Android 5.0 Lollipop

The Android Lollipop updates just keep rolling in, and today’s no exception. Sprint has just published support pages documenting the release of Android Lollipop for the carrier’s Samsung Galaxy Note 3 and Galaxy Note Edge smartphones…

Many users are already reporting that the update has hit their device, so you should go check System Update > Update in Settings to see if it’s available for you yet. “Software updates may be released in stages and can take several days for delivery,” Sprint says, though, so don’t get nervous if you don’t see it yet.

Google just yesterday updated its distribution numbers for Android Lollipop, revealing that the mobile OS just recently managed to pass 5% in adoption. Hopefully as more and more Lollipop updates are released (like these), that number will slowly start to make its way up.

Samsung expects record sales of Galaxy S6, constrained supply of S6 Edge at launch

Chance Miller Apr 8 2015 - 8:55 pm PT

Samsung’s Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge don’t officially launch until April 10th, but the company says it expects the device to set new records. Speaking at a press event, Samsung’s head of mobile J.K. Shin said that the company expects record shipments of the Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge (via Reuters).

Android 5.1 factory image now available for 2012 cellular Nexus 7

Chance Miller Apr 8 2015 - 2:18 pm PT

Google has just posted the Android 5.1 factory image for the 2012 cellular Nexus 7. The file is available from Google’s Android Developers website and comes in at 403MB. Google last month officially announced Android 5.1 and released factory images for the Nexus 5, Nexus 10, and 2012 WiFi Nexus 7.

Android Lollipop for AT&T’s Galaxy Note Edge, Galaxy S5 to begin rolling out today

Stephen Hall Apr 8 2015 - 9:50 am PT

Lollipop updates continue to roll in, and today it seems—based on tweets from the company’s “ATTCares” Twitter profile—that AT&T is starting to roll out the latest version of Google’s mobile OS to the Samsung Galaxy Note Edge and the Galaxy S5.

It’s not clear exactly how much this is going to help, but Google updated its Android distribution data this morning to show that Lollipop has just barely passed 5% adoption. KitKat, meanwhile, is still seeing increases as Ice Cream Sandwich and Jellybean lost ground.

@TheCheshireCody The Note Edge update will start today, thank you for your patience. ^ManuelE

— AT&T Help (@ATTHelp) April 8, 2015

@JeRrYFaR Hi Dave. The update for the Samsung S5 will be released on 4/8/2015. Thank you for your patience. Please DM any questions. ^DonW.

— AT&T Help (@ATTHelp) April 8, 2015

Android Lollipop still straggling, adoption barely passes 5% in March

Stephen Hall Apr 8 2015 - 8:03 am PT

Google has today updated the Android distribution data, and it looks like Android Lollipop—the Mountain View company’s latest mobile OS, which was released in November of last year—has now passed the 5% milestone in terms of adoption. In February we saw that number hit just 1.6%, and last month the data was updated to show usage at 3.3%…
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Android 5.1 lands on LG G Pad Google Play Edition as 5.0.2 hits AT&T HTC One M8 (Update: Galaxy S4, too)

Stephen Hall Apr 7 2015 - 9:49 am PT

Update: It looks like Android 5.0 is rolling out to the AT&T Galaxy S4 as well.

The rollout of Android Lollipop (and, now, 5.1 as well) has just been this consistently nagging leaky faucet, and today comes with the introduction of more software updates on even more handsets. As we told you yesterday, AT&T’s HTC One M8 should finally be receiving the Material-laden software starting today. But on top of that, today also marks the day that LG’s G Pad 8.3 Google Play Edition will begin receiving Android 5.1…
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Android 5.0 Lollipop to start rolling out to AT&T’s HTC One M8 on April 7

Chance Miller Apr 6 2015 - 7:01 pm PT

HTC VP of Product Management Mo Versi announced on Twitter today that the AT&T HTC One M8 will begin to receive Android 5.0 Lollipop tomorrow, April 7th. Versi confirmed that HTC has received approval from both Google AT&T to commence the update.

AT&T HTC One (M8) Owners! We just received technical approval for Lollipop OS! Thank you for all your patience, OTA to start tomorrow.

— Mo Versi (@moversi) April 7, 2015

OnePlus One OxygenOS full walk-through and mini review (Video)

Dom Esposito Apr 4 2015 - 7:10 am PT

3 Comments

OnePlus’ ROM OxygenOS is finally available to the public and today we’re taking a look at what it has to offer. There has been a lot of hype surrounding the release of this in-house ROM, but what makes it so special? Check out the video below for a full walk-through of OnePlus’ OxygenOS ROM…

OnePlus releases OxygenOS, here’s how to download and install it

Dom Esposito Apr 4 2015 - 1:40 am PT

4 Comments

OxygenOS for the One Plus One has been in the works for a while now, but today we have some great news. It looks like OnePlus has finished up the development and it’s now available for download…

Android 5.0 Lollipop w/ VoLTE support now rolling out to Galaxy Note 4 on Verizon

Chance Miller Apr 2 2015 - 3:08 pm PT

Verizon has announced this evening that it is now rolling out Android 5.0 Lollipop to its Galaxy Note 4 variant. The update carries the build number VRU1BOAF and comes in two parts for Note 4 users. AT&T and Sprint have already updated their Note 4 variants to Android 5.0 Lollipop. The update initially started rolling out in Poland first, back in February.

Android 5.1.1 existence likely confirmed thanks to Android SDK Manager

Stephen Hall Apr 2 2015 - 1:34 pm PT

Android 5.1 has only recently started hitting Nexus devices, and the general populace of Android device owners have still yet to see 5.0. But Google is already moving on past the latest 5.1 release, as evidenced by the appearance of Android 5.1.1 (API 22) in the Android SDK Manager.

Lollipop now rolling out to Sprint’s Galaxy S5 Sport, coming to T-Mobile’s LG G3 next week

Stephen Hall Apr 2 2015 - 12:10 pm PT

It’s almost time for Google I/O, and that means we’re likely approaching the announcement of the next big version of Android. As usual, though, last year’s major iteration is still just now making its way to plenty of handsets. Today we have word (via Sprint) that its Galaxy S5 should be receiving the update imminently, and T-Mobile representative Des has confirmed (via Twitter) that the update is rolling out to the uncarrier’s LG G3 early next week.

#Lollipop Update: @TMobile #LGG3 software update available on 4/7 for download #uncarrier pic.twitter.com/OOqhTe7VaT

— Des (@askdes) April 2, 2015

Lollipop’s adoption has been pretty abysmal, and only early last month hit 3.3%. It’s been about a month since those numbers were released, however, so we’re probably at or beyond 5% at this point. As of the most recent data, KitKat actually saw an increase up to 40.9 percent up from February’s 39.7 percent. It wouldn’t be surprising if we still see the Material-packed software still hitting devices long into the summer months.

Google releases new whitepaper detailing Android security upgrades across 2014

Mike Beasley Apr 2 2015 - 9:43 am PT

Google has released a new report detailing the security of the Android platform based on data collected from users over the course of last year. The 44-page document can be downloaded as a PDF from Google.

In the report, the company reveals that over a billion devices are currently protected by its Google Play store and accompanying software, which scan over 200 million devices each day for possible security flaws. Of all of the devices scanned, less than 1% had installed potentially harmful software, while devices that exclusively downloaded apps from the Play Store cut that number down to .15%.

Google releases new Android One ad promoting 5.1 upgrade aimed at India

Stephen Hall Apr 2 2015 - 7:50 am PT

Google has released several Android ads via the main Android YouTube account, but it appears that the company has now published the first cartoon Androidify-themed ad aimed specifically at India. The ad has appeared this morning on the Google India YouTube account, and features several Androidify cartoons playing what assumably is Indian-inspired music.

It appears that the ad is directly promoting the fact that even the low-end Android One devices are getting the latest version of Google’s mobile OS. “Things just got even better,” the ad says. “Android One upgrades to Lollipop 5.1.” The ad finishes out with a “Always the latest from Google” tagline, furthering the point that the company wants to fully support Android One in terms of software.

Check it out:

Thanks, Fedor!

Android 5.0 Lollipop to begin rolling out to HTC One M7 on AT&T starting March 31

Chance Miller Mar 30 2015 - 6:01 pm PT

HTC’s VP of Product Management Mo Versi announced on Twitter this evening that the AT&T HTC One M7 will finally receive Android 5.0 Lollipop beginning tomorrow, March 31st. Versi, in his tweet, confirmed that HTC has received approval from both AT&T and Google for the update after delays early on.

AT&T HTC One (M7) Owners! Great news, we've received technical approval on Lollipop OS. OTA will start tomorrow. Thank you for your patience

— Mo Versi (@moversi) March 30, 2015

Lollipop for LG G2 starts rolling out in phases

Zac Hall Mar 30 2015 - 11:58 am PT

Just as the specs for the LG G4 appear to have been caught in benchmark results, owners of the older LG G2 may be seeing new life put into their devices shortly… at least if you own the Verizon version of the company’s 2013 flagship handset.

LG confirmed last year that the G2 would indeed be updated to Android 5.0 following the rollout to the newer G3 device, and Verizon today shared that a phased rollout of Lollipop was underway for LG G2 owners. The upcoming LG G4, of course, is expected to ship with the Android 5.1 out of the box.
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Android 5.0 Lollipop now rolling out to AT&T’s Galaxy Note 4 and the Galaxy Tab S 10.5

Chance Miller Mar 24 2015 - 8:27 am PT

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More than 4 months after the update started rolling out to Nexus devices, AT&T has finally announced this morning that it is pushing Android 5.0 Lollipop to its Galaxy Note 4 variant. Earlier this month, Sprint also began rolling out Lollipop to its Note 4 model. The update for AT&T users comes in at 1.16GB and is based on Android 5.0.1.

Google rolling out new on-body detection security feature to Android 5.0+ devices

Chance Miller Mar 21 2015 - 10:10 am PT

Google appears to have started rolling out a new device security feature called on-body detection. Basically, this feature uses your device’s accelerometer to figure out if your phone is in your hand or in your pocket. If the feature detects that your phone is not in one of those two locations, it will automatically lock. Ideally, this means that if you forget your phone or leave it sitting on a table somewhere, it will lock and prevent nefarious thieves from gaining access (via Android Police).

Google posts Android 5.1 factory image for Nexus Player

Stephen Hall Mar 20 2015 - 10:24 am PT

Android 5.1 has slowly begun rolling out to Nexus devices over the last couple of weeks (and has been seen on Android One devices since February), but Google has today posted the factory image for the Nexus Player. Previously, Google updated the download page with links for the Nexus 5, 2012 WiFi Nexus 7, and the Nexus 10, and now you can manually update your new Nexus-branded Android TV set top box as well if you’d like.

Hit up Google’s developers site to find the Nexus Player’s Android 5.1 image, with build number LMY47D.

An early review of Samsung’s Galaxy S6 Edge has arrived (Video)

Dom Esposito Mar 20 2015 - 2:11 am PT

Samsung’s Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge isn’t due to release for a few more weeks, but it looks like one of the first reviews is already here. The video uploaded by BeginnersTech on YouTube explains the standout “Edge” features of the device, provides a closer look at the hardware/software, and offers some opinions on the new dual-curved device.

We initially went hands-on with the Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge at MWC 2015, and while the launch is right around the corner it appears that Ryan from BeginnersTech managed to get his hands on the device early. If you’re curious as to how this device compares to the Galaxy S6, check out our hands-on/comparison video, but you can find the early review video below…

Android 5.1 now rolling out to T-Mobile’s Nexus 6 with VoLTE support, more

Chance Miller Mar 19 2015 - 1:13 pm PT

Android 5.1 was officially announced earlier this month, with rollouts gradually occurring for Nexus devices since then. Today, T-Mobile has joined in and started rolling out Android 5.1 to its Nexus 6 variant. The update carries the build number LMY47M and is unique to devices with T-Mobile SIM cards inside.

HTC says only Google Play Edition One (M7) devices will be getting Android 5.1

Stephen Hall Mar 19 2015 - 9:55 am PT

If you’re one of the unlucky few who’s still dependent on an old non-Google Play Edition HTC One (M7), a new Tweet today from HTC’s Mo Versi is not going to be the best news you’ve heard. According to the VP of Product Management, the One (M7) has received its last official software upgrade with the first version of Lollipop and won’t be getting Android 5.1.

@kennymaclean Only the GPE version of M7 will receive 5.1. Our target is early April. Thanks.

— Mo Versi (@moversi) March 18, 2015

That said, if you do have the Google Play Edition of the One (M7), this is great news. Not only will you be getting the update, but Versi says that it should be rolling out in early April.

In case you missed it, Wednesday was a huge HTC news day. The Taiwanese company came out to announce its Uh Oh protection plan, revealed that its M9 flagship will be hitting stores in the United States from April 10th, and Upleaks says the HTC One “M9+” should be coming out sometime in the next month or two.

Update: Mo Versi says to “Stay tuned.”

I heard you all on M7 5.1 for Carrier versions. Many of the fixes are already in our current SW, but understand your concerns. Stay tuned.

— Mo Versi (@moversi) March 20, 2015

OnePlus announces CyanogenMod 12S, OxygenOS availability before the end of March

Mike Beasley Mar 17 2015 - 8:23 am PT

The official Lollipop release schedule for the OnePlus One has finally been announced. The smartphone maker says users can expect to see the next version of CyanogenMod for OnePlus One rolling out over-the-air on or before March 30th.

Meanwhile, the proprietary Lollipop-based OxygenOS is said to be planned for March 27th or earlier. OnePlus says that to prove it’s serious about hitting these targets, the company will give away five of its handsets to fans if it misses a single release deadline.

Android Lollipop now rolling out to Xperia Z3 & Xperia Z3 Compact

Stephen Hall Mar 16 2015 - 6:41 am PT