What are your impressions of Android L?

[lazerproof]

How can 5000 new APIs coming to Android L be evolutionary?? I think this will be a revolution in terms of new features/capabilities.

 

[smooth3006]

not thrilled at all with L atm. hoping its much different by release in november.

 

[scipper77]

not thrilled at all with L atm. hoping its much different by release in november.

It seems to me like the path forward is to offer heavy animations in L in preparation for 64 bit hardware and powerful GPU's that were talked about in the Google I/O. Kind of reminds me of when windows incorporated Aero. If your hardware is up to snuff, no big deal. If not this update will turn a fast device into a turtle. I feel like with the jump to Ice Cream Sandwich you needed ram to keep up and a ton of devices couldn't make the jump. L or maybe "M" is going to be the next release that really will need a new set uf devices to keep up with.

I'm not complaining, tech moves forward at a relentless pace. I'm just stating that this seems to be designed for future hardware and with the jumps I expect to see it's time to cut the chord on 32 bit.

 

[sarahragan2014]

It’s now been several hours since the release of the Android L Developer Preview Images. Undoubtedly, many of you reading this have already loaded the preview firmware onto your Nexus 5 or Nexus 7 (2013). However, not everyone is lucky enough to own one of these devices–and even if you have an N5 or N7 by your side, you may not be willing to wipe your data in order to flash test images.

In the time since release, we’ve been poking and prodding at the Android L Developer Preview firmware on a Nexus 5 to see how far Google has come with L and where there’s still room for improvement. Head past the break to see our initial impressions.

 

[grininja]

Any updates on your feelings with L?
I installed it yesterday on a Nexus 7 a have mixed feelings. Visually I found the old icons and new paper design inconsistent.

 

[MercerD13]

I hope the final version will be fast and stable... indispensable to me.

 

[banned_from_japan]

I'm excited still. Used preview and enjoyed it. I like where Google is going with Android. Will have to grow on people like iOS 7 had to grow on people.

Posted via Nexus 5 using the Android Central App

 

[mogelijk]

Any updates on your feelings with L?
I installed it yesterday on a Nexus 7 a have mixed feelings. Visually I found the old icons and new paper design inconsistent.

That was one of the weird things to me, when I tried it. It appears they aren't going to release the new icons or update most apps until L is released.

 

[ToddUGA]

I ran L for a couple of months on my Nexus 5 before re-flashing back to KitKat. I thought it was cleaner looking. And the settings menu was miles better than the old version.

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

 

[Vladabeast]

I hate the new app opening animation.

Posted from my LG G2

 

[Evan Rittenhouse]

Lollipop is actually supposed to support really low-end hardware, they've been working on doing that since KitKat.

 

[Evan Rittenhouse]

So wait, what is this new messenger app in 5.0? Is it going to replace hangouts? Check the screencaps:



Anywho, I'm really excited about the fact that 5.0 has all this new seamless stuff in addition to looking really good and being able to perform well on low end devices. I've been seeing a lot of animations on the new google apps on the Android website and they all look great! Can't wait for the new developer preview on the 17th.

 

[Ichi_Bear]

I'd like to see a dark Lollipop them for Super AMOLED smartphones

 

[stackberry369]

Certainly is time for me to look at other platforms, just one of the things that has bugged me for years is the inconsistent icon size for all the different apps which I think now just looks plain ugly.
Was hoping they would of sorted that when they done the new design.

Plus why can't we have an option to back up our phone to Google drive built in to the os itself.

Think this will be my last android phone unless they add more stuff to L.

Posted via Android Central App

what platform are you gonna go to?

Posted via Android Central App

 

[icanfly77]

I am disappointed.. The one feature I wanted to see was cloud based backups for apps. The one thing been missing from Android for years and IMO has much more priority than redesigning the UI etc..

I upgrade every two years, sometimes I need to restore.. I have multiple devices.. What I want to see is
a) When I get a new phone or have to restore it will restore my apps with their data
b) If I have the same app on both tablet and phone I want the app data to be synced between devices.

Cmon Apple has had a) for years now.. Google seem to miss some of the most useful things for so long. Remember when you couldn't zoom in on emails in the gmail app? We got it finally but after so long a wait.. This seems to be the same story. You want to encourage people to keep upgrading by making it easier to keep apps with new data on new devices makes it so much easier..

Thumbs down for me..

 

[clemson77on]

I am disappointed.. The one feature I wanted to see was cloud based backups for apps. The one thing been missing from Android for years and IMO has much more priority than redesigning the UI etc..

I upgrade every two years, sometimes I need to restore.. I have multiple devices.. What I want to see is
a) When I get a new phone or have to restore it will restore my apps with their data
b) If I have the same app on both tablet and phone I want the app data to be synced between devices.

Cmon Apple has had a) for years now.. Google seem to miss some of the most useful things for so long. Remember when you couldn't zoom in on emails in the gmail app? We got it finally but after so long a wait.. This seems to be the same story. You want to encourage people to keep upgrading by making it easier to keep apps with new data on new devices makes it so much easier..

Thumbs down for me..

This is on the list of new features. Tap & go: instant set up of your new Android phone or tablet by simply tapping it to your old one (requires NFC)

 

[someguy01234]

The inclusion of flappy bird might be a deal killer for me.

 

[bahamut zero]

Is it me or the dialer app in android 5.0 is not snappy enough?

 

[gab_gagnon]

Is it just my Nexus that has a huge bug when plugged? When I want to turn the screen back on when plugged, the screen flashes and I can't do anything unless the phone is unplugged.

 

[zkSharks]

So wait, what is this new messenger app in 5.0? Is it going to replace hangouts? Check the screencaps:

View attachment 141232View attachment 141233

Anywho, I'm really excited about the fact that 5.0 has all this new seamless stuff in addition to looking really good and being able to perform well on low end devices. I've been seeing a lot of animations on the new google apps on the Android website and they all look great! Can't wait for the new developer preview on the 17th.

A Google spokesperson confirmed to AP that it's a standalone SMS/MMS client and will remain separate from Hangouts. For those looking to see it in action, the second image is from the end of this screen recording: https://android.com/new/videos/phones-animation.webm

Is it me or the dialer app in android 5.0 is not snappy enough?

Animation speed or input response? I think I'll be dialing up the animation speed a bit.