Samsung isn’t known for being able to offer its mobile device users fast updates to Google’s latest Android OS versions, but that might change starting with Android L, as Google decided this year to offer both users and OEMs a preview release of the software well ahead of its official fall launch. SamMobile has already obtained an early Android L version for the Galaxy S5, and while it is still buggy and laggy, it looks like Samsung is already working on updating its TouchWiz user interface to match Android L’s Material Design.
FROM EARLIER: A great explanation for how Google’s awesome Android L animations will work
This early Android L build for the Galaxy S5 is clearly not stable enough to be used by consumers on a daily basis, the publication says, as “it contains a plethora of bugs and is slow as a turtle.” Performance-wise, even though Android L uses the new ART runtime that’s supposed to bring users a faster experience, this Galaxy S5 Android L alpha build appears to be “even slower than the stock [Galaxy S5] KitKat firmware.”
SamMobile also reveals that Samsung has finally ditched its blue theme, replacing it with white, and the company has started redesigning some of the phone’s system apps, including Dialer, Messages, Memo, Clock and others using Google’s Material Design guidelines, although the new apps do not have animations yet. Furthermore, Samsung has also built a special clipboard tool that keeps track of screenshots and copied text on the phone.
Interestingly, SamMobile also says its sources have revealed that Google’s Android L will actually be called Lollipop, as previously rumored.
A video preview of Galaxy S5’s first Android L build and some screenshots follow below, with a significantly larger number of screenshots available at the source link.
