While we’ve seen a few devices get updated to Android 5.0, including the unlocked and developer versions of the HTC One (M8), there are still only a handful of phones and tablets in the wild running Lollipop. If you’re jonesing for your serving of Google’s latest treat, though, you can now get a small taste using a couple of apps.
The latest updates of the Google Now Launcher and Google app help to bring a Material Design look to any Android device running version 4.1 through 4.4. Previously, the app would look like whichever version of Android your hardware was actually running, but now you’ll get a solid white Google search bar, improved animations, and a slide-out panel in Google Now.
While these features aren’t quite the same as a full-fledged Android 5.0 update, it can help to give your device a Lollipop feel until your update actually does arrive. And for folks that won’t actually get a Lollipop update, these apps could make you feel a bit better about whatever version that you’re going to be stuck on.