Android By Russell Holly Jun. 26, 2014 4:12 pm
Google has spent the last little while teasing the next version of Android, and now the developer preview is here for everyone with a Nexus 5 or Nexus 7 to enjoy.
The early look at Android L is finally here, and it’s time to dive right in and see what Google has in store for everyone. The big topics during Google’s keynote were*the consistent use of animations, the Material Design of the new UI, and all of the great performance/battery enhancements. Like any other factory image, flashing only took a few minutes, but in that few minutes it feels like someone swapped out my Nexus 7 with something much faster. For a developer preview, Android L screams. Apps load faster than they ever have before on this tablet, animations are incredibly smooth, and the new notification system is everything we could have hoped for.
We’ve only just started tearing through the new interfaces, but so far it looks like almost everything is in the same place. Settings got a huge visual overhaul that looks fantastic, and the default keyboard is new, but it seems like most other things are where we left them.
The multi-user interface is highlighted by your user icon in the notification panel still, the quick settings is visually different but still functions is just about the same way, and there’s no new functionality in the app drawer. Notifications can’t be interacted with when you are messing around in quick settings, but otherwise everything works just like you would think it should.
Flashing the developer preview on your Nexus device will present you with a great big warning in several places from Google that things are not quite ready for prime time, so be careful if you are planning to update*a Nexus 5 or 7 that is also your daily driver.
So far the only things that seem to not work, like Chromecast mirroring and the visual flourishes inside of Gmail, all seem to be the result of those apps not having updated yet. Android L will obviously continue to take shape over the next couple of months as the team prepares for a final release, but as first impressions go there is a ton of great things here.
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Google has spent the last little while teasing the next version of Android, and now the developer preview is here for everyone with a Nexus 5 or Nexus 7 to enjoy.The early look at Android L is finally here, and it’s time to dive right in and see what Google has in store for everyone. The big topics during Google’s keynote were*the consistent use of animations, the Material Design of the new UI, and all of the great performance/battery enhancements. Like any other factory image, flashing only took a few minutes, but in that few minutes it feels like someone swapped out my Nexus 7 with something much faster. For a developer preview, Android L screams. Apps load faster than they ever have before on this tablet, animations are incredibly smooth, and the new notification system is everything we could have hoped for.
We’ve only just started tearing through the new interfaces, but so far it looks like almost everything is in the same place. Settings got a huge visual overhaul that looks fantastic, and the default keyboard is new, but it seems like most other things are where we left them.
The multi-user interface is highlighted by your user icon in the notification panel still, the quick settings is visually different but still functions is just about the same way, and there’s no new functionality in the app drawer. Notifications can’t be interacted with when you are messing around in quick settings, but otherwise everything works just like you would think it should.
Flashing the developer preview on your Nexus device will present you with a great big warning in several places from Google that things are not quite ready for prime time, so be careful if you are planning to update*a Nexus 5 or 7 that is also your daily driver.
So far the only things that seem to not work, like Chromecast mirroring and the visual flourishes inside of Gmail, all seem to be the result of those apps not having updated yet. Android L will obviously continue to take shape over the next couple of months as the team prepares for a final release, but as first impressions go there is a ton of great things here.
- [h=4]Notifications on lock screen[/h]
- [h=4]Chomecast mirroring[/h]
- [h=4]Oops, not just yet[/h]
- [h=4]Quick Settings[/h]
- [h=4]Android L Designs[/h]
- [h=4]Android L Notifications[/h]
- [h=4]Android L Settings[/h]
- [h=4]Power Off[/h]
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