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Android 5.0 vs Android 4.4 Walkthrough: What’s New in Lollipop

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For those that want to see what’s new in Android 5.0 Lollipop you can see the changes in our 5.0 vs Android 4.4 KitKat walkthrough below. This is a comparison of Android 5.0 Lollipop vs Android 4.4.4 KitKat on the Nexus 6 from 2014, and the Nexus 5 that was released in 2013 with stock KitKat. It’s worth noting that Google’s since released Android 6.0 Marshmallow, and in December a quick update to Android 6.0.1 as well.

This Android 5.0 walkthrough shows off some of the new features and looks integrated into Android 5.0, many of the visual changes and much more. Users will want to check out our Nexus 6 review as well to see all the neat new animations and effects in Android 5.0 Lollipop. Here we’ll show you how it compares to the older software you are used to.

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The Android 5.0 Lollipop release date arrived on November 3rd with the Nexus 9 launch, and roughly a month later Google finally started pushing out updates to Nexus owners. Many carriers and manufacturers quickly pushed out updates for smartphones and tablets, not to mention changes by Google themselves, and we’re now currently on Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow, which looks mostly like stock 5.0 shown here, but with some small changes.

Lollipop-vs-kitkat

As many of you probably know, the Android 5.0 update is completely free, and users will simply needed to wait for manufacturers to integrate all the changes in Android 5.0 to their software for each respective device, then here in the United States carriers pushed out over the air updates to millions of smartphone owners.

This makes Android updates a lot slower than others, like the iPhone, where everything is handled by Apple, but most flagship devices typically get updates extremely fast, which was the case for many devices from Samsung, Motorola, and LG. The Nexus 6 and Nexus 9 came with Android 5.0 Lollipop pre-installed, and have now since been updated to Android 5.1 Lollipop.

Read: Android M Developer Preview 2: What’s New

You’ll notice with Android 5.0 Lollipop Google has made a lot of changes. Both with the look and feel, animations and effects, and the size of icons. Everything is more simple, bold, easier to understand, and extremely smooth. This is one of the biggest redesigns in Android history, so check out our visual slideshow below for a comparison of Android 5.0 Lollipop vs Android 4.4.4 KitKat.

[contextly_sidebar id=”pIN8DHbRd840nZtKcbeXiYKmO5oHrJvm”]It’s worth noting that everything you see below is pure stock Android delivered right from Google. This is the experience buyers will enjoy on any Nexus device and most Motorola smartphones as of late. Those with an LG, HTC, Samsung, Sony or other manufacturers will have a similar feel, but look different as most manufacturers put a skin or overlay on top of stock Android.

Google changed the lockscreen, how notifications work and are managed, the notification pulldown bar, redesigned the settings menu, added bright colors and neat animations to button taps or icon selections, and vastly improved the “recent apps” menu, also known as the multitasking option. This is a new card-style UI that looks great, and is easy to use.

Without talking about it all too much, enjoy the slideshow below. Here we’re showing Android 5.0 Lollipop on the Nexus 6, and Android 4.4.4 KitKat using a stock version right from Google on the aging Nexus 5. Many of the core apps you use daily (Gmail, Maps, Play Store, Calendar, etc) are all the same as Google’s updated them through the Play Store, but the walkthrough below is still a good way to see what’s new, and how things have changed and progressed.

You can click on any of the images below to instantly jump to that image in the slideshow and see how that part of the OS compares to previous versions. Android 5.0 Lollipop will always be on the left, while Android 4.4 KitKat is on the right.

Android 5.0 vs Android 4.4 - Lockscreen

Android 5.0 vs Android 4.4 - Lockscreen

 With Android 5.0 Lollipop Google has slightly improved the lockscreen. There's now a shortcut to the dialer by swiping left to right, and notifications are more useful and interactive. Shown right on the lockscreen they can be swiped away, slide down to expand, or double tap to instantly unlock right into that app or notification. Everything is simple and smooth, and we still have full-screen album artwork on the lockscreen while playing music.

The quick shortcuts and improved notifications will come in handy for all users.

118 Comments

118 Comments

  1. Doug McC

    11/26/2014 at 10:46 am

    I am not happy with the update. My Nexus 7 tablet loses wifi connection, and everything is slower. Also I find Google + is even more intrusive and possibly of less use. Any way I can get rid of my update. If not my next tablet will not be an android product.

    • kennyhobo

      01/18/2015 at 11:35 am

      My Nexus 7 2012 slowed to a crawl with pushed lollipop update. I ended up doing the factory reset which brings up a clean lollipop and reloaded all of my apps. The tablet is now working great and is faster than when on kitkat.

      • Pam

        02/03/2015 at 2:50 am

        I installed the Lollipop update about a month ago and it’s 5.02 update more recently. It’s driving me mad! Takes ages to come on. Very slow and laggy. Apps crash constantly especially Facebook. Screen goes white and completely blank often. I had been waiting for a Google update fix but nothing so far.
        I see some have done a factory reset. Can you tell me if this will still be running Lollipop after the reset? Do I have to save all my photos etc before hand and then re install all my apps again?
        Thanks for any help. I LOVED my Nexus 7 (2012) now I HATE it :(

        • Fitzy

          02/07/2015 at 3:34 am

          Android 5.0, better known as Lollipop is a worthwhile upgrade, though, but it has caused a few problems, especially for owners of older Nexus models who were amongst the first to receive it. However, there is some good news; a long awaited Lollipop 5.0.2 bug fix is now available and that should sort out most, if not all of your glitches. Otherwise, if you do not want to go through another update there are two fairly simple procedures, which should also help to get it back on track. Step one is clear the tablet’s cache memory of old and potentially troublesome files, which is worth doing on any Android device following a system upgrade. With the tablet turned off, press and hold the volume down and power buttons. When the Start arrow appears use the volume down to scroll to Recovery Mode and press the power button to select. When the Android icon appears hold down power and press volume up; release power and use volume down to select ‘Erase or Wipe Cache Partition’ and the tablet should restart. If it is still sluggish go to Settings > About Tablet and tap Build Number 7 times to enable the hidden Developer Options menu. Go back to Settings, Tap Developer Options then Window Animation Scale and set it to Off. Repeat for Transition Animation Scale and Animator Duration Scale. Finally tap Background Process Limit, set it to 3 Processes, switch off, restart and it should be a lot livelier

          • 123

            12/03/2015 at 6:53 pm

            thanks, it works!

        • Brandon McLelland

          04/15/2015 at 8:37 pm

          I have a Nexus 7. It’s imperative to do a factory reset and reset all of the settings in the same menu. That fixed my LG G2 and my Nexus 7. I Just toyed with my devices until that became the apparent thing to do. That is, factory reset and reset all settings on the same menu.

        • Jozef

          04/27/2015 at 6:54 am

          You can go back to 4.4.4 on Nexus 7 pretty easy man at least thats what i did with my Nexus7 and now works like a charm again ! Just flash 4.4.4 with cmd .

    • Calvin

      03/31/2015 at 4:31 am

      This article on the whole is really bad and should be renamed to What to expect from Lollipop on a Nexus. Certain phones already have these features without the lollipop update yet.
      My note 4 does and I’m still running kit kat.

    • dethaathreya

      06/03/2015 at 7:14 am

      I am also experiencing the same bro.

  2. Mike Check

    11/26/2014 at 3:37 pm

    I LIKE the 5.0 on my Nexus 5! The only problem I have noticed was my wi-fi would not connect and stay connected on my home network Netgear N600. I manually inputted the name and password and then it connected and remembers.

  3. Patrick Mulcare

    11/26/2014 at 9:56 pm

    Wow. Given the plethora of problems plastered all over Google’s support forums and elsewhere versus the advantages (i.e. that it’s more colorful) I don’t understand why anyone in their right mind would run the risk of installing the update in the hope that they’ll be one of the lucky ones that aren’t adversely affected unless their livelihood was dependent on writing articles related to Android. Personally, I’ll wait until Google releases an update to the update that fixes the numerous bugs reported by their beta testers (aka Nexus owners) in the 5.0 release before I update my 4, 7 or my wife’s 5 as we can’t afford to have backup iPhones too.

    • rekzkarz

      04/15/2015 at 3:54 pm

      Believe me, if AT&T hadn’t forced the update down my throat, I wouldn’t have taken it.

      Not considering bugs, flaws, & Samsung’s generally bad tweaks — this whole UI is white backdrop!! Gaaah! White on AMOLED screen (which I would *NEVER* select) vs older black background (which I would *ALWAYS* select) which also saves power.

      Despite tave reviews of Lollipop, I think its generally hideous. *FAIL*!!!

      • Rho

        07/07/2015 at 5:23 am

        Up dated lg g2 and HATE it, its like a complete different phone. Would like to go back to kit kat. I no longer like using the phone. Lollipop what a pos!..

        • Jim

          07/19/2015 at 2:12 pm

          I agree. I have an LG phone that I have only had for 5 months. The previous set up worked great.I kept getting the notifications (daily for about four weeks) that an update was available so went into my cell phone provider to have it updated. It has locked up on me twice in one week after installation, and I hate the visual look of the different options. They are ugly. The before visual icons were very nice. I just called my cell phone provider but they told me it’s not possible to go back, HUGE FAIL!

        • Dave

          07/19/2015 at 10:22 pm

          The rep at T- Mobile updated my note 4 phone to lollipop without my knowledge. I used to love my phone, now I hate it. Slow as hell now. It lags like crazy when typing text and crashes frequently. I’ve Had it restart several times during phone conversations. Locked up while texting as well. I want Kit Kat back!!! 5.0 is a POS!

          • Cory Gunther

            07/20/2015 at 9:31 am

            I’d backup everything and do a factory data reset sir..

  4. Callie

    11/27/2014 at 10:19 am

    I got Android 5.0 this morning on my Nexus 4 and so far it’s 50/50 for me. The big problem is the white background screens {settings menu, keyboard, etc} and not being able to change them {or find where to change them if it is an option!}. I have vision problems and the black background / dark theme is one of the many things I love {or should I say loved} about the 4.4.4. I can adjust to most of the other differences but this one is making me look into uninstalling the update {if I even can!} If someone has a suggestion about how I can get the menus and keyboard back to dark theme I would greatly appreciate it! Thanks!

    • Mike Check

      11/27/2014 at 5:32 pm

      Did you try “inverting colors?” Take 2 fingers and swipe down from top. Left side middle toggle invert colors.

    • Rosie

      12/10/2014 at 3:19 pm

      You can change back to a black keyboard in settings under language and settings

      • Cory Gunther

        12/10/2014 at 4:34 pm

        Language and input > Google keyboard > themes > and choose any of the 4.

    • Brian

      03/13/2015 at 9:45 pm

      There are a bunch of themes in the play store that will give you different backgrounds in place of the white. Sony used white for 4.4 found a wood theme and used that for quite a while. But there are a lot of choices.

    • Nazzim

      06/16/2015 at 7:45 am

      I am also facing the same problem as yours….so please tell about to change the colour to black.

  5. Per N

    12/01/2014 at 4:00 am

    I have only experienced problems so far, since I installed 5.0 lollipop. All my different apps, (standard apps, games, other etc.) crashes anytime from 15 seconds to 5 minutes. It’s making me crazy.

    • lois

      12/02/2014 at 7:40 pm

      Nothing but problems on my nexus 7…….. It has literally become a useless piece of metal.

  6. Quasar

    12/01/2014 at 1:46 pm

    Boring update. The strategy in KitKat to slim the is was great and yeilded great performance. Now they went back to thick animations and useless visuals that made devices slower. The fonts are smaller to suit the Nexus 6. They forgot to adjust that for Nexus 4/5 builds. The dialer isn’t fluid as well. The notifications pull down is less fluid as well. The lock screen doesn’t display the pattern until u swipe up. All this annoyance and this article is talking about user friendliness :-) I need my KitKat 4.4.4 on my Nexus 4 back Google! Please?

  7. Emer

    12/02/2014 at 12:09 pm

    I have upgrade it 4 days ago. I missed my Kitkat.
    To start:
    1 – No notifications when the display is block. (Kitkat used to tell you which apps has a message or any notifications)
    2 – Crashed most of my apps. No details because I was frustrated.
    3 – WiFi connectivity is bad, losing connection all the time.
    4 – Skype does not work well anymore, when I call somebody it rings twice then mute, until somebody answer, so you’re not sure if the apps is connecting to the other end.
    5 – My NBCSports apps just doesn’t stream anymore, so sad!!!
    6 – I don’t like the idea that when I try to unlock the screen I have to push the right bottom and then swipe up the screen to put my password. It wasn’t like that.

    At the end I performed factory reset on my phone.
    Still remaining points 3, 4, 5 and 6. Probably I will downgrade my phone to KITKAT until the bugs are solved.

  8. MrAreCool

    12/09/2014 at 5:24 pm

    Interesting to read that folks are having problems. My Nexus 7 2013 wifi just pulled the OTA yesterday and i have had zero issues. A lot still looks the same to me because I am using Nova Launcher and SwiftKey keyboard, but I might sick back to stock for a bit to check out the new look.

    I didn’t lose any settings or data that I know of and I have not used an app yet that doesn’t work anymore. This is the most painless OTA update that I have gone through on any of my Android devices.

    • Rey D

      12/10/2014 at 10:41 am

      +1 to this. No problems with 5.0.1 so far. My N7 2013 runs smooth and snappy. It almost feels like I’m using a new device. The animations feel fluid and look great, with no slow-downs! Battery life is about the same as before the update. So glad the Kitkat dark age is finally over…

  9. Tina

    12/09/2014 at 5:24 pm

    The problem I’m having with it, other than the fact that Swype was evidently un-installed, is that my Bingo game from Team Lava no longer works. I’ve uninstalled and reinstalled to no avail, it still won’t work

  10. tj millerton

    12/10/2014 at 12:43 am

    I will delay my update mostly because of the comments and also the white background on many of the screens. I find the KitKat screenshots easier to read than the lollipop version. Also any device that has OLED displays will lose the power saving advantages. The ui changes look good and are probably fun but don’t seem practical. Seems similar to what Microsoft did with vista and windows 7 animations and colors. Seems like Google is losing their focus on what’s important. I’m not impressed.

    • John Leo

      04/18/2015 at 8:21 am

      The comments here hit the Lollipop on its corn syrup head. Bigger, brighter, ‘livlier’ (make that juicier), slower and more crash prone: sounds like the attractions and effects on a diabetic battery. You underscore a major connection among your issues with so many others, including frustration and anger.

      • chris

        06/21/2015 at 9:51 am

        I agree. More fun, more play, more Google ass B.S. and more instability as if Android needs more of that. I’ve been with android since its inception, and quite frankly I’m at the end of my rope with the unstable platform. I love T-Mobile and I’ve been a loyal customer since 2007, but unfortunately I think our business relationship has just about run its course. IOS here I come.

  11. Pete S.

    12/10/2014 at 3:29 pm

    Installed OTA 5.0.1 yesterday on my Nexus 7 2013. No problems at all including connecting to wifi. New keyboard seems a bit strange but I’m getting used to it.

  12. Carl Carey

    12/10/2014 at 3:45 pm

    I installed Lollipop on my Nexus 7 and the color is faded looking. Wish I had of waited.

    • Cory Gunther

      12/10/2014 at 4:33 pm

      huh.. colors are faded? Change brightness.

    • El Banko

      12/28/2014 at 1:10 pm

      This is a new ‘feature’ on Lollipop – the darker your room is the dimmer your screen gets which seems counter-intuitive. If you move to a bright location note that the screen brightens so you can see it in bright light – helpful for outside and brightly lit areas.

      Took a while to figure out what was happening. You can turn off automatic dimming but you lose the extra battery savings – up to you.

  13. mk

    12/10/2014 at 8:18 pm

    There is definite problem with color and brightness. Color is washed out and brightness much lower than used to be. I guess they are trying to conserve battery. White back ground UI is not attractive. It was not worth a wait. I am not impressed either.

    • El Banko

      12/28/2014 at 1:08 pm

      This is a new ‘feature’ on Lollipop – the darker your room is the dimmer your screen gets which seems counter-intuitive. If you move to a bright location note that the screen brightens so you can see it in bright light – helpful for outside and brightly lit areas.

      Took a while to figure out what was happening. You can turn off automatic dimming but you lose the extra battery savings – up to you.

  14. dylan couch

    12/11/2014 at 7:08 am

    got a nexus for my 4 yr old son for Christmas, did the updates as a matter of course and it all seems ok. I put a few movies on there and installed VLC player, all seems fine and dandy. I don’t suppose he will care too much as long as he gets to watch his favourite movies and can play lots of games, I thought it all looked quite impressive; so much so I might get myself one.

  15. Robin Milford

    12/11/2014 at 2:52 pm

    Nexus 7 has lost WiFi connection much more often than it used to, but I think that is my only problem.

  16. kalimba

    12/12/2014 at 6:32 pm

    The problem of washed out color & low brightness cited by Carl Carey and Mk can easily be solved by
    deselecting adaptive brightness. Settings/display/adaptive brightness. It is turned on by default. Hope this helps. Sent from my trouble-free Nexus 7(2013) running 5.02.

    • kalimba

      12/13/2014 at 12:07 pm

      Running 5.0.1.

  17. William Ingram Jr.

    12/13/2014 at 11:47 am

    5.0.1 went with the old app tray.

  18. Alex G

    12/13/2014 at 3:54 pm

    Android 5.0.1 Lollipop compared with Android 4.4 KitKat is as you compare a basic minimalist compact car with a mid range sedan fully loaded.
    Android 5.0.1 is cheap, the design is poor. KitKat design was elegant and made you fill proud that you owned a Google android device.
    Splash screen is horrible (please tell the Team beyond Lollipop to change it as soon as possible, or at least to centered it on the screen_first draw the diagonals to find it), the white background of the setting is horrible-looks like a document written by Notepad, keyboard is horrible, too, white background, small character, symbols & numbers- I replace it with SwiftKey half an hour after the update.
    Photos has replaced the basic, but the excellent Gallery app. Photos is horrible, super slow, saving pics takes up to 1 minute, transition has problems, too. I replaced it with the basic QuickPic.
    Calculator is replaced by Calculator L- the free version by Shatki Malin (and has the same icon-Google Play store ).
    The light grey theme is everywhere, poor, cheap. It’s miles away from Office or Adobe dark grey skin. It’s LIGHT GREY the new BLACK? The clear characters is not stuff for tablets. It’s difficult to read. And you open Feedly, Droppler or Google Chrome they all look the same.
    The icon pack of Lollipop is horrible, too, blue Playback, blue Newsstand, blue Google Earth, blue Calendar, blue Google, blue Downloads, blue Clock, blue Inbox, blue Remote desk, blue Earth, everything is light grey and blue, what a nightmare.
    It’s not true at all that you save battery on Android Lollipop. It’s the opposite. The number of Google background services after the update consume more battery than the previous system and occupy more storage room. That is why the battery icon is hidden somewhere in the background.
    And there are a lot of other changes that makes Lollipop the opposite of the user friendly KitKat.
    Updating your Nexus 7 to Android 5.0.1 is the same experience we have when Microsoft moved from Windows 7 to Windows 8.
    I own a Google Nexus 7, a Google Nexus 5 and Chrome cast and I was proud to have those devices.
    Apple has never compromise the quality of their product. Google is.
    I am ready to return to KitKat 4.4 (that is not possible) till Android team and Google release a new improved and well design Android system very similar to KitKat 4.4.

  19. Rod Edwards

    12/20/2014 at 7:40 am

    My app tray is more like the old one. All black. How do I get the new one?
    Nexus 7 2013 and 5.01

    • Bob

      12/23/2014 at 1:13 am

      So is mine;Running (actually its stumbling – so many problems) 5.0 but dont know if its 2012 or 2013 version.

  20. Marty

    12/22/2014 at 6:30 pm

    My 2012 Nexus hasn’t been sent the Lollipop update and, but when it does I’m going to pass. It’s like brand new, it works beautifully, and it’s going to stay that way.

  21. Lanre

    12/23/2014 at 9:29 am

    Owner of a Nexus 7 2013 and it’s still running on Android 4.4.4…No idea when I’ll receive the update…

  22. Pupienus Maximus

    12/25/2014 at 9:24 am

    So glad I stumbled across this article and comments. I haven’t seen lollipop on my Nexus 7 4G 2012 and now I know not to load it!

  23. Patrick

    12/25/2014 at 5:03 pm

    Really good info here with most of the comments confirming my reluctance to install lollipop on my smooth running N7 2013, with Nova Launcher. I have great battery life, everything looks good, all the apps work perfect, the ONLY thing I’m looking for is a change to the SD card behavior that KitKat f’d up. I’ve heard that was going to be fixed in lollipop but have yet to see anyone confirm it.. So it’s that fixed? Can apps now use the SD card like before KitKat?

  24. Court

    12/26/2014 at 11:18 pm

    I was all excited to update to 5.0.1 lollipop when it showed up… If I had only known what the changes were, and the way that it affected my 2013 nexus 7, I never would have done the update… Really sucks that you can’t uninstall the update & go back to 4.4.4 kit kat. Don’t like that they took the gallery away, and it feels very intrusive to have to use Google+ to handle pics. Hopefully the next update will be better.

    • Patrick

      12/27/2014 at 2:40 pm

      Yea, I feel your pain man. I learned the hard way with the KitKat update on my GS4, when they changed the SD card behavior and f’d up several apps I was using. So now when this lollipop update came in on my N7 I did not say yes, but researched what the changes were and if I would be gaining without losing too much.. And IMO that’s a big NO right now, at least on the nexus since it doesn’t have SD card. Now when it comes in on my Verizon G3 I might do it since SD card operations have been improved (supposedly), but that would be about the only reason I would want lollipop.

  25. djcechicechi

    01/15/2015 at 6:46 am

    thanks for article

  26. bouldy

    01/19/2015 at 12:43 am

    Nexus 7 2012. Got 5.0 option for a day or two then it vanished. Got 5.0.2 this morning, now just waiting for the problems to emerge. Lets face it 90% of people will see it then download it presuming its fit for use. That’s all they want. And if they dont like it have the option of pressing a ‘go back’ button. Not been told you cant unless you go to Oxbidge and study your roots and how to do it which will invalidate your warranty anyway. Simples! They will not want to be wasting their life away trying to find out why its not working properly. Absolutely staggering that after so much money, hype and pre-release testing they still cant get it right first time. High tech systems, endless low tech failures and hassle. The twelve year olds just cant resist ‘fiddling’ for five minutes can they?

  27. Steve Menard

    01/20/2015 at 4:40 pm

    5.02 is a disaster on 2012 nexus 7. Do not upgrade. 5.02 has rendered a device that I used everyday into a worthless frustrating piece of poo. KitKat works fine leave it alone. I cannot believe that they do not test their updates on older devices.

    Again 2012 Nexus 7 was a everyday device. After 5.02 on only use it when I feel like dealing with the frustration of trying to see if it gets any better. It does not.

  28. Not cool Android

    01/20/2015 at 7:40 pm

    Do not install on a 2012 nexus 7. Version 5.0.2 made it slower, less user-friendly, and prone to crashes. Oh, and the screen flickers now. Looks like I’m going to the apple store for a mini now. Not cool android.

    • Chris b

      01/19/2016 at 10:21 am

      Ur not cool cos ur a bitch!

  29. margie

    01/21/2015 at 5:51 am

    Terrible mistake to download 5.0.2 update on my nexus 7 2013. Extremely slow, crashes on every web site, power hog. Wish I could go back, even though that was bad too. If you haven’t updated yet, DON’T DO IT!!!

  30. bhph

    01/22/2015 at 4:20 am

    Can someone please explain (in simple language )how to proceed…. I guess my nexus 7 has downloaded 5.0.2 , but after reading this very helpful article, but I too don’t want it to actually install..

    How do I delete what has been downloaded to be sure it doesn’t accidently get installed by me or helpful others?
    Many thx!

  31. CJ

    01/23/2015 at 3:58 pm

    I stupidly updated to 5 on my N7. Now every app, after taking 3 hours to start, crashes — WITHOUT FAIL. Sack of crap. Do not update.

    • Cory Gunther

      01/26/2015 at 9:58 am

      Factory data reset fixed these problems for us.. which sucks, but give it a try.

  32. Dave Pruess

    01/30/2015 at 2:08 pm

    After updating to Android 5.0.2, I have some new Nexus 7 traits. It locks up and slows down considerably when ever it want to. This is substandard and worse than the original software. Can this be fixed?

  33. edwin

    02/03/2015 at 10:42 pm

    I do not intend to purchase another device with android on it. After installing kit kat i could no longer write to my micro sd card. Google is way to controlling of my device. I almost never have internet access, and the cloud, and I hate them trying force me down that road.
    Done with all things google

  34. Byng Angeles

    02/06/2015 at 1:15 am

    I am on android 4.4.4 and now i’m being notified of the 5.0.2 system update. Is it possible to jump from 4.4.4 to 5.0.2? Help, please. Thanks

    • Kellz Lefontae

      05/18/2015 at 12:04 pm

      yes. I was actually rooted before the update. had to download samsung kies. but it worked. and im not rooted anymore. which is odd. go ahead and update. 5.0.2 lollipop is awesome.

  35. ScottM542

    02/06/2015 at 5:15 am

    My S5 just updated to 4.4.4. I thought the update was for Lollipop. GLAD it wasn’t!!! I hope once I do get notified of the Lollipop upgrade, I can elect not to update from 4.4.4. The white background is A BIG deal breaker for me. All the other comments have also made fear the “change”. I’ve never owned an iPhone & never will. But if this Lollipop is the future of Google & Android devices, I’ll have to look for a different phone. Damn, I loved Blackberrys, when they worked!
    Thanks for the article but more importantly, thanks for all the user comments.

  36. xploit

    02/19/2015 at 2:15 pm

    Why did you feel it necessary to wait 6 paragraphs before talking about WHAT’S NEW, as the title of your entire article states? I would like a refund for the 5 minutes of redundant, useless information. Please send via FedEx overnight k thx

  37. Matt

    02/22/2015 at 6:42 pm

    This review is complete BS! The update has bricked my tablet and thousands like it.
    Your opinions are clearly biased and have no clear standing in reality!
    Who cares if the edges of popup ads are smoother? The fluid like animations are just a reminder that your battery life has gone down the drain!
    And to add insult to injury, the once rock solid tablet is now finicky , slow and anaemic. Half the time its crashed already.
    Wait you like streaming music? Well tuff break sister.
    Oh and you like to surf the internet? Well I got news for you also.
    And finally you! You want to pay your bills! Sorry I was laughing so hard I almost dropped this thing in my wood chipper…

  38. Siddique

    02/23/2015 at 9:33 am

    Nexus 7is a good androud
    So i like it

  39. Cameron

    02/23/2015 at 5:06 pm

    The new interface is a step backwards. Keep the old interface and fix some of the users complaints and speed up the underlying architecture. Don’t mess with the UI, look how poorly it worked for Windows 8.

  40. aarif malik

    02/25/2015 at 8:46 am

    Thanks for such a nice info, this is wt I wanted to know thanks

  41. James

    02/26/2015 at 5:26 pm

    My Nexus 7 2012 runs like crap. It was excellent before the download…now it locks up. often. Almost worthless. It never should’ve been pushed out.

  42. Larry Beckreck

    03/06/2015 at 11:43 pm

    Have Note4, thanks for warnings, won’t go near lollipop.

  43. Tom

    03/11/2015 at 7:59 pm

    after previously attempting upgrades to Lollipop 5.0 and then to 5.0.2 on my Nexus 7 (2012 wifi), i had to revert back to KitKat 4.4.4 each time just to keep the tablet usable. well, i’ve just upgraded it to the latest Android 5.1 factory image now, and it seems that the 3rd time’s the charm! my tablet performance under Lollipop 5.1 is quite respectable (at last) and so i’ll stay with this latest version. it’s a shame that Google hadn’t more fully tested their initial Lollipop releases with the older Nexus hardware, but i’m happy that they’ve finally resolved performance issues with Nexus 7 2012.

  44. jamie

    03/27/2015 at 4:16 pm

    I think the problem with most of the comment’s is the very fact that their using a nexus device in the first place. Upgrade to a LG G3 and than, perhaps post a comment.

  45. jessamine

    03/31/2015 at 8:37 pm

    I have a Samsung s5 and my phone recently updated.. I wanna know how I can change the white parts into black again because it’s too bright for my eyes tbh.. The brightness isn’t the problem, I’m good with that.. it’s just the white screen part and the bright colours that’s bothering me..

  46. al

    04/01/2015 at 10:08 pm

    I have a HTC one and did the 5.1 update lollipop. My device is hardly any different than before and it is probably at the very least5 times faster, very glad I did it, it is awesome!!!

  47. PCollen

    04/15/2015 at 6:24 am

    I can’t help but think that all these changes in the display colors will result in greater battery usage and faster discharge. Isn’t a black background screen, in general, less power consuming than a white or colorful illuminated screen ?

  48. armando p

    04/16/2015 at 9:48 am

    Just got the update on my galaxy s5 and I couldn’t be happier.
    After the update my phone responds and works like when it was brand new out of the box.
    I was having major issue with the home button not responding after update works perfectly and everything else works so smoothly now.
    Love it!!

  49. Gaby

    04/17/2015 at 5:41 am

    HORRIBLE UPDATE!!!

    Thanks for removing audio controls from my lock screen. Now when listening to pandora or stitcher I have to unlock my phone and go into the app to pause or skip. NOT VERY Smart especially when I’m driving. You added more steps to something that was sooo simple before.

    The new bright colors is horrible, at least give us the option to have a dark tone or light tone.

    The new recent apps manager is disgusting as well. Why stack them over each other? It looks cluttered and harder to read. It was a lot simpler and easier to read before. WHY WHY do you do this?!

    Please give us the option and a heads up before I get stuck with this pointless update.

    • Patrii

      04/18/2015 at 4:20 pm

      Suspect the answer as to why is to “drive” us to Android Auto for our vehicular uses. After all, Google’s motto is “Don’t be evil”.. They didn’t say anything about not being calculating.

  50. Patrick

    04/17/2015 at 6:29 am

    Done like the update, many don’t. I choose not to update because there’s really nothing with the risk of the reported bugs. I would try it if I could easily go back to KitKat, but Google and/or Verizon does not seen to care about that. I have not seen anyone talk about this glaring omission in the android phones.. The ability to “reset” or reboot back to what you had when you purchased the phone. Once you do these ‘updates’, you are stuck! A ‘factory reset’ should take you back to how you originally got the phone.. KitKat, not a cleared out lollipop. No wonder so many root their phones.. But why should you have to root to get this functionality? I can try windows 8 and go back to 7 anytime. It’s not like android could not have this feature, it’s that Google chose to do it this way, to restrict users from ‘downgrading’. But maybe in my opinion the previous version is an upgrade.. What then?

  51. Brittany

    04/28/2015 at 3:58 am

    I don’t mind the new update, it takes time to get used to. But the only problem I have is that when I’m listening to music there is an annoying notification there wanting me to go to different apps with headphones plugged in. And the most annoying is that i can NO longer go to my playlists on my music. I always go to my playlists and now I cant. It’s really upsetting.

  52. CJ

    05/01/2015 at 10:51 am

    I hate it it has messed my phone I used the face recognition and it has been taken off
    I have messages to people I don’t know, I have pop up adverts I never had. When i swip to open my phone I have to cancel several screens to get into the main screen. When I want to make a call I get the last call list up it just bugs me. I dont have a choice on many apps how i want them to work, like I don’t want my e-mail to show
    And worst of all after only having my phone for a few months I am left to pay for a phone that does not do what it use to I might just as well have a cheaply phone. Android need to give back what we had after all that’s what they took our money for.

  53. QWERTY

    05/03/2015 at 12:42 am

    I think it’s pretty unanimous that most android users are upset about Lollipop and miss KitKat. There was nothing wrong with KitKat, Lollipop created problems that didn’t need to exist. I bought my Galaxy S5 because it was supposed to be much more battery efficient than other phones. All the white backgrounds, “fancy” animations, and tinier buttons have only made my experience much, much worse.

    What really upsets me is that now my general notifications show up on my lock screen. Honestly, my notifications are for ME and ME ONLY. Why in the world would I want them to show up on the first screen visible to anybody who wakes up my phone?? Who thought this was a good idea?? I also can’t access the clock app from swiping down from the top screen anymore, I have to go find the Clock app the long way and set my alarms/use stopwatch. Not only this, but for the first time in my 4 years of owning Android phones of all things the system keyboard actually crashed on me while I was texting a friend with the Lollipop update. Unbelievable.

    I’ve tried disabling notifications of all my apps, (even ones that were USEFUL to me before,) but I still get very stupid notifications on my lock screen like ones that remind me of images I’ve downloaded and ones that tell me I’m currently connected to my home’s Wi-Fi; as if I wasn’t aware of that while at home.

    Overall terrible, compounded by the fact we’re all stuck with this nightmarish update because downgrading is not possible. Hoping for a new update or bugfix that gives us back some of the features that made KitKat fantastic.

  54. Tiago

    05/04/2015 at 8:42 am

    Eu tenho o HTC 816 e fiz a atualização de software para o 5.0.2 e o meu HTC funciona perfeitamente ;)

  55. rufus

    05/08/2015 at 12:05 am

    I hope Google/Android is aware of all the unhappy people with 5.0. I was perfectly happy with kitkat, and now my Galaxy 4 is using a lot more RAM, and crashing on some apps. I’m afraid to try a rollback, so hopefully the “M” upgrade will make things better again.

    • Cory Gunther

      05/08/2015 at 11:50 am

      5.1.1 should fix the memory and app crashing problem. At least we hope so. Android 5.2 M could be coming at IO, so stay tuned.

  56. J

    05/08/2015 at 9:19 am

    Did you really write this article? “More colorful and elegant”? Not in my opinion. First, I actually prefer the bold approach over the elegant one. Makes things easy to see and understand. Second, black backgrounds use less power and (as I understand it) white backgrounds use the most. Kind of important on devices running on limited batteries. Third, was there even any market research outside of the San Francisco Bay area to see how people were using the features that have been deprecated? I had everything I needed on a single home screen and maximized the use of the lock screen. All gone with the “upgrade”. You screwed a great number of people in order to get what the author of this article describes as “color and elegance”. Form over function AND I haven’t seen anyone aside from this guy, defend the choice! I for one prefer previous “un-colorful” option – it was more useful and didn’t make me want to go buy an iPhone.

  57. John

    05/11/2015 at 7:58 am

    This was not a good update. I fail to see where this actually makes my phone easier to use. Colorful just makes it harder to see what I am looking for. I wish I had read reviews before I upgraded my S4. I would have never done it.

  58. errol

    05/13/2015 at 11:30 am

    Hi
    I did manualy install lollypop on my note 4 and after i did a clean install and my lollipop is working without any problems, i am a heavy user did charge my battery last night 1:00 and know fer 14 hours my battery is at 60%
    I did download my software from sammobile in case i like to downgrade will be easy to do
    ,

  59. Kellz Lefontae

    05/18/2015 at 12:08 pm

    Anyone else lose Root on the note 4 after the 5.0.2 Lollipop Update? I used Kies from a P.C.

  60. CK

    05/19/2015 at 3:02 am

    I recently caved and updated to the new 5.0.1. on my S4 as the update notification endlessly haunted me for weeks. Horrible! After 10 minutes and even worse, a few days, I regret it endlessly. First off, as an illustrator, graphic artist and drafter, it not only looks like an absolute primatively imagined, beginners try, cheap downgraded wash from what Kitkat was (100% aesthetically speaking), but also matches that effect in efficiency and practicality on a few levels. The blank/bright white this, that, and the other thing is coupled with the faded colors of the text bubbles, icons, menu/panel notifications and the absolutely horrendous Gmail setup. The colors fade so close together sometimes it’s hard to tell them apart from each allocated/corresponding sender. Especially if your colorblind, which my father is and completely failing the distinction. Before, the bright, solid squared dense color-cubed distinction off the bat before reading it’s sender was never an issue. That coupled with the white background is a nightmare to even read. Even the text and keyboard is horrible. One shouldnt have to immediately resort to a keyboard app after years of comfortable use immediately after a “fresh/new” update. It’s not fresh, and it’s definitely not new. There are NO settings to fix that either. Brighter or darker, the base design is flawed from the ground up. Then there’s the blowback from it all. Even with powersave, I can almost watch the battery life drain from my phone during use. Even after a few years with crazy use, I’ve never had to charge this phone twice in a day or at most 48 hours at times. But with “Lolli-flop,” recharging is the name of the game. The transition animations from screens and opening apps is something to loath as it lags at times and is lackluster and less fluid/appealing. I could go on, but I refuse to waste anymore of a readers time. If you have an S4, don’t do it! It’s absolute garbage and has the possibility to operate as such. The inividuality and creativity of a user/customer was completely removed with this update. It’s like a default to everything out there in the beta stage of design. Almost coming as close to the ill-imagined, lackluster, innately designed effort of an iPhone/apple representation. Hi, Google, Android- I don’t own an iPhone, I own a Samsung. It WAS unique and different, that’s why i went that route. Put the individuality of your customer first and don’t insist we are a lemming following. Food for thought on your food related “upgrades.” By the way, within the almost 10 minutes it took to type and/or deal with the new keyboard, my battery dropped from 83% to 71%. Nothing like a solid downgrade for a weak upgrade!

  61. Felipe

    05/21/2015 at 11:05 am

    Sony Z3 user here, not a huge change on my side, battery the same, no lags and no performance improvements I can notice.

    It gets used to find the easy settings as before, liked that better for speed this one looks nicer.

    Things I don’t like chrome tabs appear individually when switching between apps I normally have a ton of tabs so it makes a pain in the ass to go through them.

    Unlocking if you have lock screen notifications takes one step more and notifications are not good enough you can’t really read them.

    Also contacts and answering the phone have a nicer design but is more complicated to answer and look for contacts.

    That is my feedback

  62. Patrick

    05/23/2015 at 12:11 pm

    After making sure it was possible to go back (although not easily) I went ahead and updates both my Nexus 7 (2013) and my LG G3 to lollipop. The Nexus 7 is 5.1.1 and the G3 is 5.0.2 (Verizon). The N7 works great, with no setbacks, although really no improvements either. The G3 is a huge fall and I will be rolling back to KitKat because of:
    – Wi-Fi fail – slow response, no notifications on Wi-Fi, etc.
    – poor battery life.. About half of what it was
    – general sluggishness and failures to complete tasks
    I believe that 5.1 would fix a lot of this but that could be months away with Verizon. So the fail here is mainly with Verizon’s slow update process.

  63. Devid

    05/28/2015 at 8:29 am

    Io rivoglio assolutamente il 4.4 kitkat graficamente era molto più bello era nero cosa che io non sopporto I sistemi operativi colorati che sembrano sistemi operativi per bambini io mi sono allontanato da Microsoft per passare ad Android però se fate sti sistemi operativi da 2 soldi allora siete diventati come Microsoft

  64. Devid

    05/28/2015 at 8:32 am

    I want it absolutely the 4.4 kitkat graphically was much nicer was black thing I can not stand The operating systems that look like colored operating systems for children I have moved away from Microsoft to switch to Android but if you sti operating systems from 2 money then you have become as Microsoft

  65. Chris Spielvogel

    05/28/2015 at 8:55 pm

    This is the biggest fanboy comparison. I lost count of how many times you wrote “bold” or other buzz words. You say “boring” i say professional. Not every phone user is a 16 year old that is excited by the latest shiney change for changes sake.

    I initially read this article as i hoped to see the differences from a clinical comparison. But its was very poorly done. I, as many others are; am not drinking the Kool Aid and are reverting back to Kit Kat as soo as the firmware downloads.

  66. Stacy Hawthorne

    06/10/2015 at 5:06 pm

    This lollipop update sucks. How do I go back to the old operating system?

  67. hadiway

    06/15/2015 at 5:25 am

    Such a stupid platform update!! Damn. Not stable. . Slow… and I had remote app which I controlled my LG air conditioning. So nicely, now it’s not working!! This 5.0 update is a SHAME!

  68. vinni vashishtha

    06/15/2015 at 10:41 am

    Kit kat is much better then lollipop wher ever i downlod facebook my mobile has so sufficient space . it take too much spaces for app . i m soo irritating i have micromax unite 2

  69. adam

    06/18/2015 at 8:44 am

    I have a galaxy note 4 that requires a system up date, I clicked continue and the phone goes to restart and in the top left hand corner there is this error message in yellow,red, and blue writing. Then it acts like it updates, 2 minutes later the phone is back on, which I know the updates take longer than that. Plus when it comes back on it says I have a system update again.

  70. Augustova Brentankya

    06/18/2015 at 8:25 pm

    I put lollipop on my Samsung Galaxy Tab 4. I had over 8 million points on a game. Now I have 0. All of my personal photos are gone. All of my personal videos have triplicated, 3 of each. My camera no longer takes photos. When I click for a snapshot, it stays on and takes a video. If I use the video mode, it does not work. My email accounts no longer sync or notify me when I have mail. Passwords for apps no longer function. Since I no longer had anything left I could use, I did a factory reset. Now in about 45 minutes, my battery goes from over 80% to 1% and the tablet shuts off. It does this everytime. The volume keeps resetting to 0. I have my own wifi and it sometimes works and sometimes doesn’t any more. Never had this problem before. My tablet has become a piece of useless garbage. I get paid today and have no choice but to buy a new one. My whole life on my tablet went to Lollipop Land. Don’t use this on a Samsung! You will be sorry. Not a joke. Didn’t google have anyone smart enough to try this upgrade before giving it to people? I have definitely lost faith in google and their products!

  71. wendy

    06/19/2015 at 4:23 am

    Hate the upgrade. Hate being hasstled for days to finally load it. Now nothing works properly and I have to reload passwords, apps etc. Sorry, but, this is horid and now I can’t get rid of it witout loosing heaps more of my work etc. Not happy! Won’t be accepting any more “upgrades”!

  72. Robert

    06/22/2015 at 11:14 am

    I just brought a Motorola Next Gen, the girl at the shop I brought it from told me I could upgrade straight away to lollipop, but warned against it. After reading all of these reviews I’m not going to risk it. If it ain’t broke don’t fix it !

  73. Connie

    06/26/2015 at 9:01 am

    My phone turns itself down when ever it feels like it so half the time I don’t even hear it ring.

  74. Mehak

    07/08/2015 at 10:12 pm

    I have Samsung Galaxy A3 device. I updated android 5.0. I lost 3G network. Device is not detecting 3G. What I have to do now? How can I again upgrade kikat 4.4.4? Please help me.

    • Himanshu

      08/24/2015 at 10:39 am

      Do factroy reset.

  75. kundan

    07/09/2015 at 8:28 pm

    lollipop 5.0.2 worst

  76. Amandeep Singh

    07/13/2015 at 10:38 am

    I’m using Android lollipop on my samsung galaxy note 3 .Features are great but not running smoothly.

  77. na

    07/19/2015 at 8:01 am

    Garbage post. I wanted to read an ARTICLE. Not watch a slideshow.

  78. Jeff

    08/30/2015 at 8:45 am

    The writers for gotta be mobile need to be replaced. Endless talk repeating everything the wrote in the previous paragraphs. Very little useful information.

  79. Barrack POS

    09/17/2015 at 4:31 pm

    BIg brother doesn’t want you to have the older,less intrusive OS.
    Keep in mind. They watch everything you do. That is why all the updates.

    • Barrack POS

      09/17/2015 at 4:37 pm

      I forgot to add Windows 10 is great too…. I can see everything.

  80. Omar Moreno

    10/28/2015 at 9:59 am

    Does somebody knows how does the lollipop works for the samsung galaxy grand prime

  81. NewsView

    01/07/2016 at 5:23 pm

    A lollipop update will be welcome by those suffering KitKat’s app-to-SD handicap. I particularly hope that tablet manufacturers will update KitKat tabs to lollipop, if only because a lot of these were sold with the app-to-SD functionality crippled by the OS from the get-go.

  82. Ahmed

    05/20/2016 at 12:40 am

    Thanks. Please help me to update my device to marshmallow

  83. Ajit Vishwanath

    10/06/2016 at 8:17 pm

    thank you, the article is well written and did exactly what i intended

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