Android L, or as we now know, Android Lollipop, was recently announced and shown off during Google’s most recent event - the same event where we learned about the Nexus 6 and the Nexus 9. I’ve both talked about the Nexus 6 and the Nexus 9, so this is one of the last things from the event that I feel could be addressed.
Android Lollipop is one of the largest updates that Android has seen... probably since the release of Ice Cream Sandwich back in 2011. The design and functionality of Android has been updated significantly in Android Lollipop, so it seems like it would be appropriate to discuss how these changes affect us.
For me, the short of it is that Android Lollipop both looks good and boring at the same time.
When it comes to “flat” designs, I’m pretty vocal about the fact that I think it looks incredibly boring. I may be in the minority when it comes down to it, but that’s just how I feel. I’ve always known Windows Phone to be minimal, so I’ve never really cared or fussed about that. iOS, on the other hand, was probably where I had the biggest problem. I found iOS 5 and 6 to be a much more interesting design over iOS 7 or 8. I blamed my distaste for Apple’s design changes on becoming too flat and minimalistic, but after using iOS 7 for a couple of months I think it was more along the lines of the bright, gradient color scheme that turned me off from it. When I look at the changes in Android’s Lollipop, I don’t find myself quite as turned off by the flatter design as I thought I would be. It's just not that exciting, either.
Perhaps that’s because it’s offset by some of the functionality changes coming to Android. For instance, I like way the lockscreen shows notifications, and I think that the new animations make it look pretty snazzy (I do wonder how that will effect older devices, but we’ll find that out later). The new way to access quick settings from the notification center is also nice and has easier access. Lollipop also seems to bring out the best in certain devices in most early reviews, such as the Nexus 5. This is promising to hear, as we’re used to hearing that phones generally get bogged down when they’re allowed newer updates. Google seems to be doing extremely well at making sure that devices allowed to update will fully benefit from the change instead of making it some ploy to get you to purchase new phones.
And then of course you have Project Volta, which focuses on improving the battery life of devices running on Lollipop. Not-so-great battery life is one of the key problems plaguing most smartphones these days, and since we probably won’t be seeing any super batteries coming out anytime soon the best any company can do is make adjustments to what we have in order to make the most out of battery life.
I think the only complaint I really have when it comes to Lollipop is the excessive use of white backgrounds, which I think would look better if they continued to use darker backgrounds. If nothing else, it would be cool if Lollipop included the option of switching from a light theme to a dark theme, because I’m sure there are a lot of people who prefer the lighter theme the phone comes with. It’s nothing that a little rooting and flashing can’t fix one day, I’m sure, but it would be easier if it was a feature that was just included.
Aside from that, Lollipop actually looks like a pretty solid update all around. I didn’t think that Android could get any flatter, but as we can see, it can. I don’t think it’s any use hoping for designs with much depth these days because, simply put, it’s just not hip with the kids right now. I’m not saying go back to the days of Android versions Cupcake or Donut, which look horrible compared to what we see now - but you know, maybe a couple of drop shadows here and there wouldn’t kill anybody.
Images via Tech Radar, The Droid Review
