T-Mobile rolling out Android 5.0 Lollipop to the Galaxy S5
A number of US carriers have been pushing out Android Lollipop updates to their branded Samsung Galaxy S5s over the past couple of weeks and T-Mobile has now also begun doing the same.
From today, T-Mobile Galaxy S5 owners can grab the 900MB Android 5.0 Lollipop update OTA or via the Samsung Kies software package. The update contains the tweaked Material Design-esque Touchwiz UI, new notification and lockscreen features, and performance and the battery life improvements that we have seen with previous Galaxy S5 Lollipop updates.
As usual, you can manually check for the update through Settings > About phone > Software updates or by connecting your phone to your PC and using Samsung Kies. Alternatively, you can manually flash the firmware with Odin, if you so desire.
It’s great to see that carrier branded handsets are also receiving Lollipop in good time.
HTC anticipates the arrival of Lollipop update for the Verizon One M8 in early March
Just a few weeks ago, HTC announced that the update to Lollipop wouldn’t make its way to most One M7 and M8 owners within the company’s 90-day guarantee. Even though HTC had good reason to delay the update, this still discouraged many users hoping to try out the latest and greatest software in a timely fashion. But that didn’t stop the company from rolling out the Lollipop update to multiple M8 handsets only days after that announcement. We’ve seen the T-Mobile, Unlocked, Developer Edition, GPe and certain European variants get the update, and now it will soon be Verizon’s turn.
Mo Versi, HTC‘s Product Manager, took to Twitter to respond to a user’s inquiry on the Verizon HTC One M8 Lollipop update. In response, Versi told the user that the Verizon M8 Lollipop update is “in the lab,” and that the company is expecting approval for the update in the first week of March. We don’t have an exact date as to when the update will roll out, but at least now we have a pretty reliable timeframe.
Verizon may not be the quickest carrier with software updates, and HTC may have missed their 90-day guarantee, but now we know the company is working hard on the update. If you have a Verizon HTC One M8, you may want to start checking for a software update in the coming weeks. Head to Settings>Software update>Check new.
Xposed Framework for Lollipop released [alpha build]
Customization is one of the key features of the entire Android ecosystem. The way that user’s are empowered to change their own environments, within the bounds of a given Android powered device, has been crucial to Android’s overall adoption rate. Historically custom ROMS were needed to truly expose the full power of what the mobile OS has to offer. Flashing ROMs, though, can be a rather time consuming process. What happens if you brick your device? What happens if you running a Nexus device and just want extended functionality? This is where the Xposed framework comes into play. After rooting your device and installing Xposed, you now have access to a ton of a la carte modules that can increase the overall functionality of the device. The beauty of Xposed is that you can do all this without the need to flash and reflash your device when new ROM updates are released. Just install a mod, turn it on, reboot, and you’re done. Until recently, support for Android 5.0 has not been available.
This weekend the creator of Xposed, rovo89, announced and released the Xposed framework for Android 5.0 Lollipop. According to rovo89, “Many [Xposed] modules will actually work without any changes, especially those which modify the behavior of user apps…” For testing purposes, the newest version of Xposed is still in alpha. See it released into production once a spectrum of Xposed’s seasoned modders get their hands on it. Check out the XDA thread here for apks and instructions. Happy modding.
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Hold onto your britches, Verizon HTC One M8 Lollipop expected to be approved first week of March
Various variants of the HTC One M8 have seen their update to Android 5.0 Lollipop. T-Mobile and Sprint have led the charge here in the states while others, like Rogers and Telus in Cananda have done their due diligence. Stateside that still leaves AT&T and Verizon. AT&T recently pushed an update, but it wasn’t Android […]
The post Hold onto your britches, Verizon HTC One M8 Lollipop expected to be approved first week of March appeared first on AndroidSPIN.
Australian Samsung Galaxy Note Edge gets Android 5.0.1 Lollipop
The race is on across the globe to get Android 5.0 Lollipop out to consumers. HTC, Motorola, LG and Samsung have certainly upped their game this year with many devices already getting Lollipop. On the Samsung front we have seen Lollipop make its way to the Galaxy S5, Galaxy S4, Galaxy Note 3 and Galaxy […]
The post Australian Samsung Galaxy Note Edge gets Android 5.0.1 Lollipop appeared first on AndroidSPIN.
Lollipop update rolling out to the Sprint LG G3
The LG G3 was one of the first non-Nexus devices to get Android 5.0 Lollipop, though the update was largely limited to Europe and certain regions in Asia. The company told us a few weeks ago that Lollipop would make its way to the US G3 “soon,” and it looks like LG is upholding their promise. Less than a week ago, we saw the AT&T G3 get the Lollipop update, and now it’s Sprint’s turn. The update to the Sprint LG G3 is rolling out today, so be sure to check if you haven’t yet!
So, what’s new in the update? Obviously there will be a heavy dose of Material Design – a revamped settings menu, new lock screen – and much more. There will be quite a few visual enhancements after the update, but they won’t be as noticeable as a device running a “stock” version of Android, largely due to LG’s UI overlay. The G3 will now run on ART instead of Google’s older runtime, Dalvik, which will bring a good amount of performance improvements throughout the device. There are many more enhancements coming to the G3 with this update, so let’s take a look at LG’s changelog:
- Material Design for fluid animation, multicolored themes and 3D views
- More efficient battery use
- Android™ TV support
- Notifications on the lock screen and customizable options with prioritized notifications for events, reminders, messages and calls
- Updated Lock Screen features allow users to quickly access notifications and active apps
- Enhanced low vision and color blind capabilities for added Accessibility
- Integrated location menu enables users to easily activate GPS, Wi-Fi and mobile networks, while simultaneously checking the battery usage of apps running location service capabilities
- Enhanced Messaging with Google Hangouts™ support for SMS and MMS and a larger assortment of updated Emoji icons
- Upgraded Google Mobile Service™ apps automatically back up photos and video and can open, view, rename and share Google Docs and files
If you’re a Sprint user and haven’t gotten the update to your G3 yet, head to the Settings menu, then choose System Updates>Update LG Software>Check Now. Have you gotten the update on your G3? How are you liking it?
Sprint begins roll out of Android 5.0 to LG G3
Almost a week ago AT&T began pushing out the OTA update for the LG G3 that moved the device to Android 5.0 Lollipop. It is usually safe to assume that once one carrier starts, the rest will soon follow. The real questions are who will be next and when will it start. Today Sprint is […]
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Xposed Framework for Android 5.0 Lollipop now available
The popular Xposed Framework, which adds tons of customization options to Android, is now available as an alpha build for Android 5.0 Lollipop. Just the other day, developer rovo89 posted a teaser on XDA hinting that Xposed for Android 5.0 would be available ‘soon’. That day has finally come, so if you’re rooted and running Lollipop, get to it!
Before you jump in, though, just remember that this is an alpha build, so there are bound to be a slew of bugs, inconsistencies and even boot loops. If you’re new to the modding community, the developer strongly advises that you sit this one out. He explains:
Because there have been huge changes since the last stable release that need to be tested by people who know how to use a recovery, escape from boot loops and report bugs properly. I strongly advise newbies to wait until Xposed has been tested by enough experienced people.
Note that this framework will currently only work with ARMv7 devices. So, no 64-bit or Intel-based devices are supported yet, but we’re assuming those variants will get support sometime in the near future. Additionally, the developer has a lot of important things to say about this build, so I suggest you head to this page first to check out what he has to say. If you’re interested in trying the alpha build, head to the link below to get flashing!
Download Xposed Framework for Lollipop
Report: Android Lollipop experiences less app crashes than iOS 8
Android 5.0 Lollipop may not feel like the most stable operating system Google has ever put out, though a new report seems to claim otherwise. According to data from mobile application performance management solution Crittercism, application crash rates are .2% lower on devices running Lollipop than devices running iOS 8.
According to the report, Android Lollipop’s app crash rate is at a mere 2%, while the app crash rate on iOS 8 is 2.2%. The data also shows that iOS 8 has a higher app crash rate than iOS 7, with only a 1.9% rate. When talking specifically of Android, Lollipop’s crash rate is significantly less than previous versions of Android. Apps on KitKat and Ice Cream Sandwich both crash the same amount at 2.6%. Unfortunately, there was no information regarding the crash rates of devices running Jelly Bean.
This data seems to be proven true for previous iterations of each OS in the past. Back in 2012, we saw the same case. When comparing Android versus iOS apps crashing, Android versions 1.6 to 4.0.1 crashed significantly less than iOS versions 3.1.3 to 5.1.
No matter what side you’re on, a 2.2% or lower app crash rate is pretty good. Of course, a 0% rate would be best, but you likely won’t experience many crashes with either of these operating systems. Just remember, you might experience different results when comparing Lollipop and iOS 8 since all of this depends on which specific apps you’re using. Applications can crash for a number of different reasons: OS issues, device specific issues and many more.
Have you experienced any app crashes on your Lollipop or iOS 8 device? Let us know what you think in the comments.
Galaxy Note 2 to receive Android Lollipop, says Samsung Poland
![galaxy note 2 [aa]](https://i2.wp.com/cdn01.androidauthority.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/galaxy-note-2-aa.jpg?resize=640%2C426)
Samsung has been reasonably quick at bringing Android Lollipop to the Galaxy Note 3 and Note 4 and also looks set to bring the update to its two year old Galaxy Note 2, according to a tweet from Samsung Poland.
When asked about a leaked screenshot of the Note 2 running Android 5.0, Samsung Poland confirmed that the Galaxy Note 2 would indeed be receiving the update. However, no other information about dates or regional rollouts was given, so there could be a bit of a wait, if the update doesn’t fall through beforehand.
@immichal Tak, nasz rzecznik potwierdził dziś podczas #GZR, że GALAXY Note 2 otrzyma aktualizację. Nie mamy jednak dodatkowych informacji.
— Samsung Polska (@SamsungPolska) February 11, 2015
Samsung has already managed to start pushing out Lollipop updates for the Galaxy S5, S4, S4 LTE-A, Note 3 and the Note 4. Given that Samsung doesn’t typically offer updates for handsets older than 18 months, it is a bit of a surprise to see the latest Android OS set for release on the Note 2.
Hopefully this is a sign that Samsung is really ramping up support for its older handsets, a practice that will hopefully catch on with other OEMs too.
AIVAnet 