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In Pictures: Google Android L Feature Tour And Preview

In Pictures: Google Android L Feature Tour And Preview
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Beta Now Available!

Lollipop? Licorice? Life Savers? The mystery remains as to the final codename that Google will assign to the next version of Android. Currently known only as “Android L”, this version presents a major design overhaul for Android. This release contains many user interface changes, so Android L looks great, but it won’t become available until this fall. Fortunately, inquisitive Nexus 5 and Nexus 7 (2013) owners can explore Google’s new mobile OS today by installing the public beta.

To do this, you need a host machine with the Android SDK tools. Simply download the system image available on the Android developers page and then flash it to your Google Nexus device. 

Warning: This procedure will erase all data from the device! This beta is not stable!

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  • 17 Hide
    ohim , August 22, 2014 12:45 AM
    Am i the only one who hates this new simplistic design style ? And why the hell do they keep on using white background on settings / phone dialer etc... when i`m in low light and i use my phone to actually blind me ? ..and they don`t offer the possibility to change it to black.
Other Comments
  • 17 Hide
    ohim , August 22, 2014 12:45 AM
    Am i the only one who hates this new simplistic design style ? And why the hell do they keep on using white background on settings / phone dialer etc... when i`m in low light and i use my phone to actually blind me ? ..and they don`t offer the possibility to change it to black.
  • -6 Hide
    blackmagnum , August 22, 2014 12:48 AM
    Am so excited and eager to get the update asap. I hope they will give my old girl Galaxy Nexus one more update.
  • 8 Hide
    bipbap , August 22, 2014 1:07 AM
    No, you aren't. I loved the dark interfaces. Everything on my Note 3 is that way.

    And I despise the card-style interface that is popping up everywhere now, it seems. What is the point of all these beautiful displays if all you are going to us is black text on white squares? Do I even need to mention that for some displays, like the Note 3, bright colors use more battery?

    Forcing eye-piercing white down our throats, minor, meaningless graphical changes, a a parameters screen that now shows LESS information, no meaningful performance gain? For what? A couple of nice things (rotating view of running apps) and a tiny gain in storage space? It looks like the took the worst design ideas from Apple and M$ and decided to out-ugly both. Bleh.
  • 5 Hide
    Heironious , August 22, 2014 1:26 AM
    Really? Everything is going to be white and square?? That keyboard looks horrendous! The notifications, is a step back...
  • 1 Hide
    alz_solstice , August 22, 2014 1:33 AM
    My only cons is the keyboard. I think it's a kind of hard to press?
  • 1 Hide
    alz_solstice , August 22, 2014 1:33 AM
    They might want to check the keyboard.
  • 0 Hide
    zodiacfml , August 22, 2014 2:35 AM
    I hope they fix the problem with Auto brightness in nexus 5 and some Google camera bugs.
  • 3 Hide
    10hellfire01 , August 22, 2014 2:47 AM
    Guess I'll poke my eye out.

    Horrible puns aside, it's as if they kept the people who designed Android into a decent thing to look at and brought back some of the original designers who made the original Android look like crap.

    A circle for the home button, a back arrow that makes me want to skip to a different scene, and a square that infers nothing...I feel like a 4 year old with that shape toy (triangle/square/circle).

    Still don't understand the fascination with flatness and oversimplification either. It's like we're going backwards technologically.
  • 4 Hide
    randomizer , August 22, 2014 3:42 AM
    Don't worry guys, Samsung will make sure you never see this.
  • -1 Hide
    kamhagh , August 22, 2014 8:30 AM
    awesome ! the new look kinda looks like htc sense
  • 0 Hide
    matthelm , August 22, 2014 9:09 AM
    Any chance they fixed the SD card issue?
  • 0 Hide
    allawash , August 22, 2014 9:09 AM
    I'm with other people on the brightness and the white backgrounds, I'd prefer a choice in that matter. I have a Moto X and I think Motorola ( I know, it was Google) added these features to that phone with Active Display and Assist. Plus, I think there's already a batter saver option that did the less than 15% or 10% battery life feature?
  • 3 Hide
    Patrick Tobin , August 22, 2014 10:28 AM
    It's beta, complain to them in the google discussion forums and I'll bet they look into it as they hear more cries.
  • 1 Hide
    gadgety , August 23, 2014 12:51 AM
    Going from black to white background will use more battery on AMOLED screens. Screens are responsible for 80-90 of power consumption. So on AMOLED screen devices project will the net effect of white screens and project Volta be positive? It would be better to enable user defined settings for black or white screens backgrounds.
  • -1 Hide
    debido666 , August 23, 2014 4:44 PM
    Teal on white = no. FireFox OS here I come...
  • 2 Hide
    hixbot , August 24, 2014 5:44 AM
    FYI there is no screen type that benefits from a white background.
  • 0 Hide
    PapaCrazy , August 24, 2014 10:31 PM
    That multi tasking window is a total mess. I really hope HTC fixes this with sense skin.
  • 1 Hide
    PapaCrazy , August 24, 2014 10:40 PM
    The multi tasking screen is a total mess. Can't even tell where one app begins and another ends. Clearly legible titles and the ability to fit more apps on screen at once is far more important than this rehash of MS's Flip 3d eye candy, which doesn't even work well on the desktop let alone a phone. I don't want my apps going past my face like I just yanked on a slot machine handle. Please HTC fix this crap with your Sense version.
  • 3 Hide
    Foxcat , August 25, 2014 12:26 AM
    Oh well... Cyanogen mod, here I come!
  • 0 Hide
    banana56 , August 25, 2014 2:03 AM
    I am so excited to hear it.
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