The new Android L has been officially unveiled last June by
Google, promising a number of upgrades for its consumers. The new OS features
some of the biggest updates since Android was launched in 2008. The Android L
OS has a sleek new user interface, performance upgrades, and cross platform
support. Along with that, improvement has also been implemented when it comes
to battery life and deeper app integration across the board.
Let's take a closer look on some of the great features that the
Android's newest OS has to offer:
With Android L, Google's OS line was given a major face-lift,
and it's courtesy of the new Material Design. It's made to run on multiple
types of devices, ranging almost everything from your smartphone and tablet to
your laptop and TV. The interface now supports elevation values, real-time
shadows and lighting that can make objects appear as though they are floating
on the screen upon interaction.
The new OS also gets animated touch feedback by showing a quick
animation that tells you that you've pressed an onscreen button, for example.
Other animations also apply when switching between apps, giving the interface a
more streamlined look. This is something that does not exist with iOS' flat
interface.
Google's newest OS allows you to unlock your phone without
having to enter a pin or trace a pattern every time. This is perfect for people
who use an Android Wear Watch, which when turned on, will be recognized by your
Android L device and lets you unlock your phone by a simple tap on its power
button. If you try to move your watch away from your Android L device, it will
assume that someone else is trying to use your phone and will then require you
to enter your pin or pattern lock.
Aside from its improved interface, Android L also includes
enhanced notifications. Users can now pull down their Notification's Drawer
from the lock screen and double tap a notification to automatically jump to the
selected app. In addition to that, it also includes a new Heads-up
Notifications function, wherein it provides a pop-up notification at the top of
the screen that you can respond to or discard without having to leave the app
that you're currently on.
For example, you're currently playing a game and get a phone
call, you'll receive a pop-up at the top of your Android L device's screen
prompting you to answer or ignore the call, without interrupting your game.
Another makeover given to the OS is the Recent Apps menu, though
it's fairly considered as a great improvement. The page now displays both your
apps and open Chrome tabs in stackable cards fashion. For example, if you open
Youtube.com in Chrome, and exit the app, it will show up in the Recent Apps
menu along with your open apps. Google claims that this feature will make
multitasking easier on your device(s) by allowing you to access your webpages
without having to open your Chrome app manually. It would be nicer and cleaner
if it were thumbnails instead of the stackable cards style.
Google kept in mind to improve not only the software, but to
bring increased performance to Android devices as well. The company also
promises that Android L's new Android Extension Pack will bring PC-level graphics
to mobile devices complete with tessellation, geometry shaders, computer
shaders, and ASTC texture compression. In short, Google wants you to have a
gaming PC-like experience coming from your mobile device at all times.
The new App Indexing function allows users to easily access
their apps via Chrome. For example, if you search for a restaurant in Chrome
and you have OpenTable installed, Chrome will recognize the app that's
installed on your device and will include it in your list of search results.
Tapping on the link will direct you to the restaurant's page via OpenTable.
With this feature, you don't have to copy and paste information from one app to
another.
Via Google's Project Volta, Android L is expected to bring some
serious battery enhancements to your mobile device. It has a built-in battery
saver feature that whenever it detects that your device is low on battery, the
app can reduce CPU load, display brightness, and so on to help you extend its
battery life. According to Google, this feature can give you an extra ninety
minutes of battery power, which can be a lot especially if you're running on
empty and need to use your device.
Now that you've learned about these cool features being offered by the new Android L, are you already excited to experience them yourself?
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