Android 5.0 “Lollipop,” the newest version of Google’s Android operating system, is now available on the Nexus 4, an Android phone first released in 2012. The Mountain View company posted a factory image on a page dedicated to developers this week.
The factory image “means applying it will require some command line work, and all the data from your phone will be deleted,” Ars Technica reported. Another option available to Nexus 4 owners is to wait “up to three weeks” for the over-the-air update.
The Nexus 4 is among the last smartphones from Google’s Nexus series to get the Lollipop update. The newer devices, Nexus 5 and 10, as well as Wi-Fi Nexus 7, are eligible, leaving only cell-only Nexus 7 without the update.
Ars Technica calls Lollipop one of the most significant Android OS updates to date and one that “doesn’t seem to hurt older devices that much.” The website tested an 8GB Nexus 7 tablet and discovered that it runs a little slower with Lollipop, but the differences are negligible.
The new version of the Android OS – it holds roughly an 80 percent market share globally – features revamped fonts in an all-new “Material Design” language. Among other noteworthy features arriving with Lollipop are notifications available on the lock screen, expanded voice recognition and new camera API with support for RAW images.
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