Google releases Android 5.0 previews for Nexus 5 and 7

Google released preview versions of Android 5.0 Lollipop for last year’s Nexus 5 and Nexus 7 online on Friday. In addition, the software giant comes with a new SDK of the new mobile operating system for developers.

The preview versions do not yet contain all updated applications and are only intended for developers and interested parties. The final versions of the operating system will appear in a few weeks. The now released SDK also helps developers develop apps with the latest APIs.

Google unveiled Android 5.0 this week. Lollipop, as the release is called, contains many new features and APIs. One of the biggest changes are the new notification system and ART, which stands for Android Runtime. It will replace the current Dalvik Virtual Machine, which has so far been used to run Android apps written in Java. Lollipop also includes new design guidelines, which Google calls “Material Design.”

After the appearance of the final Android 5.0 versions, manufacturers can get started with it, for example, to put a separate software shell over it. HTC and Sony, among others, have announced that they will update smartphones to Android 5.0. Motorola previously announced that it will update the most recent smartphones to Android Lollipop, but buyers of a Nexus device are the first to turn.