Google, HTC, Samsung and Sony
Android Lollipop is now out in the open and it includes a smorgasbord of new features, a visual overhaul and numerous under-the-hood improvements to make if faster, more efficient and lighter on your battery.
While it’s now been launched by Google it’s down to individual manufacturers to port it to their devices, so chances are you’re still waiting to get it on your phone and tablet (unless you’ve gone full Nexus already) and some companies haven’t yet been all that forthcoming with details of when they’ll bring it to their phones and tablets.
But we do know some things and we can take educated guesses at others, so read on for all the information and theories on when you might see Android Lollipop on your device
Read our hands on: Android 5.0 Lollipop review
Latest update: Sony announced at CES 2015 that the Xperia Z3 range will begin getting the Android 5.0 Lollipop update from February.
Google
During the launch of the Nexus 6, Android Lollipop was officially confirmed as the name for Android 5.0.
The Nexus 6 and Nexus 9 are Google’s first devices to come with Android Lollipop, but these aren’t the only Nexus products which will get the latest sweet treat.
A recent announcement by the official Android Twitter account revealed that the Android 5.0 Lollipop upgrade is now being rolled out to the Nexus 5, Nexus 7 Wi-Fi (both the 2012 and 2013 versions) and the Nexus 10.
The rolling out of the update will be done in waves, which will take around three weeks to reach every customer, so by this point everyone should have it.
Asus has announced that Android 5.0 Lollipop will be available right now for both generations of its Nexus 7 tablets, though just the Wi-Fi only models for now.
The Nexus 4 has also now been updated, but the roll out has not yet begun for the cellular versions of the Nexus 7 2012 and 2013. Those tablets should see an update later on, though Google has not indicated when this will be.
Any Nexus devices older than the ones we’ve already mentioned are all but guaranteed not to get it, meaning that Nexus S owners are plum out of luck. Google has also confirmed that the Galaxy Nexus will not receive the update.
HTC
HTC has been more forthcoming with its update plans than most manufacturers and it’s no surprise given how quickly it plans to bring the update to users. In a statement the company originally said:
"HTC is excited about the new features in Android Lollipop and we can’t wait to share them with our customers. We are committed to updating our flagship HTC One family as fast as possible.
"We will begin rolling out updates to the HTC One (M8) and HTC One (M7) in regions worldwide within 90 days of receiving final software from Google, followed shortly thereafter by other One family members and select devices."
Sure enough, on November 4 HTC’s Twitter account announced that it has now got the Android 5.0 Lollipop code and that it will make good on its promise to update the HTC One M8 and HTC One M7 within 90 days.
Doing the mathematics that means the company’s most recent two flagships should get Android Lollipop at least before February of next year.
But they won’t be the first HTC devices to get Lollipop, as the Google Play Edition of the HTC One M7 has already received the update.
We’re going to go ahead and assume that most other HTC handsets released in the last year or so will also get the update at some point.
As a general rule the more recent and high profile a device is the more likely it is to get an update, so the HTC Desire Eye will almost certainly be near the front of the line. Indeed according to LlabTooFeR the HTC Desire Eye and HTC One E8 will both get updated sometime in January-March.
The HTC One Mini 2, and perhaps the HTC One Mini and HTC One Max and some of the other recent Desire handsets are likely to get the update too, though probably not until sometime after the One M7 and the One M8.
According to one leak, the One Mini 2 and Desire 816 will get Lollipop sometime in March or April, while the One Max, One Mini and Butterfly S have an expected Android 5.0 rollout of March-May.
If you’re keen to see what Android 5.0 Lollipop will look like running on the HTC One M8 with HTC’s own Sense 6.0 interface, then a recent batch of screenshots leaked by the LlabTooFeR Twitter account could satisfy your needs.
As well as a fresh coat of paint, complete with new animations and a new multitasking and notifications screen, the update to Android 5.0 Lollipop brings new features to HTC’s devices according to LlabTooFeR, including an ‘Easy Mode’, which simplifies the interface.
It does this by putting core functions front and centre as well as upping the font and icon size, which could be handy for those new to smartphones or anyone with poor eyesight or dexterity.
It looks like the update is also adding new accessibility options, such as colour inversion, colour correction and high contrast text.
Samsung
Samsung is yet to officially shed any light on when it will be bringing Android Lollipop to its phones, but there are sources saying its sooner rather than later.
According to Sam Mobile, the Samsung Galaxy S5 could be in for an Android Lollipop release in December 2014. Given that networks can delay the rollout, there is always the possibility it won’t reach devices until January 2015.
This coincides with the recent news that the Samsung Galaxy Note 3, Note 4, Galaxy S4 and the Galaxy S5 (LTE version) will be getting the update to Android 5.0 Lollipop at some point in early 2015.
To whet your appetite before 2015 it looks like photos of the Samsung Galaxy Note 4 running Android 5.0 Lollipop have leaked on to the internet.
The Galaxy Alpha is also likely to get the update very shortly after it launches, probably within the same sort of several month timeframe as HTC is operating under. In fact Danny Dorresteijn, the co-founder of SamMobile, tweeted that the Galaxy Alpha, Galaxy Note 3 and Galaxy S4 would all get Lollipop in the first quarter of 2015.
He got even more specific about the Samsung Galaxy Note Edge, claiming that Android 5.0 will land on it in February. None of this is official of course but as unofficial sources go he’s fairly reliable.
In fact both the Galaxy Note Edge and the Galaxy Note 4 might skip Android 5.0 and jump straight to Android 5.0.1, as SamMobile has spotted the devices running the newer OS version.
Sources close to SamMobile also suggest that Samsung has confirmed that the Galaxy S4 will be getting an update to Android 5.0 Lollipop, with the Exynos variant (GT-I9500), which runs Samsung’s own Exynos 5 Octa SoC, getting the update first.
Other Samsung handsets may have to wait a little longer, however we’d expect that most high profile devices released in the last 18 months to 2 years will get the update, including the Galaxy S4 Mini and the Galaxy S5 Mini.
YouTube : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C8qD_h6iL1g
SamMobile has also released a video showing how Android 5.0 will look running on a Samsung Galaxy S4, effectively confirming that the latest version of Android will come to Samsung’s older flagship handset.
We doubt that the Samsung Galaxy S3 or anything older will get Android Lollipop. It’s a device that’s already over two years old and some versions of it didn’t even get Android 4.4.
Samsung doesn’t seem great at updating its tablets either. There’s a good chance recent slates like its Note Pro and Tab S ranges and even the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 2014 will get Android Lollipop but anything older or low end is iffy.
Sony
Sony has openly declared that it will be "bringing Android 5.0 Lollipop to the entire Xperia Z Series."
It’s even published a full list of handsets which are in line for Android Lollipop, so here we go…
Xperia Z, Xperia ZL, Xperia ZR, Xperia Tablet Z, Xperia Z1, Xperia Z1S, Xperia Z Ultra, Xperia Z1 Compact, Xperia Z2, Xperia Z2 Tablet, Xperia Z3, Xperia Z3v, Xperia Z3 Compact and Xperia Z3 Tablet Compact.
The Sony Xperia Z Ultra Google Play Edition has already received the update. As to when Sony will start rolling out the update to its main line of devices, the manufacturer has said "we’re looking forward to bringing Android 5.0; Lollipop to the entire Xperia Z Series starting from the early part of 2015… so stay tuned for the latest!"
Since then it’s followed that up with a tweet saying "We’ll start the upgrade at beginning of 2015 for the core Xperia Z3 and Xperia Z2 series", which presumably means the Xperia Z2, Xperia Z2 Tablet, Xperia Z3, Xperia Z3 Compact and Xperia Z3 Tablet Compact.
At the CES 2015 convention in January, COO of Sony Electronics Michael Fasulo announced that it will be rolling out the Android 5.0 Lollipop update to its Xperia Z3 range starting in February.
No further details were given about the time frame Xperia Z3 owners can expect to see the update, but it is roughly in line with Sony’s earlier promises to update Xperia Z devices to Android 5.0 Lollipop at the beginning of 2015.
LG, Motorola, OnePlus, Huawei, Asus and ZTE
LG
If you have an LG G3 then depending on your network you may already have got the upgrade to Android 5.0 Lollipop.
Vodafone has been the first operator in the UK to bring Android 5.0 to all of its branded LG G3 handsets.
If you’re a UK Vodafone customer you should have received a message letting you know that the update is ready to download and install. If not you can get the update by going to ‘Settings’ then ‘About Device’ and tap on ‘Check for updates’.
LG G3 handsets in Korea have also already got the update, which means international versions of the LG G3 should be seeing Android 5.0 Lollipop soon regardless of network.
A report published on October 24 by a Dutch website asserts that LG has told its Dutch and Belgian users that they will see an Android 5.0 Lollipop update before the end of 2014.
Before our Dutch and Belgian readers get too excited, there’s no specific date mentioned and also no indication of where the information has come from.
LG has indicated that it has scheduled the Android 5.0 Lollipop update for LG G2 in the future and indeed it’s already in testing according to Italian site Tutto Android, but we haven’t heard anything about LG’s other handsets.
We imagine that in time the LG G2 Mini will probably get updated too and the LG G3 Beat and LG G3 S are both bound to get updated.
Motorola
Motorola has confirmed that Android Lollipop will be coming to a number of its handsets in a post on the official Motorola blog.
According to the post Android Lollipop will come to both the first and second generation Moto X, the Moto G, the Moto G 4G and the Moto E.
A more recent blog post has announced that Android 5.0 Lollipop has begun rolling out to second generation Moto X and Moto G devices in the US.
There are also reports from Android Geeks that some first generation Moto G’s have received the update.
Other Motorola handsets that will get Android Lollipop are the Droid Ultra, Droid Maxx and Droid Mini.
Motorola has launched a helpful website where you can track when your handset will get updated to Android 5.0, which is being constantly updated with information about the upgrade process.
Motorola’s UI is very close to stock Android as well so it shouldn’t be as much work to get new versions up and running and back when the company was owned by Google it was pretty prompt with updates, unsurprisingly.
Things might be different now that Lenovo’s in the driving seat, but so far it seems like there won’t be too long a wait for Android Lollipop on any recent Moto handsets.
OnePlus
The OnePlus One is still bizarrely hard to get hold of thanks to the requirement for an invitation, but if you have managed to get your hands on one you’ll be pleased to know that the company plans to upgrade it Android Lollipop (or a CyanogenMod build based on Android Lollipop anyway).
In a statement posted to the OnePlus forums a staff member confirmed that not only would its first and only handset be getting Android Lollipop, but that it would arrive within three months of Google releasing a final build. So the same time frame as HTC in other words.
Huawei
Huawei hasn’t yet shared any details on its Android Lollipop plans. Unfortunately it’s not always the quickest at updating its phones either as it only fairly recently started rolling out Android 4.4 to the Ascend P6 for example and the Ascend G6 is still waiting for it.
The company has announced on its blog though that the Ascend Mate 2 will get Lollipop in the first half of next year, while the Honor 6 will get it in early 2015 according to GizChina.
Its recent flagship, the Ascend P7, shipped with Android 4.4 and we imagine it will probably get Android Lollipop, perhaps early to mid 2015. We’re less sure whether any of the company’s other phones will get it, but fingers crossed.
Asus
If you own an Asus ZenFone it looks like you’re going to have to wait until 2015 to get the Android 5.0 Lollipop upgrade.
Asus has apparently confirmed that the Asus ZenFone 5, along with the rest of the ZenFone line, will be updated in April 2015. The Padfone S will also be updated around April.
In June 2015 Asus will update its Padfone Infinity smartphone. So far there’s been no news about Asus’ other devices, such as the Padfone mini, and when they will be updated to Android 5.0.
ZTE
If you’re one of the relatively few with a ZTE handset you might be wondering if and when Android Lollipop will be arriving for it. Unfortunately so are we and this is one case where it’s very much an ‘if’ rather than a ‘when’.
Fairly recent phones like the ZTE Blade V and the ZTE Blade Q Mini launched with old versions of Android and they haven’t been updated, so we’re not optimistic that they’ll get Android Lollipop.
Nvidia
Nvidia might not be high on most people’s radars when it comes to Android devices, but gaming fans might be interested in knowing if and when the Nvidia Shield will be getting Android Lollipop.
Nvidia told us that "we’ve worked hard to support every official Android release in the past, as you can see with our SHIELD portable and our software team is always working hard to bring new features and the latest updates with no delay. We try to make sure that updates come as close to their announcement as possible."
Nvidia seems to have kept its promise with the Nvidia Shield being one of the first devices out side of Google’s own Nexus handsets and tablets to get the Android Lollipop update.
The update began rolling out at the end of November, so if you own an Nvidia Shield tablet, then you should be able to update to Android 5.0 Lollipop right now.
Here’s everything we know so far about Android Lollipop.
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