Android Lollipop

Android Lollipop
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Name	Android Lollipop
Developer	Google
Family	Android
Source model	Android (open source with proprietary components)
Released	November 12, 2014
Latest release	5.1.1 (LMY48T) – March 2015
Kernel type	Linux kernel
Ui	Material Design

Android Lollipop Android Lollipop is the fifth major release of the Android mobile platform developed by Google. Announced at Google I/O and released in November 2014, Lollipop introduced the Material Design visual language and significant changes to system architecture, power management, and multimedia handling. The release targeted smartphones, tablets, wearables, and televisions, with builds integrated into hardware projects from partners such as Nexus, Motorola, Samsung, and HTC.

Overview

Lollipop (internal version numbers 5.0–5.1.1) represented a major evolution of Android since Ice Cream Sandwich and KitKat, combining a redesigned interface, updated runtime, and enhanced APIs for Google Play Services, Bluetooth Low Energy, NFC, and Wi‑Fi. The release coincided with hardware projects including the Nexus 6, Nexus 9, and Nexus Player, and aligned with ecosystem efforts from partners such as Qualcomm, MediaTek, Intel, and ARM. Lollipop influenced subsequent releases like Android Marshmallow and Android Nougat.

Development and release

Development of Lollipop followed Android's cadence established by Android KitKat and was unveiled during the Google I/O 2014 keynote, where executives from Google and engineers referenced design work at Google Design and collaborations with teams from YouTube, Chrome, and Android Wear. Preview builds were distributed to developers alongside updated SDKs hosted by Android Studio and the Android Open Source Project. Retail and carrier rollout involved manufacturers such as LG Electronics, Sony, Huawei, Xiaomi, and OnePlus, with carrier testing spanning operators like Verizon, AT&T, Vodafone Group, and T-Mobile US. Security advisories and maintenance updates were coordinated with organizations including OpenSSL Project, CVE, and the Android Security Team.

Features and design

Lollipop introduced Material Design as a system-wide aesthetic, influencing components across Gmail, Google Maps, Google Now, and Google Play Store. Key user-facing features included a revamped notification system integrating lockscreen alerts and priority modes influenced by research at Google X, enhanced multitasking via a card-based overview similar to innovations from Palm and WebOS, and native support for 64-bit computing enabling builds for ARM64, x86_64, and MIPS64 architectures used by partners like Qualcomm and Intel. Under the hood, Lollipop introduced the Android Runtime (ART) as the default runtime, replacing Dalvik to improve app performance and battery life, as well as the Project Volta initiative for power profiling inspired by efforts from Google's internal engineering teams. Multimedia improvements included support for HEVC (H.265), the Bluetooth AVRCP profile, and enhancements to media codec frameworks used by applications such as YouTube, Netflix, and Spotify. Connectivity updates added features for Bluetooth Low Energy and Wi‑Fi Direct compatible with devices from Samsung Electronics, HTC, and Sony.

Supported devices and updates

Lollipop shipped on flagship hardware including the Nexus 6, Nexus 9, and Nexus Player and was later backported by manufacturers to devices like the Samsung Galaxy S5, HTC One M8, LG G3, and Moto X (2014). Tablet support involved models from Asus, Acer, and Lenovo. The update lifecycle involved collaborations with chipset vendors (Qualcomm, MediaTek, NVIDIA), carrier certification by operators such as Sprint and Telefonica, and distribution through vendor update frameworks like OTA and Google Play Services. Long-term support varied: some devices received upgrades to Android Marshmallow and Android Nougat, while others were limited to security patches coordinated with the Android Security Bulletin process.

Performance and security

Performance improvements in Lollipop derived from ART's ahead-of-time compilation and memory management refinements influenced by research at Google Research and partnerships with hardware vendors including ARM. Battery management advanced through Project Volta tools, including the Battery Historian utility used by developers and teams at Google and Android OEMs. Security enhancements encompassed encryption by default using dm-crypt layered with hardware-backed key storage on devices with Trusted Execution Environment support from vendors like Qualcomm (with Secure Boot features) and Samsung Electronics (with Knox separation). Lollipop also introduced improved SELinux policies building on work from National Security Agency collaborations and used the Linux kernel security model.

Reception and legacy

Critical reception noted praise for Material Design's visual consistency across apps such as Gmail, Google Calendar, and Google Play Music, while reviewers compared multitasking and notification paradigms to competitors including iOS, Windows Phone, and BlackBerry 10. Early adoption faced fragmentation concerns widely discussed in publications like The Verge, Ars Technica, Wired, and TechCrunch, and in analyses by research groups such as Gartner and IDC. Lollipop's architectural shifts, particularly ART and 64-bit support, shaped development and performance expectations leading into Android Marshmallow and later releases; material aesthetics influenced design systems at Google and inspired third-party frameworks used by companies like Airbnb, Uber, and Pinterest. In historical retrospectives, Lollipop is credited with modernizing Android's visual language and system architecture, impacting hardware design from partners including Motorola, Samsung, and HTC.

Category:Android (operating system) releases