Well Google had quite the show at I/O last week as they unveiled many new things. There are many exciting things but the one we can access right now is the developer preview of the upcoming Android L. Whether it be Android Lemonhead or Lollipop, it will arrive sometime in the fall. After spending the latter part of the weekend with it, I wanted to share our thoughts with it.
For starters, it is quite smooth + fast. Much faster + smoother than the 1st beta of iOS 8. It’s even improving the battery life on the Nexus 5 exponentially as well. And that’s w/o utilizing their new Battery Saver feature.
The on-screen buttons goes from designs to shapes. Recent Apps is now a Square, the Home button is a Circle, and the Back button is a Triangle.
Multitasking is now changed to from the lineup of apps to now Card-like UI. When you have a lot of apps open, it can get a bit cluttered visually but I think its an overall improvement.
The keyboard is new as it resembles the latest look from Swiftkey. The gesture-based typing is still there as well as prediction. Long presses on comma activates keyboard settings, on the period gives you quick access to symbols, and the return gives you access to emojis.
The notifications has changed. You can access them from the lockscreen now. You can swipe them away or double-tap them to expand them a bit/open them. As well as even reply to some of them as seen on iOS 8.
Also, apart of notifications are your Quick Settings. You can access them by pulling down on the notification shade twice or by double-tapping the top Black bar. From there you’ll have access to Airplane Mode, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, Settings, screen rotation, location, notification sound/do not disturb, and screen cast.
From the overall navigation to the 60fps animations. Its all good as I can’t wait for the fall. Welcome to Google’s new Material Design.
