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Of our many jobs here at Android Police, one is to make our readers' lives easier when we can. With that in mind, here's a roundup of every known Nexus Lollipop OTA. As new ones become available, this post will be updated accordingly.
Lollipop will be released to Nexus 4, 5, 7 (2012 and 2013), and 10, plus bugfix OTAs to Nexus 6 and 9. As I'm sure you've guessed, there will be plenty of files to be had.
[Flash All The Things] Lollipop Nexus OTA ZIP File Roundup was written by the awesome team at Android Police.
We just posted our guide for flashing the Android 5.0 factory image on your Nexus. Unfortunately lot of people across the internet are running into an error when trying to do it. We addressed this problem in our guide, but wanted to mention it again in a separate post for anyone having the problem.
The TL;DR is that the typical method is failing to find the .img files from inside the image.zip. We’ll simply find and install those files manually. Here’s how to do it.
*Phandroid is not responsible for any problems you have. Proceed at your own risk.
We’ll need to extract the image.zip file into a new folder. Then move the “bootloader” and “radio” .img files into that same folder. I suggest renaming the bootloader and radio files so you get something like this:
file names will vary by device
Now all we’re going to do is flash all the .img files manually one-by-one. It’s a piece of cake. Open up the command prompt and change to the directory with all your .img files. Input the following commands in order. Allow each one to finish before moving on.
fastboot flash bootloader .img
fastboot flash radio .img
fastboot reboot-bootloader
fastboot flash recovery recovery.img
fastboot flash boot boot.img
fastboot flash system system.img (this one will take the longest)
If you’re doing this for a Nexus 6 or Nexus 9:
fastboot flash vendor vendor.img
To perform a full wipe do this:
fastboot flash cache cache.img
fastboot flash userdata userdata.img
That’s it. Now run command “fastboot reboot” and your phone will restart. The boot animation will last a little longer than usual, but eventually you’ll get the “Android is upgrading” message and you’re on your way to Android 5.0 Lollipop! We hope this solved your problems. I know how frustrating it was to get this error message. Did you run into the system.img error? Did this method work for you?
[via Android Forums]
You may have heard of Google’s Project Ara, which has the potential to change the way you purchase your next phone by letting you swap out modules to mix and match specs to your liking. Recently, another company called Vsenn threw its hat into the modular smartphone ring, and Wednesday they announced that you will be able to flash Paranoid Android on your new Vsenn device without losing your warranty.
Paranoid Android is one of the most popular ROMs in the Nexus community (along with some popular “legacy” devices with “unofficial” builds), and it’s the first to be included in Vsenn’s “Approved ROM Program”. Vsenn was co-founded by former Nokia X program manager (we all know how the Nokia X turned out, right?) and it’s still in its infancy, thus it remains to be seen whether or when a Vsenn phone will ever see the light of day. Still, it’s interesting to see an Android OEM publicly pledge to continue to honor your warranty after you flash a custom ROM.
As for Paranoid Android, some of its most popular features include a Recents feature that almost resembles that of Lollipop, Dynamic System Bars that automatically adapt to blend in with the active app window, PIE controls to replace your navigation bar, and Hover, which opens apps in a floating window when triggered from notifications. Presumably, Lollipop will be well-established by the time the first Vsenn device hits the market, so it remains to be seen whether it will launch with the current KitKat Paranoid Android builds available or a Lollipop version with a new take on the Recents feature.
It’s unclear what standards a ROM must meet to be included in this “Approved ROM Program” but I’d imagine a certain level of stability would be required. Vsenn did have the following to say about its rather unique program:
The roms developed under the ARP program will keep all the advanced proprietary functions, like noise reduction algorithms, of the original Vsenn software.
We welcome all the independent rom communities and creators to be a part of the ARP program.
We’ll keep you posted as more details emerge.
For those who have been living under a rock, Motorola did it for a second year in a row and by that we mean that the Lenovo company is the first to push out Google’s newest OS flavor. This time, instead of the Moto X getting the OTA first, it’s the little budget phone that could, the Moto G. Although, the Moto X is getting it now too. However if you’re like the rest of us — and ridiculously impatient — you may want to take matters into your own hands and thanks to Redditor NooJoisey now you can.
First you’re going to want to download the stock unrooted file. Second you’ll want to power off your Moto G completely. Boot into boot mode by holding the volume down + the power key. Next move into Recovery by pressing volume up. Press both the volume up and volume down buttons and while holding them press and release the power button. The Moto G will then boot into the stock recovery mode. Select “apply adb through SD card,” and select the downloaded file.
From there it’ll take a little bit of time to do its thing. NooJoisey stated that it took him roughly 45 minutes for the software to install and optimize apps for ART.
It should be noted that this is strictly for the 2014 Moto G variant and this will likely brick the first generation Moto G. Once that’s installed you can check out the Lollipop documentation for the phone. As usual, you take responsibility for whatever happens for your device. Happy flashing.
source: Reddit
Come comment on this article: Here are instructions to manually update the second generation Moto G
AnTuTu has released their top 10 performance rankings for smartphones for the third quarter of 2014. At the top of the list is the Meizu MX4 which made a statement with its MediaTek processor in holding off other contenders. MediaTek also grabbed the second spot with the Samsung Galaxy Note 4. Despite the prowess of the chip, Qualcomm’s Snapdragon line still powered most of the devices in the top 10.
While the chipsets powering the top devices were limited, the number of manufacturers on the list of the top 10 smartphones was much more varied with 9 different companies landing a device on the list. Only Samsung got two devices on the list with the Galaxy Note 4 and the Galaxy Alpha. AnTuTu does note that Motorola managed to make it back onto the list with the Moto X after going through a brief period where they eschewed high end specs and performance. The other noteworthy trend pointed out by AnTuTu is the rise of Chinese manufacturers who are increasingly producing high-performing devices.
In compiling the list, AnTuTu only considered smartphones that sell in at least 160 countries. In the cases where a device might have more than one processor depending on the market, AnTuTu used the one that scored the best. They also tried to identify and throw out any false entries.
Anyone want to guess what device will claim the top spot the next time around?
source: AnTuTu
Come comment on this article: AnTuTu benchmarks reveal best performing phones for 2014 Q3
If you are the kind of person who does not like to wait for something like an OTA update to roll around to your mobile device in order to get the latest operating system update from Google, you may be glad to know that factory images for several Nexus devices have now been posted. If you own a Nexus 5, a WiFi-only version of the Nexus 7 (2012 or 2013 version), or a Nexus 10, you can download the factory images from the Android Developers site.
If you go this route, you do need to know how to manually install the image on your device. That is not an overly complicated process, but it does require a few tools and the ability to do some research if you run into problems.
Updates to Android Lollipop for the 3G/4G LTE versions of the Nexus 7 as well as the Nexus 4 are not yet available. Hopefully it will not be much longer for those to surface.
source: Android Developers
Come comment on this article: Google posts official Android 5.0 Lollipop images for several Nexus devices
Google has been working on updating all of their apps to use the newer Material Design standard, and Google Keep is next on the list. Keep has always been up to snuff with Google’s design standards, so this Material Design update shouldn’t surprise anyone.
It doesn’t look like there’s much else in the update, but you can grab the app from the link below.
Come comment on this article: Google Keep getting Material Design update
If you're trying to flash your Nexus 5, 7, or 10 to Android 5.0 now that the factory images are out, there's nothing more infuriating than running into an error in the process. The most common error we're seeing today as part of the flashing process is the dreaded "missing system.img" dialog, which aborts the update process on the target device.
The reason this happens is because the flash-all script that comes in the image package, which most of you are undoubtedly trying to use, is attempting to flash the .img files in the update using the 'fastboot update' method, which appears to be failing for some reason for some users.
Running Into The Dreaded "missing system.img" Error Flashing Android 5.0 Factory Images? Here's How To Get Around It was written by the awesome team at Android Police.
When it comes to software development, there are two very distinct camps on the subject of tools: those that prefer to keep it simple with just a text editor and a compiler, and then those go straight for a fully-featured IDE with all the bells and whistles. For more than a decade, the undisputed champion of IDEs is Microsoft with its assorted versions of Visual Studio. Having come from years of work on Visual Studio, nothing pained me more than the first (several) times I started up Eclipse.
Microsoft Releases Visual Studio Preview With Android Support, Includes A Lighting Fast Emulator With Some Super Cool Features was written by the awesome team at Android Police.