Android 5.0 Lollipop (API 21-22)
Version 5.0
Release date November 12, 2014
Features
- Android Runtime (ART) with ahead-of-time (AOT) compilation and improved garbage collection (GC), replacing Dalvik that combines bytecode
- interpretation with trace-based just-in-time (JIT) compilation
- Support for 64-bit CPUs
- OpenGL ES 3.1 and Android Extension Pack (AEP) on supported GPU configurations
- Recent activities screen with tasks instead of applications, up to a configured maximum of tasks per application
- Vector drawables, which scale without losing definition
- Support for print previews
- Material design, bringing a restyled user interface
- Refreshed lock screen, no longer supporting widgets
- Refreshed notification tray and quick settings pull-down
- Project Volta, for battery life improvements
- Searches can be performed within the system settings for quicker access to particular settings
- Lock screen provides shortcuts to application and notification settings
- Guest logins and multiple user accounts are available on more devices, such as phones.
- Audio input and output through USB devices
- Third-party applications regain the ability to read and modify data located anywhere on external storage, such as on SD cards.
- Pinning of an application’s screen for restricted user activity.
- Recently used applications are remembered even after restarting the device.
- WebViews receive updates independently through Google Play for security reasons, instead of relying on system-wide vendor updates
- Addition of 15 new languages: Basque, Bengali, Burmese, Chinese (Hong Kong), Galician, Icelandic, Kannada, Kyrgyz, Macedonian,
- Malayalam, Marathi, Nepali, Sinhala, Tamil and Telugu
- Tap and Go allows users to quickly migrate to a new Android device, using NFC and Bluetooth to transfer Google Account details,
- configuration settings, user data and installed applications
- A flashlight-style application is included, working on supported devices with a camera flash.
- User-customizable priorities for application notifications.
- Smart lock feature
- SELinux in enforcing mode for all domains
- Updated emoji
- Improved accessibility support (e.g. switch access support)
- Block-based over-the-air (OTA) updates for new devices
- Changes how alarms wake the CPU, and how alarms compete for system resources.
- Improvements and bug-fixes to the Overview screen
- Ability to join Wi-Fi networks and control paired Bluetooth devices from quick settings
- Official support for multiple SIM cards
- Device protection: if a device is lost or stolen it will remain locked until the owner signs into their Google account, even if the device is reset to
- factory settings.
- High-definition voice calls, available between compatible 4G LTE devices running Android 5.1
- Improvements to the notification priority system, to more closely replicate the silent mode that was removed in Android 5.0.