The new Android OS comes with top
notch security features and easy
ways to view and respond to
notifications.
Android's sweet new "Lollipop" flavour brings
security improvements and easier ways to view
and respond to notifications. The new Google
software for mobile devices even lets you lend out
your phone without worrying about a friend
circulating your naked selfies on Facebook.
It's a shame many phone manufacturers that use
Android believe they have to tweak it extensively
to make the software theirs and not Google's.
Messing around with it only confuses customers
and steers app developers toward working on
iPhone versions first, where there is more
uniformity - and thus incentive to incorporate the
latest features.
Assuming your phone maker is running Lollipop in
its purest form, here's what you'll get:
Notifications: You used to have to pull
down the notification tray from the top, as
you would a window shade. With Lollipop,
notifications appear in the center of the lock
screen. You can expand messages and reply
right from the lock screen. If you've set up a
passcode - more on that in a bit - you'll be
prompted to enter it before composing that
reply. You also have the option to block all
notifications or just those from specific apps if
you're worried about privacy. Or you can
choose to hide sensitive content. In those
cases, you'll see you got an email or text,
but you won't see who sent it or what the
message says. You can also choose "priority"
mode and get notifications only from apps
you mark as priority. In that mode, you can
also choose to accept calls and texts only
from known contacts or favourites. You still
see all incoming calls or messages if you're
looking, but you're not disrupted by
vibrations or rings.
Security: With Lollipop, you can keep
your phone unlocked when it's near a trusted
device of your choosing - say, a Bluetooth-
enabled car or an Android smartwatch.
Bluetooth range can extend 30 feet or more,
so be sure you trust your friends if you step
away without your phone. Or delete those
naked selfies first. With Lollipop, Android
also joins Apple's iOS 8 software in
encrypting data by default. This is important
if your phone is lost or stolen.
Multiple profiles: If you lend your
phone out, or share it with a family member,
you'll now have profile options. You can set
up to four profiles, each with its own
settings, contacts, photos and apps. Each
user can be at a different level on "Candy
Crush Saga." Or a friend can download it
without having it clutter your apps list.
Likewise, guests can use their own email and
Facebook accounts - not yours. Some options
are disabled if you're not the owner. For
instance, your kid won't be able to restore
the phone to factory settings and wipe out all
your data. But friends or family can update
your apps and accept permissions on your
behalf. It's your choice whether they can
make calls and text, as they would still be
using your phone number. The browser and
app store don't come with parental controls,
so it isn't meant for unsupervised use. And
no secondary profile will keep your kid from
smearing grape jelly on the screen.
Shortcuts: Lollipop adds several
shortcuts above the notification tray. You can
get quick access to the flashlight and the
setting for airplane mode, something some
Android manufacturers have added, but not
all. There's also a new "Cast screen" button
to send video from your phone to a TV with
an Android TV streaming device.
Unfortunately, you can't change the options.
Those without an Android TV device won't
need "Cast screen," but might want a screen-
rotation lock instead, for instance. The new
Android software also removes some of the
distinctions between apps and content.
Previous versions of Android offered ways to
scroll through open apps to pick which goes to
the foreground. Now, individual tabs in the
Chrome browser and individual documents
in Google Docs appear separately, so you can
go straight to your content without having to
go to that app first. Other app developers
will be able to enable this feature, too.
And the rest: Lollipop comes with an
updated Calendar app that integrates with
your Gmail service so that flight
reservations, concert tickets and other
confirmation emails get automatically turned
into calendar events. The app is also more
visually pleasing and fun. Keywords such as
"concerts," "dentist" and "brunch" trigger
appropriate graphics. Still missing, though,
is the ability to decide whether individual
apps can access your location. Apple's iOS
software lets you choose on an app-by-app
basis, but it's all or nothing with Android.
Nonetheless, Lollipop is a worthy upgrade that
will hopefully come to your Android device -
unfettered - soon.
No comments:
Post a Comment