
Android Lollipop is out, but almost no one is using it - AshleysBrain
http://www.zdnet.com/article/android-lollipop-is-out-but-almost-no-one-is-using-it/
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fivedogit
This is not surprising and this hit-job of an article implies it has something
to do with the quality of Lollipop rather than the real reason: When Google
first released Android, it was a major underdog to iOS. As part of the
negotiations to get the carriers to... um... carry phones with Android, Google
sacrificed the ability to push out Android updates. That ability rests with
the cell providers and they _always_ take their sweet time with it.

Note: I have no particular love for Google. Just the truth.

~~~
wlesieutre
> That ability rests with the cell providers and they always take their sweet
> time with it.

Can't just blame the carriers, it's manufacturers too. I have a Xperia Z3
Compact direct from Sony, which is a practically brand new mini-flagship. US
release in early November, but no sign of Lollipop.

From what I've read, _maybe_ it gets updated in February?

Granted the carrier locked versions will be even slower, but having just
switched to this from an iPhone it feels pretty absurd.

~~~
Veratyr
Sony's still actively working on the Z3 Compact, they've posted some demos but
I think your February estimate is probably a bit optimistic unfortunately,
judging by the rate of commits on Github.

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drzaiusapelord
Well, its fairly unstable and the OEMs know it. The much publicized memory
leak hasn't been fixed, performance is poor, battery life isn't good, and big
changes like Volta and ART aren't being well utilized by app developers yet.

I imagine 5.0.2 isn't enough of an incentive for hesitant OEMs to push out
just yet. Maybe 5.0.3? 5.1? Who knows when a lion's share of the new bugs will
be fixed. I imagine the memory leak is a dealbreaker as it breaks the GUI.
Clearly, 5.0 was pushed out early for the N6 launch event, which is
bothersome, but that's just how google does business now I guess.

Not to mention, even under ideal circumstances with a solid version of
android, there's a 12 month lag before the newest version breaks 50% of
installed devices. Lollipop isn't changing that. I used to joke that owning a
Nexus was like being a beta tester, but honestly, its pretty close to the
truth.

~~~
Zigurd
ART is transparent to app developers. BUT ART is less of an improvement than
many would think. Almost all the heavy computing in Android is below the Java
layer, or in app level native code, or in RenderScript. So, except for grossly
un-optimized app code, ART is going to be hard to notice. TL;DR: Andoid wasn't
slow. ART won't make it fast.

~~~
agumonkey
On non flagship devices, you feel the difference between dalvik and ART. The
latter having less overhead and reaching lower latency, but it comes in spikes
which is a regression in terms of UX (I prefer less fast but predictable).

~~~
Zigurd
Native code produced by ART is going to have a larger footprint than Dalvik
bytecode, which is very compact compared to Java bytecode, never mind native
code. The inconsistent, or even regressed performance is, if not predictable
at least not a surprise since the system might be having to reap whole runtime
instances more often to free up memory for what are now larger heaps, using
ART. Especially on low end devices with less RAM. ART will work best in
devices with plentiful RAM.

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PaulHoule
Well, I wouldn't have installed Android L if I knew how it was going to (1)
slow my tablet down, (2) have problems with WiFi, and (3) look awful.

There's a reason why they ran ads for the Nexus devices last month that only
showed the devices turned off.

~~~
mdm_
My Samsung tablet runs 4.4.2 and since I rooted it, it tells me "this device
has been modified and cannot be updated". Sounds like I'm not missing out on
much!

~~~
shrikant
This might just be Samsung's "take" on the update. I have an old rooted Nexus
7 (2012), and it updated to Lollipop just fine. Performance is quite poor, but
the update process itself was perfectly smooth.

~~~
AjithAntony
Was the performance on your 2012 Nexus 7 already very poor before L? I had
read that the missing trim stuff came in kitkat, but my Nexus 7 2012 is
painfully slow.

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redeemedfadi
And it's a shame because it's the fastest/prettiest version of Android I've
ever used. I have a Nexus 5 as a test device and using it with Lollipop makes
me consider switching from iOS.

~~~
pdx
My Nexus 4 phone is now often, not an actual phone, since I often lose phone
audio until I reboot. This is a known bug introduced and not yet fixed with
Lollipop, so it's a good reason to not upgrade.

[https://productforums.google.com/forum/#!topic/nexus/j74JlSh...](https://productforums.google.com/forum/#!topic/nexus/j74JlShhihc)

~~~
IkmoIkmo
Which is pretty poor, it's like the iPhone 5 (released slightly before the N4)
not being able to run iOS 8. I mean it's a different price range, sure, but
you'd expect to install software updates 2 years later without it breaking a
core feature like making a phone call.

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lnanek2
Not really a fan of it. My Nexus 4 updated to it and is really buggy.
Sometimes I'll go back to the home screen and there are no icons until I swipe
away and back. Wish I could just turn off all the new gratuitous animations
since they are broken and buggy anyway and they slow down using the thing.

Triangle instead of home seems really obscure and bizarre to me too. I don't
even remember what that circle thing is supposed to be any more. Wish they
would stick to meaningful icons. I'm glad some graphics designer at Google
probably got a promotion for screwing up the OS and changing everything, but
hopefully the next graphics designer gets a promotion for fixing it.

~~~
nly
I'd recommend moving back to CM11. That's what I did when 4.4.0 broke a tonne
of stuff on my N4.

~~~
Fuzzwah
I've been getting two issues more and more recently running CM11 M12 on my
m7vzw:

\- random reboots \- lack of signal (while the icon in the notification bar
shows connection)

I've been considering moving to CM12 when M1 is released, or perhaps trying
out OmniRom.

Now I'm starting to think that maybe just wiping and starting with a fresh
CM11 M12 could be the better option...

Thoughts?

~~~
nly
Can't really comment. I tried to update CM11 nightly and accidentally flashed
CM12 (they moved CM12 to nightly a few days ago). Seems tolerable but doesn't
feel like Cyano yet.

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mmahemoff
"less than 0.1 percent of all Android devices were using Lollipop"

I'm surprised by this figure, with the number of Nexus devices that should
have auto-upgraded by now. I assume OP is basing this on "Any versions with
less than 0.1% distribution are not shown" and Lollipop not being shown, but
it seems more likely it hasn't been added yet.

I'm seeing ~7% usage on current installs of my app. It might be
disproportionate for some reason, but it's not a new app and I can't imagine
it's that skewed.

~~~
dkopi
Users are most likely to go out seeking new apps after a major upgrade or
buying a new phone. Users with older phones are much less likely to seek new
apps

~~~
JTon
Interesting. Makes sense, but are you aware of any data to back this up?

~~~
dkopi
Only from my own apps. New android versions are always much more likely to
install my apps than their actual percentage of devices out there.

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jareds
Are ota updates being pushed out slower for Lollipop then Kitcat? I ahve a
2012 Nexus 7 and still have not gotten the 5.0.2 update. I'd install it if I
got it but don't want to have to go the factory image rout.

~~~
finishingmove
I have a 1st gen Moto G and it hasn't received the 5.0 update yet.

~~~
worklogin
Me too. One of the reasons I bought the phone was to get OTA updates, and I
don't want to sideload things on my prod phone. So it's up to Motorola to get
it out to me.

That said, I'm hearing a lot of negative about L, so I'm not sure if I should
be upset or not. I think 4.1 had a better interface than 4.4 anyway.

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dkopi
I was "forced" to update to lollipop in order to add lollipop support for an
App I'm working on. I must say I was pleasantly surprised. The upgrade was
seamless, and I immediately felt the improved speed thanks to android's new
ART. Material UI is a pleasure. It's great to see how much effort Google has
put into the look and feel of lollipop.

Either way - If you're developing a new app or releasing a new product - don't
let the lollipop percentages confuse you. Early adopters of your app are much
more likely to be early adopters of new android versions as well. About 15% of
the users of one of my Apps recently released to the play market are Android
5.0 users. The rest are on Kit Kat, and virtually none of them on Jelly Bean
or ICS.

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dragthor
Possible that KitKat is "good enough" for most users?

~~~
PaulHoule
not just "good enough" but "better"

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fakename
nexus 5 with busted wifi checking in. I wish I weren't using lollipop.

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Gracana
My first gen Nexus 7 is using it, but I'm not. It's so slow that sometimes I
can't even get past the login screen -- it goes dark before it registers that
I've swiped my lock pattern! Other Nexus 7 owners have complained about this
as well, but we don't matter enough for Google to issue any sort of fix.

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TranquilMarmot
We are the 0.1%! I love Lollipop and my Nexus 6 (also have Lollipop on a 2012
Nexus 7 with _NO_ performance or WiFi issues and, in fact, increased battery
life)

All the changes made to Android since KitKat are very nice and welcomed
(mostly the better notification system and pull-down menu) and material design
is pretty slick.

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bbody
I was offered to update my Nexus 5 after Android Lollipop was first released,
however I was living in a country with low bandwidth so I deferred it until I
returned home. Now I can't update and am stuck on 4.4.4, so I don't really
have a choice but to not use Android Lollipop.

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Zigurd
It's a travesty that Dell had to ship a really nice tablet with Android 4.4.
Especially since Dell isn't dragging around a bloatware portfolio the way
Samsung is.

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wuliwong
Is this worse than previous adoption rates for new Android releases? If not,
then this article is pretty boring. "Steady as she goes in Androidworld!"

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wldcordeiro
Odd that there are so many complaints about Lollipop vs KitKat here. I have a
2014 Moto X on Verizon and Lollipop has been excellent for me.

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aosmith
I'm using it on a very old galaxy tab and it's surely the nicest version of
Android I've seen.

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birdsareweird
It's an inconsistent mess that destroys muscle memory. The new notifications
are retarded. The "privacy conscious" notification screen is useless, won't
even show you a clock timer. Typing this on Android. 5 and it still doesn't
know how to scroll back to the left when the text area is wider than the
screen.

How is this a 5.0 instead of 4.5 alpha?

