I admit that I am excited by Android Lollipop. Okay, you might think that it’s part of my job to be excited by the next version of Android and to a point it has been, but the last four updates have been nowhere near as exciting as Lollipop. Moving from Android Ice Cream Sandwich to Android Jelly Bean was less than exciting for those of us with a powerful, high end device because it was already reasonably smooth. Android Kit Kat’s memory optimization was great news if you’re using a low or mid-range device, but for the high end stuff, less interesting. However, Android Lollipop’s deeper integration between applications and the operating system, designed to make the whole experience more fluid; now that has me interested and excited. Oh and Project Volt, because let’s face it; no matter how big your battery, you always want a bigger one… Google is expected to release Android 5.0 Lollipop next Monday and we’ve compiled a list of there the manufacturers are with their own updates, starting with the Nexus branded devices: updates will be arriving for the 2012 Nexus 7 and later product, starting with the 3 November. We don’t yet have confirmation of when each device will receive their update and it’ll be staged, but if history repeats itself, my Nexus 10 will be amongst the first tranche of devices to be running 5.0 and my Nexus 7 LTE will be amongst the last!
HTC have gone on record promising to get the update ready for both One devices, the M7 and the M8, inside ninety days, so that’s three months. This doesn’t mean that your M7 will be running Android 5.0 Lollipop by early February but that your carrier may be preparing and testing the update. Still, HTC have nailed their colors to the mast and it’s encouraging that both their 2014 and 2013 flagship devices are going to get the update. Motorola were especially quick to get Android 4.4 Kit Kat released for the 2013 Moto X, quicker than my Nexus 4 at the time! They’ve confirmed that both generation Moto X and Moto G devices will be getting Android Lolipop, along with the Droid Ultra, Droid Maxx, Droid Mini and Moto E devices. We don’t have a timescale but if Motorola are as quick as last year’s release of Kit Kat, I expect the Moto X will be running Android 5.0 before some Nexus branded devices (looking at my Nexus 7 LTE).
The next two manufacturers to discuss are LG and Samsung. Neither of these companies have officially announced a release schedule, but the Internet is rife with rumors that 2014’s flagship devices will receive Android Lollipop before the New Year. I’d like to put LG and Samsung into the naughty corner for not officially telling us that their updates are in the pipeline; we’re confident that they are to update the 2013 and 2013 flagship devices (so, the LG G2, LG G3, Galaxy S4, Note 3, Galaxy S5, Note 4) and presumably the lower and mid-range devices too. Just that we’ve not heard this from the horses’ mouth! And finally, Sony, who have confirmed that the entire Xperia Z range is to receive Android Lollipop. This means everything from the 2013 Xperia Z through to the current Z3 range, including the Z Ultra and all of their Z-branded tablets, too. Again, we don’t have a timescale at the moment, but as soon as we hear we’ll let you know.