Release date
As the Nexus 6 peers over the Autumn horizon, as does the onset of Android’s latest operating system, Android L. A release date could be as soon November 1, or so Android Authority heard from two Google familiars anyway.
An event reportedly to be held on October 16 could see the Nexus 6 and Nexus 9 announced, thereby ushering in Android L.
Samsung Knox implementation
Android L will be poaching some of Samsung’s Knox security platform ideas, implementing the enterprise BYOD platforms security ideas as an Android mainstay. This should appease employers who are after stricter security standards for employee devices, but still want to roll out Android phones and tablets.
Android product manager director Srikanth Rajagopalan has said: "Personal and corporate applications will run as two separate Android users.
"Data is kept safe by using block-level disk encryption as well as verified boot technology."
Automatic encryption
Google is planning to add a data encryption feature to the Android L operating system.
The automatic data encryption will ensure that data such as photos, videos, messages, and contact lists are accessible only after unlocking the smartphone with a password.
This means law enforcement agencies will not be able to collect evidence from smartphones unless the users shares their password.
Design
Google’s going with the buzzword of ‘material’, a concept which unifies the look of Android L across its smartwatches, Chrome OS and mobile devices. Looking at previews, there are a lot of shadows added to icons and menus, with rings splashing out from objects when they’re tapped on. There will also be a layered design, rather than the flat one found on current Android releases.
Notifications
Users will be able to see notifications sfrom the lock screen, and the notifications will even be ordered in terms of importance according to what Android learns about you.
Smartwatch authentication
Android 5.0 L will let users be able to use their Android Wear smartwatches as device unlockers. This means you won’t need a password to unlock your phone, you can just do it remotely from the smartwatch on your wrist.
Android in your car
Android L will feature Android Auto, which will be very similar to Apple’s CarPlay.
Your phone will transmit its screen to the monitor on your car’s dashboard, and you’ll be able to use Android L in car mode, with GPS navigation of course.
Battery optimisation
Just like the Samsung Galaxy S5, Android L will feature a battery mode which will shutdown non-critical functions to allow for extended battery use when you just need it to last a little bit longer. One of Android 4.4’s downsides was the battery life, so it’s good to see Google try and turn this around.
Android TV
Whislt not strictly part of Android L, the platform will feature support for Android TV, Google’s latest streaming development. Your Android L device will be able to act as the remote control for whatever screen your streaming Android TV to.
Why is it called Android L?
As you may well know, the letters after each Android release correspond to some kind of sweet dessert. We’ve had Gungerbread, Ice android anananamnankanananaaCream Sandwich, and even most recently. Android L is rumoured to likely stand for Lollipop, and it’s set to be the sweetest Android release yet.
