networks decentivising prepaid offerings.

I'm not sure what the issue with the Nexus 9 is- it employs the same model as the iPad, at a lower off-contract price (the iPad Air and rMini were announced at off-contract prices, too). The Nexus 6 is Google admitting that the off-contract model is still not a viable one for smartphones.

The Nexus 5's only regression in hardware was the battery- the camera hardware is solid, but ruined by the software. I also don't blame LG for not wanting to put the G2's battery into the Nexus 5- what value would the G2 have had then?

You simply can't distance yourself from something you own and distribute. The buck gets passed indefinitely. Will the real Android please stand up?
Click to expand...

Google owns Android, not Touchwiz. Would you still blame them for it?
 
zippy said:
With numbers you know version is the latest. Is BarOne newer than Kitkat? BarOne you ask ? Exactly. But 3 is earlier than 4 :)
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Alpha
Beta
Cupcake
Donut
Eclair
Froyo
Gingerbread
Honeycomb
Ice cream sandwich
Jellybean
KitKat
Lolipop

See what they did there?;)
 
Suspect99 said:
Alpha
Beta
Cupcake
Donut
Eclair
Froyo
Gingerbread
Honeycomb
Ice cream sandwich
Jellybean
KitKat
Lolipop

See what they did there?;)
Click to expand...

I wonder what Google will do after Z. Run through the alphabet again?
 
Android versioning is done using numbers (or more specifically, API levels), not the alphabet. Hence why Android 1.x had Alpha, Beta, Cupcake and Donut as the various names, and Android Jelly Bean spanned versions 4.1 to 4.3.

The names are simply in-house code names that Google chose to theme using desserts. They could easily change the theme should they run out of the alphabetical list of desserts, but the actual versioning method would remain as is. :)
 
Maverick Jester said:
Android versioning is done using numbers (or more specifically, API levels), not the alphabet. Hence why Android 1.x had Alpha, Beta, Cupcake and Donut as the various names, and Android Jelly Bean spanned versions 4.1 to 4.3.

The names are simply in-house code names that Google chose to theme using desserts. They could easily change the theme should they run out of the alphabetical list of desserts, but the actual versioning method would remain as is. :)
Click to expand...
I think the new theme should be fruit. But I can't think of any fruit name that starts with 'A'
 
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