- Jan 5, 2011
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A great deal of energy has been focused in discussing some of the new features of Google's new mobile OS, Android 5.0 Lollipop. Most of the media and PR attention has focused on the "Material Design" UI, improved Gmail and improved apps & app support. It turns out there are some other pretty handy new things about Android 5.0 that are "less advertised," yet still deserve more than a courtesy eye-brow nod.
Here are five of the most notable features that you might not know are coming in Lollipop:
- Kill Switch - this is something that has received some media attention outside of Android 5.0 specifically. We knew that Google was planning to bring this to Android, but Lollipop is the feature's grand entrance. Kill Switch will basically allow users can remotely disable and/or wipe the information on their Android 5.0 device. They can also require a password whenever someone tries to reset the device.
- Lollipop can run on almost any Android device - this is uncommon knowledge, but it turns out that the latest version of Android is designed with a minimalist digital footprint in mind. Google is striving to reduce the dreaded "fragmentation" curse, and Lollipop was designed to work on nearly any Android capable device as long as it has a minimum of 512MB of RAM or more. Whether the various OEMs will take advantage of this remains to be seen.
- Priority Mode - This is a handy new organizational function built into Lollipop. With Android 5.0, you can now customize which notifications show up on your lock screen. Not only can you prioritize whether you want Facebook, Instagram and/or Twitter, you can also even choose which contacts' calls come through. This functionality even includes a gaming/movie mode in which you can choose to include a smaller notification which will pop up at the top of the screen, instead of interrupting your entertainment.
- User Profiles - This is the same feature that Google originally implemented only on their tablets. It basically allows you to create separate user profiles on your device, so if you let someone else use it, they won't have access to your personal stuff. This feature will now work on Android phones as well as tablets. It has been enhanced even further though. It now includes a new feature which allows you to have a “home” and “work” profile which has different sets of data on a single device.
- Battery Life Saver function - This is definitely a little advertised new feature of Android 5.0. The OS has a built-in functionality which reduces your CPU load and display brightness when you are low on battery life. This will supposedly eke out up to another 90 minutes of time in those dire situations when you will need it before you can charge it.
