Android Lollipop still not on your phone? Great! According to the latest whispers around the campfire, it looks like you’ll be getting Android 5.0.1 Lollipop just in time to wait for the Android 5.1 upgrade. The new update, which has been dubbed Android 5.1 instead of being Android 5.0.2, is rather surprising considering the fact that there are still many Android KitKat users who have been anxiously awaiting the arrival of Lollipop on their devices. Despite the fact that Android 5.0.1 still has that new car smell, it has been revealed that Android 5.1 is likely slated for a February 2015 release.
So just what is so exciting about the latest iteration of Google’s mobile OS? Well, the changelog has also been revealed and it appears that Android 5.1 promises to bring some very ambitious and needed changes. Android 5.1 should include these following changes:
- Fixes for the sudden app closure issue
- System stability general improvements
- Silent mode added (after it was found to be missing on Android 5.0.1)
- Fix for excessive consumption of network devices when used Wi-Fi
- Wireless connection issues fixed
- Okay Google functionality problems solved
- Improved RAM management
- Fixes for sound problems experienced on certain devices
- Changes in Material design color palette (in response to user complaints, though this could be rolled out for a higher version)
- Improved battery management
- Fixes for notifications issues
Whew! That’s quite the laundry list of improvements slated for Android 5.1. While such ambitious updates generally mean a whole new name, given that Lollipop is still fresh out of the package, it seems unlikely that Google will give the Android 5.1 a different name. While some of these are fixes for bugs that were discovered in Android Lollipop (such as the wireless connectivity issues or the missing silent mode) it is also interesting to note that such significant changes are being rolled out so close to Lollipop’s launch. Oh, and while we do have word on what the new changelog will likely look like hopefully we won’t have to wait too long for word on what the Android 5.1 functions will be.