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[Doopliss]

Up and running here. Mostly seems to be working fine, don't have any issues with the Home key or anything like that. Not seeing apps like Chrome get multiple "Recents" entries though. I thought that was in this release? Perhaps Chrome needs to get updated for this to work.

The individual tabs in recents might not even work on the next beta, as the leaked screenshots of M37 on L still showed the tab switcher in the Chrome action bar. I get the feeling that a lot of what they showed were just mock-ups.

One thing you might be able to see: During the fireside chat they mentioned that when an app gets opened from within another app it will no longer take over the parent app's recents entry, but get its own separate one. An example of a current problem like this is opening an email link from Chrome in Gmail. It won't let you switch back to Chrome through recents, you have to back out of the compose message screen.

Could you check if it now works as they promise? I'd also be curious whether the Gmail compose message entry appears separate from the main Gmail activity if you already had it open at your inbox.

 

[RoadHazard]

The individual tabs in recents might not even work on the next beta, as the leaked screenshots of M37 on L still showed the tab switcher in the Chrome action bar. I get the feeling that a lot of what they showed were just mock-ups.

One thing you might be able to see: During the fireside chat they mentioned that when an app gets opened from within another app it will no longer take over the parent app's recents entry, but get its own separate one. An example of a current problem like this is opening an email link from Chrome in Gmail. It won't let you switch back to Chrome through recents, you have to back out of the compose message screen.

Could you check if it now works as they promise? I'd also be curious whether the Gmail compose message entry appears separate from the main Gmail activity if you already had it open at your inbox.

Nope. doesn't work either. Opening an email link in Chrome makes the Chrome activity "become" Gmail, and you have to back out to actually get back to Chrome. The other way around works though (opening a web link from Gmail), but maybe it always did?

 

[3phemeral]

It's all single tap now.
However there's no longer a quick way to get to the respective settings menu.

Yep, they're all single tap for toggles now. No quick access to modifying (although the settings screen itself seems a lot better laid out and quick to navigate.)

Not sure I like the inability to get into the modifying settings but it's at least more consistent.

Edit: Argh, beaten. Anyway, I put the L preview on my Nexus 7 (2013) and have no complaints so far. It all runs well, looks pretty. I'm going to try and put a little app together to play with the new features in the preview SDK over the weekend, what little I've looked at seems interesting.

Up and running here. Mostly seems to be working fine, don't have any issues with the Home key or anything like that. Not seeing apps like Chrome get multiple "Recents" entries though. I thought that was in this release? Perhaps Chrome needs to get updated for this to work.

I've found one app that just crashes, and that's Dropbox. Which is a bit unfortunate. I mostly use it to sync all photos and screenshots I take to my PC. I can achieve the same thing with G+ image uploading, but it requires more manual work since those only end up in my G+ account and not on my PC.



That has always bothered me too, and it's sort of been fixed. This is what it looks like now (which you probably know):



There's no more long-pressing. Instead, you tap the Wi-Fi/Bluetooth icon to turn it on and off, and you tap the text below the icon to get into the settings. That's only for those two though. The rest are just tap on/off, with no way to get into the related settings. EXCEPT that tapping the mobile network icon takes you to the data usage screen. There's no way to quickly turn mobile data on/off from the quick settings. So that's a bit inconsistent. But they're probably just not really done with this stuff yet. It looks like they're going for better consistency here, at least.





Like I said, tapping the text below the Wi-Fi/Bluetooth icons takes you to their settings screens. Not entirely obvious.

Thanks for the replies. One step forward, one step back. But at the very least, they're all single tap now. I really don't understand how anyone said "hey, this is more intuitive! Let's all long press for simple toggle functionality!" Just an odd choice. Especially since Matias said he hates long press, right?

 

[kehs]

The individual tabs in recents might not even work on the next beta, as the leaked screenshots of M37 on L still showed the tab switcher in the Chrome action bar. I get the feeling that a lot of what they showed were just mock-ups.

One thing you might be able to see: During the fireside chat they mentioned that when an app gets opened from within another app it will no longer take over the parent app's recents entry, but get its own separate one. An example of a current problem like this is opening an email link from Chrome in Gmail. It won't let you switch back to Chrome through recents, you have to back out of the compose message screen.

Could you check if it now works as they promise? I'd also be curious whether the Gmail compose message entry appears separate from the main Gmail activity if you already had it open at your inbox.

Not working yet. What does happen though is the parent app takes over the recent app thumbnail.

 

[Jayayess1190]

Nexus Line to continue, Android Silver also coming

Rumors of the demise of Google's Nexus line of "pure Android" devices have been greatly exaggerated. When Google launches the official release of the new version Android L later this year, expect a new Nexus device as well.

True, Google is changing the way it rolls out high-end Android smartphones. It's working on a new program called Android Silver, in which Google would pay top manufacturers like Samsung, LG, Motorola and Sony to build Android smartphones to its specific specifications; cellular carriers like AT&T and Verizon would then to sell them in retail stores. Android Silver will likely debut next year.

But speculation around Android Silver has led to some reports that Google will scrap its popular Nexus line of Android smartphones and tablets and replace them with Silver devices. Turns out that those reports are basically wrong. The Nexus program will continue and Android users can expect to see a new Nexus device when Google releases Android L later this year.

 

[Jigolo]

Nexus Line to continue, Android Silver also coming

Volantis is coming and we already know this. The question is a new Nexus phone coming out in the fall as well.

 

[Cheebo]

Nexus Line to continue, Android Silver also coming

They are likely referring to the Nexus 8.9 tablet.

 

[Nakazato]

Got this one plus invite...

 

[BoboBrazil]

Got this one plus invite...

Gimme please

 

[SimleuqiR]

Nexus Line to continue, Android Silver also coming

Thanks Larry Page!

 

[Cheebo]

Thanks Larry Page!

It was never not going to continue. What is expected not to continue is Nexus phones.

 

[newdayrocks]

Nexus Line to continue, Android Silver also coming

But I want an Android Silver phone on Verizon NOW!

 

[SimleuqiR]

It was never not going to continue. What is expected not to continue is Nexus phones.

"People just get excited by concepts and forget why we do things,” Burke told me in an interview. “We are still invested in Nexus.”

Burke would not discuss Silver. "Android Silver is not something that we are commenting on right now," he said. But the prospect of Silver doesn't mean that Nexus is going away.

Being that the Android Silver program is gear towards OEM phones (not tablets), I have doubts that he doesn't mean "Nexus Phones" when he says "Nexus".

 

[Baroquemantic]

Volantis is coming and we already know this. The question is a new Nexus phone coming out in the fall as well.

They are likely referring to the Nexus 8.9 tablet.

It was never not going to continue. What is expected not to continue is Nexus phones.

I believe there will be a phone as well. Android Wear, Android Auto, and many of the features in L all have a huge focus on the phone, not the tablet.

 

[Cipherr]

Volantis is coming and we already know this. The question is a new Nexus phone coming out in the fall as well.

They are likely referring to the Nexus 8.9 tablet.

It was never not going to continue. What is expected not to continue is Nexus phones.

Doubt it. It seems likely Nexus on both tablets and phones will continue. We never actually got anything resembling a confirmation that Nexus phones were dead. What they found out about was the One/Silver program. From there everyone ASSUMED Nexus devices were done.

I think thats starting to unravel now. Android 5.0 is going to launch with a phone, I guarantee it. They got on stage at I/O and demonstrated L almost exclusively on phones, not tablets. Then they confirmed a launch of 5.0 for this fall. That means there's going to be a phone this fall. And if Silver doesn't launch until 2015, that means there will be a Nexus Q4 of this year.

I believe there will be a phone as well. Android Wear, Android Auto, and many of the features in L all have a huge focus on the phone, not the tablet.

Exactly. Everyone is forgetting that the rumor of Nexus phones dying was just a assumption after hearing about the Silver program. Its seeming very likely that the assumption was wrong, and Im happy to hear it. Love Nexus phones.

 

[Jigolo]

Doubt it. It seems likely Nexus on both tablets and phones will continue. We never actually got anything resembling a confirmation that Nexus phones were dead. What they found out about was the One/Silver program. From there everyone ASSUMED Nexus devices were done.

I think thats starting to unravel now. Android 5.0 is going to launch with a phone, I guarantee it. They got on stage at I/O and demonstrated L almost exclusively on phones, not tablets. Then they confirmed a launch of 5.0 for this fall. That means there's going to be a phone this fall. And if Silver doesn't launch until 2015, that means there will be a Nexus Q4 of this year.



Exactly. Everyone is forgetting that the rumor of Nexus phones dying was just a assumption after hearing about the Silver program. Its seeming very likely that the assumption was wrong, and Im happy to hear it. Love Nexus phones.

I hope you're right.

 

[Baroquemantic]

I've only just realized that the supposed HTC tablet (or some other 4:3 looking tablet) is in some of the images Google showed. I hope they have a larger than 10" tablet that's 3:2, like the Surface Pro 3.

 

[Vanillalite]

Nexus 7 with Android L

Pros

Look and feel
Light UI
New Updated Apps


Cons

HBO Go isn't compatible
Official Twitter App Crashes (Talon Works)
Scaling is fuck all bad on N7 everything tiny
FB has some LOL quirks


Wut

Where are the new icons? Shit looks the same?

PS: Doesn't feel noticably faster nor slower

 

[Toki767]

So what the hell is Android Silver supposed to be exactly? Nexus phones or GPE phones?

 

[VoxPop]

So what the hell is Android Silver supposed to be exactly? Nexus phones or GPE phones?

I'm thinking a more specifically manufactured phone along the lines of current GPE phones with some features from manufacturers but not excessive like it is now.

 

[The Faceless Master]

It's all single tap now.
However there's no longer a quick way to get to the respective settings menu.

so still not caught up on Froyo TouchWiz?

 

[vdlow]

Wut

Where are the new icons? Shit looks the same?

PS: Doesn't feel noticably faster nor slower

The icons are from the apps, so it will only change when the apps are updated. Also, it's a developer preview, so they won't focus that much in visual details IMO, such as the status bar indicators for battery, signal, etc that are still the same as KitKat, but the screenshots from IO keynote show that they will change.

 

[Drifters]

So what the hell is Android Silver supposed to be exactly? Nexus phones or GPE phones?

Think modular. It will be s variant of the GPe phones but with the vendor additions not impeding software updates. The day is coming that software updates will eventually be handled in the PlayStore anyways.

 

[HawkeyeIC]

The icons are from the apps, so it will only change when the apps are updated. Also, it's a developer preview, so they won't focus that much in visual details IMO, such as the status bar indicators for battery, signal, etc that are still the same as KitKat, but the screenshots from IO keynote show that they will change.

If they had a new icon theme, now would be the time to let developers know.

 

[RoadHazard]

Where are the new icons? Shit looks the same?

There are no new icons because there are no new apps (except for the built-in ones like Calculator, Dialer, etc). All the Google apps are still the same old, same old, so they still have the same icons. Although, yeah, the built-in ones that actually have been updated mostly still have their old icons as well, so I guess they just haven't gotten around to updating those yet. But there is one example of a new icon: Settings. It has the flat look with a distinct shadow that we're expecting all apps to get eventually.

Here it is next to a few that still have their old icons:

Quite different next to the old 3D-ish icon style, and a taste of things to come. I hope.

 

[Groof]

Did anyone ever mention the cyber as fuck new calculator that not only got a HUGE visual overhaul but also an updated icon?

 

[thespot84]

cyber? can you hack the gibson with it?

 

[RoadHazard]

I wonder if they're gonna bring back the two-finger swipe down to get directly to the quick settings. I guess most users didn't use it or even know about it, but I used it all the time. Having to swipe down twice is annoying, and I don't see how it could hurt to still include the "shortcut" as an option.

Did anyone ever mention the cyber as fuck new calculator that not only got a HUGE visual overhaul but also an updated icon?

The app is completely overhauled, yes, but the icon looks just like the old one with a slight color-swap. It doesn't at all have the flat look the Settings icon does.

 

[Groof]

The app is completely overhauled, yes, but the icon looks just like the old one with a slight color-swap. It doesn't at all have the flat look the Settings icon does.

Biggest update of the preview come on people get some cYb3R CaLCul4T0Rz hype!!!!!

 

[Quasar]

Doubt it. It seems likely Nexus on both tablets and phones will continue. We never actually got anything resembling a confirmation that Nexus phones were dead. What they found out about was the One/Silver program. From there everyone ASSUMED Nexus devices were done.

Exactly. Everyone is forgetting that the rumor of Nexus phones dying was just a assumption after hearing about the Silver program. Its seeming very likely that the assumption was wrong, and Im happy to hear it. Love Nexus phones.

And that rumor never really made much sense to me. I mean...the nexus line is essentially the developer (and Google nerd) brand. Silver is very much a consumer google experience brand. So if anything Silver will kill Google Play Editions, not Nexus.

 

[brotkasten]

Doubt it. It seems likely Nexus on both tablets and phones will continue. We never actually got anything resembling a confirmation that Nexus phones were dead. What they found out about was the One/Silver program. From there everyone ASSUMED Nexus devices were done.

I think thats starting to unravel now. Android 5.0 is going to launch with a phone, I guarantee it. They got on stage at I/O and demonstrated L almost exclusively on phones, not tablets. Then they confirmed a launch of 5.0 for this fall. That means there's going to be a phone this fall. And if Silver doesn't launch until 2015, that means there will be a Nexus Q4 of this year.



Exactly. Everyone is forgetting that the rumor of Nexus phones dying was just a assumption after hearing about the Silver program. Its seeming very likely that the assumption was wrong, and Im happy to hear it. Love Nexus phones.

evleaks said that there won't be a new Nexus phone. Is there any reason not to believe him?
http://www.androidpolice.com/2014/0...g-in-february-2015-and-dont-expect-a-nexus-6/

 

[terrier]

so it seems Android L preview is pretty stable for everyday use, some apps like dropbox or twitter do not work though.
Anyone know if carrousel works?¿ since i use dropbox for auto photo uploading that would get the job done and i can use any other twitter app for a while. I am really tempted to install it,.

desicions.....

 

[Maiar_m]

The FB quirks on L are really something. 'Hey, everything is transparent!'

 

[VanMardigan]

Are there any apps or tips for GPS troubleshooting? I may have to return my phone but I want to make sure I try everything first cause the unit is flawless otherwise.

 

[-PXG-]

Ugggh. I'm dying here. I don't know if I want to buy a Nexus 5 now, wait for the inevitable Nexus 6 or see what Silver will be. To me, Silver sounds like an expansion of the GPE program, which will allow carriers and retail outlets to sell them instead of only being able to buy them directly from Google. The idea of a GPE Galaxy S5 (or anything else) subsidized by AT&T sounds really nice. All is want is a pure, straight from Google, Android device at this point. No extra flavor, bloatware or awful shit like Touch Wiz. I don't want to rely on CM to emulate the pure Android experience anymore. I want dat OTA goodness.

L looks and sounds fantastic and I'm going to want to jump on it the minute the full and final build is released.

 

[pronk420]

i really like the material design bits that have made it through to L, the feedback animation on button presses is really cool. the notification bar still looks a bit weird and doesn't animate as well as it good i don't think. i'm not sure if it is the same as in the presentation but the cards don't seem to have any shadows or anything.

 

[JonnyBrad]

i really like the material design bits that have made it through to L, the feedback animation on button presses is really cool. the notification bar still looks a bit weird and doesn't animate as well as it good i don't think. i'm not sure if it is the same as in the presentation but the cards don't seem to have any shadows or anything.

The L preview is probably a few weeks old in terms of the build. Its likely what they used for the presentation was probably finished the night before.

 

[qizah]

Nexus 7 with Android L

Pros

Look and feel
Light UI
New Updated Apps


Cons

HBO Go isn't compatible
Official Twitter App Crashes (Talon Works)
Scaling is fuck all bad on N7 everything tiny
FB has some LOL quirks


Wut

Where are the new icons? Shit looks the same?

PS: Doesn't feel noticably faster nor slower

It's still a preview. I think they also said during the conference that they'll be rolling out design changes across the OS and apps throughout the summer until they're ready to release it to consumers in the fall.

 

[yyzjohn]

so it seems Android L preview is pretty stable for everyday use, some apps like dropbox or twitter do not work though.
Anyone know if carrousel works?¿ since i use dropbox for auto photo uploading that would get the job done and i can use any other twitter app for a while. I am really tempted to install it,.

desicions.....

I don't think so man. I had it installed on m Nexus 5 yesterday afternoon. Everything seemed fine for a few hours, then suddenly it got into a boot loop. Would reboot every 10 seconds or so, I couldn't do anything to stop it. Not sure if it's cause I playing around with Tasker or what, but for whatever reason I don't think it's stable enough for everyday use just yet.

Edit: i'm back on KitKat now.

 

[Cipherr]

evleaks said that there won't be a new Nexus phone. Is there any reason not to believe him?
http://www.androidpolice.com/2014/0...g-in-february-2015-and-dont-expect-a-nexus-6/

Because evleaks gets it wrong sometimes: https://twitter.com/evleaks/status/377793294253568000

I don't think it was unreasonable for them to learn about Android Silver and assume that it would have replaced the Nexus line, but it appears they were wrong. If L is launching in the fall, there will be a phone to launch with it.

Are there any apps or tips for GPS troubleshooting? I may have to return my phone but I want to make sure I try everything first cause the unit is flawless otherwise.

I don't really know of any GPS trouble shooting apps or anything. Its kinda binary, either its working right or it isn't. I would return it.

 

[RoadHazard]

I don't think so man. I had it installed on m Nexus 5 yesterday afternoon. Everything seemed fine for a few hours, then suddenly it got into a boot loop. Would reboot every 10 seconds or so, I couldn't do anything to stop it. Not sure if it's cause I playing around with Tasker or what, but for whatever reason I don't think it's stable enough for everyday use just yet.

Edit: i'm back on KitKat now.

I've soon had it running on my phone for 24 hours, with no rebooting or any other serious issues. There are bugs and unfinished stuff here and there, yeah, but if you don't mind that too much this seems totally usable as a daily driver so far.

I hope it stays that way for me, because I really don't feel like going back to KK now. Even though a lot is unfinished, what's there makes the experience so much smoother and more pleasant than before. KK feels old and stale once you've gotten a taste of L.

 

[outunderthestars]

Really thinking about pulling the trigger on a Nexus 5 while resale prices on my old Iphone 5 are still decent:

Found an Ebay seller selling 32Gb models for $385 shipped and tax free. I've never bought something like this on Ebay. Anything I should be worried about?

 

[Easy_G]

I have a couple questions, though not related to the I/O announcements.

1. Can anyone recommend a good browser? I've been using Chrome, but it seems to be slowing down on me as well having this issue where it loads the first 10%,then takes several minutes to load the remainder of a page. I'm trying Firefox right now, but it feels a bit slower still and doesn't have as good of tab navigation.

2. I'm using swift key now instead of the stock keyboard and it's great, but there are two nagging issues. It doesn't close immediately when I exit an area of text entry, so it lingers over the screen. And the second issue is that whenever the keyboard is up there is an icon in the pull down tray asking me choose my input method and I can't get rid of if it. Advice?

 

[th3dude]

Is there any info on if and how they'll be updating the Preview?

Since it isn't a beta, I was thinking they might not push any updates for it.

 

[-Pyromaniac-]

I have a couple questions, though not related to the I/O announcements.

1. Can anyone recommend a good browser? I've been using Chrome, but it seems to be slowing down on me as well having this issue where it loads the first 10%,then takes several minutes to load the remainder of a page. I'm trying Firefox right now, but it feels a bit slower still and doesn't have as good of tab navigation.

2. I'm using swift key now instead of the stock keyboard and it's great, but there are two nagging issues. It doesn't close immediately when I exit an area of text entry, so it lingers over the screen. And the second issue is that whenever the keyboard is up there is an icon in the pull down tray asking me choose my input method and I can't get rid of if it. Advice?

advice? use the google keyboard. Random swiftkey lag is why I had to switch away despite liking it a lot. It just a split second when it would appear or before it would go away sometimes but it was enough to get me to switch.

 

[RoadHazard]

2. I'm using swift key now instead of the stock keyboard and it's great, but there are two nagging issues. It doesn't close immediately when I exit an area of text entry, so it lingers over the screen. And the second issue is that whenever the keyboard is up there is an icon in the pull down tray asking me choose my input method and I can't get rid of if it. Advice?

Not sure about your first issue. How long is it staying there?

Your second issue has nothing to do with SwiftKey, it's just how Android works. Why is it a problem that the OS is giving you a quick way to switch input methods? In Android L they've moved it to the navigation bar (if you have soft keys - guess it would stay in the status bar if you don't):

But yeah, I also actually prefer Google's keyboard to SwiftKey these days. It seems a bit smoother for me, and above all it doesn't insert forced spaces after every word. I found that very annoying about SwiftKey, since it meant you couldn't correct a word suggestion without first pressing Backspace. Also, I like the new look of the stock keyboard in L.

 

[BoboBrazil]

I have a couple questions, though not related to the I/O announcements.

1. Can anyone recommend a good browser? I've been using Chrome, but it seems to be slowing down on me as well having this issue where it loads the first 10%,then takes several minutes to load the remainder of a page. I'm trying Firefox right now, but it feels a bit slower still and doesn't have as good of tab navigation.

Dolphin is the best browser for android. If you are on 4.4 or above it comes with Jetpack installed. If you are on an older version install Jetpack for it too.

 

[linkboy]

I have a couple questions, though not related to the I/O announcements.

1. Can anyone recommend a good browser? I've been using Chrome, but it seems to be slowing down on me as well having this issue where it loads the first 10%,then takes several minutes to load the remainder of a page. I'm trying Firefox right now, but it feels a bit slower still and doesn't have as good of tab navigation.

2. I'm using swift key now instead of the stock keyboard and it's great, but there are two nagging issues. It doesn't close immediately when I exit an area of text entry, so it lingers over the screen. And the second issue is that whenever the keyboard is up there is an icon in the pull down tray asking me choose my input method and I can't get rid of if it. Advice?

There's a myrid of differernt browsers, my best recommendation is to just download different ones and find the one you like the best.

As for the keyboard, to get rid of the icon, go into Settings-Apps and disable the Google keyboard if you don't want to use it. However, keep in mind, it's a system app, so if you remove swiftkey, you won't have a keyboard. You also might be able to go into Settings-Language\Input and deselect the Google Keyboard, making Swiftkey the only active keyboard.

 

[Jigolo]

Really thinking about pulling the trigger on a Nexus 5 while resale prices on my old Iphone 5 are still decent:

Found an Ebay seller selling 32Gb models for $385 shipped and tax free. I've never bought something like this on Ebay. Anything I should be worried about?

yeah when bought from eBay there is no warranty

 

[Blackhead]

yeah when bought from eBay there is no warranty

What?