Android L Primary Features Breakdown

[dgstorm]

We thought it might be informative to offer up a quick breakdown of the primary features in Android L. There are actually far more changes than just these, but these are the core changes/add-ons to the OS.

• Material Design - their new graphical UI design aesthetic
• Better Notifications - these are pretty self-explanatory and well thought out
• Android Runtime - this will be great for developers
• Better Multitasking View - this one will make our devices even more useful
• Project Volta - who doesn't like more battery life?
• Bluetooth Low Energy Peripheral Mode - apps can broadcast their presence to nearby devices
• Multi-networking - apps integration with the system to dynamically scan for networks with specific setups
• A new camera API - YUV capture at full 8MP and 30FPS - also includes raw sensor data for Android
• 64-bit support for apps - this one is explanatory as well (more memory can be addressed. etc.)

It seems like the newest changes on Android L are primarily geared toward developers. In the long run, this could prove to be a bold move on Google's part, as it will help drive innovation forward by leveraging the creative power of a larger group of people. What do you think?

 

[mountainbikermark]

8MP video stills? RAW capable?
Nice but they'll have to figure out a way to unlock writing to external sd better in order for users to take full advantage of the perks and it'd be kinda silly to try to use it often on devices with no external storage capability.
Just my 3 cent short of a nickel

Sent from my LG-D801 using Tapatalk

 

[Rhino94]

I like the new multitasking. I really don't like having to hold down the home button to look at my recent apps. Now LG has some cool slide a slide features but it's always better when Google incorporates it into the software.Project Volta sounds cool too but we won't know more until it starts coming to some devices.

 

[MissionImprobable]

8MP video stills? RAW capable?
Nice but they'll have to figure out a way to unlock writing to external sd better in order for users to take full advantage of the perks and it'd be kinda silly to try to use it often on devices with no external storage capability.
Just my 3 cent short of a nickel

Sent from my LG-D801 using Tapatalk

I was reading elsewhere, and the new features are beyond RAW capability. It will offer a Digital Negative, but it will also allow apps direct access to the sensor itself, so that not only can they gather all the information coming in, they can change how incoming information is "experienced" by the sensor. Developers will be able to take the time to optimize how the hardware itself responds to what is presented, decide if there's any immediate processing done, and relay what is captured much more effectively than what we're seeing now. Even the RAW images from DSLRs are what the base software in the camera decides they should be--and that is a non-issue for the most part because the companies putting them out are image-focused--but now you could see a good digital sensor in a smartphone made far more effective by non-OEM tweaking of how the sensor handles image data as it's received. This is also a huge help for new cameras running Android as the on-board OS, something that was mentioned in one of the XDA threads I happened across this in.

As to writing to SD, that too can be handled in time, but with writing to internal storage able to keep pace for now, internal storage increasing, and default exporting to the cloud for those who want it, I don't think that not being able to go directly to SD will be the hindering factor in this being a valuable addition to L and an future iterations of Android. Good times are ahead.