Android 5.0 Lollipop: What you need to know about it

Along with the news that Google revealed their newest Nexus phones, is the news that Android 5.0 Lollipop will be available to certain devices just like the new Nexus devices.

Lollipop's most obvious new features come in the form of visual enhancements and user interface changes, which Google has dubbed Material Design. The platform has new, more fluid animations, a cleaner design with a bolder color palette, a revamped multittasking menu, and offers new ways to interact with your voice. Many of the new Material Design features can be seen in the recent updates that Google has released for its own Android apps such as Google+. The Material Design initiative is meant to unify the software's look and feel across various form factors, whether that's a tablet, smartphone, home media streamer, or something else.

In addition to a visual overhaul, Lollipop brings over 5,000 new APIs for developers to tap into and lets multiple different Android devices with various form factors work better together. Google says that things such as songs, photos, apps, and recent searches can be seamlessly synced across various Android devices. Lollipop also includes new notification controls to limit alerts during meetings and other times, a new battery saver mode that can eke out 90 more minutes of life between charges, multiple user accounts, guest user modes, and new ways to secure your device via trusted Bluetooth connections. Lollipop will also include a protection against resetting the phone to factory defaults, which is designed to make it difficult for phone thieves to use a stolen device. Many of these features have been implemented by various Android device makers on their own smartphones and tablets for some time, but Google is now making sure they are part of the core Android experience. You can watch a short film on how Google describes their Android 5.0 Lollipop update.

Overall, when you upgrade to 5.0, you will get these three major  features:

1. Beautiful new interface that Google calls Material Design.

2. The same operating system works across multiple devices (tablets, phones, TVs, and smart watches, so now all your tech will work together seamlessly).

3. There's a new battery-saver feature that extends your device's survival by 90 minutes.

Here's the list of smartphones that will receive the update. The current list is a work-in-progress and we may add some other devices without further notice.

1LG Nexus 4

2LG Nexus 5

3Asus Nexus 7 (2012)

4Asus Nexus 7 (2013)

5Samsung Nexus 10

1Samsung Galaxy S3

2Samsung Galaxy S4

3Samsung Galaxy S5

4Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0

5Samsung Galaxy Note 2

6Samsung Galaxy Note 3

7Samsung Galaxy Note 4

8Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1

1LG G2

2LG G Pro

3LG G Pro 2

4LG G3

1Moto X (1st, 2nd gen)

2Moto G (1st, 2nd gen, LTE)

3Moto E

4Droid Ultra

5Droid Maxx

6Droid Mini

1Xperia Z

2Xperia ZL

3Xperia ZR

4Xperia Tablet Z

5Xperia Z1

6Xperia Z1S

7Xperia Z Ultra

8Xperia Z1 Compact

9Xperia Z2

10Xperia Z2 Tablet

11Xperia Z3

12Xperia Z3v

13Xperia Z3 Compact

14Xperia Z3 Tablet Compact

First, back up your device's data. When Android Lollipop becomes available for your device, you should be able to update wirelessly. For most devices, head to the Settings app, click on "About Phone" or "About Tablet" and then tap "Software update" or "Check for updates." If a new version is detected, you will be able to download Lollipop right away. Your device will probably need a WiFi connection. Older Samsung devices may need to be connected to a computer with a software called Kies installed.