Android L 5.0 Lollipop Update Release Date: Nexus 4, Nexus 5, Nexus 7, and Nexus 10 Soon
As usual, the fall holiday shopping season brings plenty of shiny new toys, but some Android smartphone owners won't have to buy a new device to upgrade their experience. Android 5.0 Lollipop is slated to roll out in the coming weeks, and owners of Nexus devices can rest easy knowing they will receive the update soon.
Google revealed Android 5.0 Lollipop earlier this year at its annual Google I/O conference during the summer. Since then, the search giant has been mum on when the actual firmware will roll out, until now.
Google recently announced two new devices for the fall: the Motorola-built Nexus 6 smartphone and the HTC-manufactured Nexus 9 tablet. Both will be releasing in November and both will be accompanied by Android 5.0 on board.
What does this mean for those who own older Nexus devices? Good news, because it probably means Android 5.0 will begin rolling out sometime in November. Although it didn't give a specific date, Google did confirm that the Nexus 4, Nexus 5, Nexus 7 and Nexus 10 will all receive Android 5.0. The only real question is when.
There's a chance that Google will make Android 5.0 for the Nexus 4, Nexus 5, Nexus 7 and Nexus 10 live the second it begins shipping out the Nexus 6 and Nexus 9. However, history indicates that there might be a slight delay, and even when Google does push out the firmware over-the-air (OTA), remember that it will come in batches, so not everybody will be able to download it immediately. There is a faster way, however.
As soon as Google does being sending Android 5.0 over the airwaves, intrepid Nexus 4, Nexus 5, Nexus 7 and Nexus 10 owners will be able to head over to Google's developer page and download the factory images themselves. This does involve manual flashing, so those who feel uncomfortable about the possibility of bricking their handset or tablet should just wait for the OTA download.
Whether or not the older Nexus devices end up getting Android 5.0 on the same day as the Nexus 6 or Nexus 9, one thing is certain: it won't take long. In fact, soon after revealing Android 5.0, Google made a developers preview version of the firmware available for the Nexus 5 and Nexus 7, so those devices have been running Lollipop for some time now. There shouldn't be too many kinks to iron out at this stage.
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