With the new year already in its course lets take a look at how fare Google's latest OS for their Android devices, Android Lollipop is doing as compared to its predecessor Android 4.4 Kitkat.
Google already launched its latest Android OS at Google I/O 2014 along with several other releases and was available to devices such as the phones and tablet series of the Nexus, Motorola and a few others through OTA updates in the following weeks. I have installed Android Lollipop on my Nexus 5 and have noticed some major changes to how Google sees their devices.
So how well is Android Lollipop doing compared to Android 4.4 Kitkat? We will be looking at just that here by reviewing every inch of both these Operating Systems.
Design - Android 5 Lollipop VS Android 4.4 Kitkat Comparison
Perhaps design is the most significant change brought forth by Google for their promise of a "Materialistic Design". This is probably the biggest change Google has made in their OS for Android devices since the Android 4 Ice Cream Sandwich released back in 2011. Android Lollipop boasts new features and an overall new look which includes animations, more shadows and light for the system's appearance. Android Lollipop also changes app interface color according to the displayed content on your device.
LockScreen - Android 5 Lollipop VS Android 4.4 Kitkat Comparison
The locksreen is the first feature that you would notice feels a lot different. Google is calling their new lockscreen feature the "Smart Lock". You can access your notifications directly from the lockscreen and can also access other features through the drop down menu from the top. For unlocking you swipe up to unlock your device, swipe right to select the dialer and left to access the camera which was already present in the KitKat version. Below are screenshots with left showing Lollipop and Right showing Kitkat.
HomeScreen - Android 5 Lollipop VS Android 4.4 Kitkat Comparison
There are a few changes in Android Lollipop as compared to the Kitkat version. The one most significant are the new substitutes of the 'back', 'home' and 'recent' icons which are now a triangle, circle and a square respectively.
The 'recent' navigational operation has changed a lot by introducing a new 3D style tab list which can be swiped up or down seamlessly in a rotatory motion. This feature really makes the one on the KitKat feel a bit outdated. Another new feature is that several tabs opened in Google Chrome will now be displayed here as separate cards. You can also swipe the cards left or right to close a certain app or can tap the 'X'.
Notifications - Android 5 Lollipop VS Android 4.4 Kitkat Comparison
The drop down notification screen also had a makeover related to the 'Material Design' proposed by Google. For starters you swipe down to access the notifications screen where you can tap a notification to view it or swipe either left or right to discard it, here is where the difference comes, you can also swipe down another time to access the notification bar which now includes a brightness setting slider, Cast Screen and also the Flashlight which comes built-in with the OS.
As far as the Design is concerned, there have been massive changes all around but that is not all. Google also declared that they have switched from Dalvik to ART (Android Run Time) which they say is twice as fast. Andoid Lollipop gives quite a smooth feel all around but not much of a change since KitKat wasn't any less smooth.
Battery Life - Android 5 Lollipop VS Android 4.4 Kitkat Comparison
Perhaps the most important aspect of an Android device and Lollipop provides a much more concrete performance upgrade. One of the updates is the ability to see which app is draining battery life and the remaining time. Another important feature which is new to Android Lollipop is the Battery Saver mode which extends your device's battery life upto 90 minutes. Personally I have tested the feature myself and it showed a staggering result of 100 miutes.
Added security features include Proximity and Location based unlocks sort of like in the Android Wear Devices. These features will allow you to unlock your Android device if you are near your device or it will unlock itself in your home our office.
So that's that for the Android 5 Lollipop VS Android 4.4 Kitkat Comparison. If you already have Android Lollipop on your device do let us know what you feel and what are your personal expereinces?
*Update - Google has already launched Android Lollipop 5.0.1 which includes some minor bug fixes and improvements. Will be posting about it soon.
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