We’ve steadily seen Google’s new UI concept, Material Design, make its
way into our devices over the last couple of months in small KitKat
updates, but the full experience is something else entirely. A number of
Google’s stalwart icons and applications have been re-imagined and
there’s also a host of new functions. Material Design extends to all of
Google’s apps, services and products.
The full version of Google’s latest OS – which I’ve been playing with
for a couple of days – is quite a radical change in terms of aesthetics
and functionality.
Icons and menus have been redesigned to burst with more brightness and
colour. Icons appear flat, detailed and sharp. Swiping around the menu
and tapping icons triggers a splash animation that looks like you’re
gently pushing your hand into a puddle.
Google wants Material Design to be an experience that smoothly segues
between different applications and screens. Material Design seems to be
the perfect partner for productivity apps like Google Drive and Gmail,
which both benefit hugely from the redesign.
This is Google’s most user-friendly and intuitive OS yet, and the use of
Google Cards suggests it has big plans for its Google Now system. Cards
feature heavily in Lollipop; from lock screen notifications that can be
swiped away, to how calendar events and appointments are displayed.
Cards is slowly becoming the default way to interact with Android –
priority information, slimmed down to its most basic form and
automatically presented to you at the right time.
Battery saving....
Whilst most of the new crop of smartphones have a built-in battery
saving mode, stock Android devices were yet to join-in, until now. 5.0
includes a battery saving mode that automatically kicks in when your
device drops to 15% battery life, which should give you an extra 90
minutes of usage.
Whilst this isn’t revolutionary – and actually quite pedestrian in
comparison to HTC’s and Samsung’s power saving modes – it’s a long
awaited feature that many stock Android users will welcome.
The big battery news is that Lollipop’s efficiency means that your
device should last longer thanks to Android Runtime (ART), which is what
Google uses to convert developer code into a functioning app.
Google spent a lot of time investigating what was killing battery and
how to improve it, the result was to separate out mundane everyday app
activity and tell the device not to wake for them. Developers will also
be able to see what’s using up power in their app and adjust it
accordingly, so we should see more power-efficient apps hitting the Play
Store in the future. My initial impressions from using my Nexus 9 over
the last week suggest that battery life could be less of a pressing
issue with the new OS.
Reports have shown that the Nexus 5 lasts 36% longer with Lollipop
installed. Upgraders can also look forward to the Nexus 6’s
turbo-charging (6 hours of battery life after 15 minutes of charging)
and significantly improved battery life (around 8 hours).
You can also see how long before your device is fully charged on the lock screen when your device is plugged in.
Gmail and calendar
Inbox by Gmail doesn’t come as standard with Lollipop, that’s still invite only. But you can see how Ibox fits into the wider picture of the redesigned UI.
Gmail 5.0 now lets you sync up multiple accounts at once (Yahoo! and
Outlook), effectively making Gmail a one-stop-shop email client. So
you’ll never have to use multiple email clients to access different
accounts ever again. To add extra email accounts, go to the Gmail app
and press the drop down menu on the left-hand side. From there select
‘Add account’ and follow the setup instructions.
One of the major updates is to how well Gmail syncs with your calendar.
Gmail will now automatically input calendar appointments into your diary
based on emails you’ve received. So you if buy concert tickets or
receive an e-boarding pass, Gmail will scan that info and make a
calendar appointment.
Manually entering calendar details has been improved too. The new
Assists feature suggests names, times and places when you enter a new
diary entry based on your email threads and content.
The new schedule view (above) is part of Google’s attempt to make Cards a
bigger part of the Android experience. Appointments are now displayed
as one long continuous scrollable card to make it easier to see upcoming
entries. You can switch into schedule view by hitting the settings menu
in the Calendar app in the top right-hand corner.
Multiple accounts
It’s now possible to add multiple accounts to Lollipop, including guest
accounts for temporary use. This new security feature means that you can
avoid someone viewing your personal emails or texts, and you won’t have
to worry about your configurations being messed about it with. It also
means the kids won’t be able to accidently delete anything important.
There are three types of accounts that you can set up on Lollipop. First
the user account, which has full access to settings and apps. Second
there’s the guest account, which happen in sessions and anything done in
this time isn’t recorded or saved. Finally, there’s the profile
account, which lets the main user restrict how the device is used –
disabling certain apps for example. You can also restrict phone calls
and texts from other users if you want to keep that information private.
Whilst secondary users can download their own apps and customise their
profile how they want, any changes to settings made by the main user
will affect all users of the device.
You can quickly add new accounts by touching the profile icon in the top
right-hand corner of the lock-screen, or by going into the main
settings menu. If you want to add restrictions and manage each account,
go to the main settings menu and select ‘Users’.
Smart lock
Google demoed its new Smart Lock feature at Google I/O in June and it’s
now available in Lollipop. Essentially, Smart Lock allows bluetooth
enabled devices to unlock anything when it gets within signal. For
example, your Nexus 6 will detect that your Motorola 360 is nearby and
recognise that it’s a trusted device, which means you won’t have to
enter your passcode to unlock it. It also works on Chromebooks or
desktops running Chrome OS.
To set Smart Lock up, go to Settings> Security> Smart Lock. You’ll
first need to set up screen lock (in the same settings menu) before you
can start using Smart Lock.
Notifications
Your
notifications have been redesigned to be less intrusive – Google wants
to keep you informed without interrupting your workflow. Phone calls and
text messages won’t take over the entire display, instead they’ll
appear at the top of your device with an option to either ignore or
action.
Lock
screen notifications are also actionable without having to properly
wake the device or go into a specific app. If you’re concerned about
private notifications flashing up on your lock screen, you can turn this
off by going into Settings>Sound & Notifications. You can then
select whether you want to turn it off, show all or hide sensitive
notification content.
Apps
and games that continually pester you with spam notifications can now
be silenced, too. In the same Sound & Notifications menu, select
‘App notifications’ and chose the apps that are bothering you. Within
that menu you can either block notifications altogether or only allow
priority notifications through.
One
of the best new notification features is the ‘Interruptions’ option,
which lets you set when you do and don’t want to be bothered. Whilst
this has been a long standing feature for other systems and devices,
it’s a long time coming and welcome feature on stock Android. To manage
notifications, go to Settings> Sounds & Notifications>
Interruptions.
From this menu, you can set how long you don’t want to be interrupted
for (hours or days) and specific start times. You can also turn set
which priority interruptions can get through the temporary blackout,
whether they’re reminders, messages or calls.
When will I get it?
Lollipop will ship with the Nexus 9 and Nexus 6, which you can pre order
now. Nexus 4,5, 7 and 10 users should see an update coming in the next
few weeks, however there are reports of a delay.
HTC told me that it’s “committed to rolling out Android 5.0 90 days
after the software becomes available” to its list of recent flagship
devices. Sony has promised to rollout Lollipop to its entire Z series in
early 2015. Motorola, which prides itself of quick update releases,
will be bringing Lollipop to its Moto X, G, E and Droid series –
although it’s not sure on when...
No comments:
Post a Comment