Android L is now formally known as Android Lollipop. Since Google already released Android L preview a few month ago, we already know what’s new in Android 5.0 Lollipop with key changes including material design user interface, ART replacing Dalvik, better battery management, 64-bit support, etc… Google also announced three hardware platforms running Android 5.0: Nexus 6 Smartphone, Nexus 9 Tablet, and Nexus Player (Android TV)
Motorola Nexus 6 Smartphone
Hardware specifications:
- SoC – Qualcomm Snapdragon 805 quad core Krait 450 processor @ 2.7 GHz with Adreno 420 GPU
- System Memory – 3GB RAM
- Storage – 32 or 64 GB eMMC – No micro SD slot
- Display – 5.96” 1440×2560 AMOLED display (493 ppi). 16:9 Aspect ratio.
- Connectivity – 802.11 ac 2×2 (MIMO), Bluetooth 4.1, NFC
- Cellular Network (nano SIM):
- North America:
- GSM – 850/900/1800/1900MHz
- CDMA Band Class – 0/1/10
- WCDMA Bands – 1/2/4/5/8
- LTE Bands – 2/3/4/5/7/12/13/17/25/26/29/41
- CA DL Bands – B2-B13, B2-B17, B2-29, B4-B5, B4-B13, B4-B17, B4-B29
- Rest of World:
- GSM: 850/900/1800/1900MHz
- CDMA – not supported
- WCDMA Bands – 1/2/4/5/6/8/9/19
- LTE Bands – 1/3/5/7/8/9/19/20/28/41
- CA DL – B3-B5, B3-B8
- North America:
- Audio – Dual front-facing speakers, 3.5 mm audio
- USB – 1x micro USB 2.0 port
- Camera
- 13MP rear-facing with optical image stabilization dual LED ring flash (up to 4K @ 30 fps video recording)
- 2MP front-facing camera
- Sensors – GPS, accelerometer, gyroscope, magnetometer, ambient light sensor, barometer
- Battery – 3220 mAh. Up to 330 hours in standby, up to 24 hours talk time, up to 10 hours video playbacks, about up to 10 hours internet (Wi-Fi or LTE).
- Dimensions – 82.98 x 159 .26 x 10.06 mm
- Weight – 184 grams
The phone is clearly high-end, but there aren’t any innovative new hardware features that I could see, and all innovation resides in Android 5.0 operating system. The phone will be vailable for pre-order starting October 29th for $649 (unlocked), and ship in sometimes November. Visit Google Nexus 6 page for details.
HTC Nexus 9 Tablet
Technical specifications:
- SoC – 64-bit Nvidia Tegra K1 Dual core Denver @ 2.3GHz with 192-core Kepler GPU
- System Memory – 2 GB RAM
- Storage – 16 or 32 GB eMMC – No micro SD slot
- Display – 8.9″ QXGA (2048×1536) IPS LCD. 4:3 aspect ratio
- Connectivity – 802.11 ac 2×2 (MIMO), Bluetooth 4.1, NFC
- Cellular Network – Quad-band GSM, CDMA, Penta-band HSPA, LTE
- Audio – Dual front-facing speakers with HTC BoomSound, dual microphones, 3.5 mm audio
- USB – 1x micro USB 2.0 port
- Camera
- 8MP Rear camera with auto-focus, and LED flash
- 1.6 MP front-facing camera
- Sensors – GPS, accelerometer, gyroscope, magnetometer, ambient light sensor
- Battery – 6700 mAh. Up 9.5 hours for either Wi-Fi browsing or video playback, up to 8.5 hours for LTE browsing, up to 30 days standby with either Wi-Fi or LTE.
- Dimensions – 153.68mm x 228.25mm x 7.95mm
- Weight – 425g (Wi-Fi), 436g (LTE)
Nexus 9 tablets will be the first and only 64-bit ARM Android 5.0 devices at launch. The Nexus 9 will be available for pre-order on October 17, starting at $399 for the Wi-Fi/16GB version, and up to $599 for the LTE/32GB version, with shipping expected for November 3. More information is available on Google Nexus 9 page.
Asus Nexus Player
Nexus player specifications:
- SoC – Intel Atom quad core processor @ 1.8GHz with Imagination PowerVR Series 6 Graphics 2D/3D Engine.
- System Memory – 1GB RAM
- Storage – 8GB storage
- Video Output – HDMI up to 1080p60
- Connectivity – 802.11ac 2×2 (MIMO), Bluetooth 4.1
- USB – 1x micro USB port
- Power – 18W DC power (12V/1.5A?)
- Dimensions – 120mm x 120mm x 20mm
- Weight – 235g
The media player will come with a voice search capable Bluetooth Smart (BLE) remote control with two AAA batteries, a power adapter, a quick start guide, and a warranty, safety and regulatory booklet. There’s also an optional wireless gamepad. There’s no Ethernet port, so you’d have to make sure your Wi-Fi network is up to the task. It should be no issue for high definition online videos, but depending on your environment, it might become problematic to playback videos such as Blu-ray rips from your NAS (If that’s even supported/allowed on Android TV).
Nexus Player will go up for pre-order October 17 for $99, and start shipping on November 3. The gamepad will be $39. More information may be found on Google Nexus Player page.
If you don’t feel like buying a new devices, you’ll still get Android 5.0 Lollipopon your Nexus 4, 5, 7, 10 as well as “Google Play edition” devices in the coming weeks. Android 5.0 SDK and Nexus (preview) images will be released on October 17.
Jean-Luc started CNX Software in 2010 as a part-time endeavor, before quitting his job as a software engineering manager, and starting to write daily news, and reviews full time later in 2011.
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Do you know if Nexus Player is going to have access to Play Store like the android set top boxes? Or is it limited to media playing and curated games?
I am a bit surprised that they went with 2GB RAM. By default 64-bit application will use more memory, especially pointer heavy apps. Unless their new Android Runtime (ART) (ahead of time compilation) saves some additional memory comparing to Dalvik. Would love to see refreshed Jetson TK1.
Wondering if this new Nexus Player will ship in Europe on launch now in November?
Wondering if the PowerVR will be GC66 series or mybe 64 at least.
Pre-orders have started.
Nexus 9 – https://play.google.com/store/devices/details?id=nexus_9_black_16gb_wifi
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00M6UC5B4
Nexus 6 – https://play.google.com/store/devices/details/Nexus_6_32GB_Midnight_Blue?id=nexus_6_blue_32gb
Nexus Player – https://play.google.com/store/devices/details?id=nexus_player
Lollipop SDK has been released – http://developer.android.com/sdk/index.html
Lots of negative comments about the latest Nexus devices about price, features…