Galaxy S5 Android Lollipop Update Available For Verizon
Samsung Galaxy S5 users, your time has come! The Android 5.0 Lollipop is available for download. Although, in the present moment only US and UK users can happily update their Samsung Galaxy S5 smartphones, Samsung is actually working on the build to be released globally, too.
In the US, the update is available from Verizon, being the first carrier to release the update. Verizon also has a support page for the update, with details about the new software and highlights some of the most important features, such as Material Design, latest TouchWiz skin, the Lock Screen, Recents and Interruptions.
What you can actually expect from the Verizon’s Lollipop update is better music streaming connectivity and UI changes in Memo and Emergency Mode. Verizon also updated some of the bloatware, like Cloud and Message+.
While in Europe, Poland was the first one to enjoy the update in early December, it is now followed by Uk. The UK Galaxy S5 users can now enjoy the update, even if it was expected it to roll out at the end of February. And if you are from UK, make sure to verify if you got the update by going to your Samsung Galaxy S5’s settings > about phone > software update.
There is also an unofficial Sprint Galaxy S5 Android Lollipop update, from XDA Developers and is already available on their website. The unofficial update still might have some issues and the sensors and their functions haven’t been tested, but the calls, SMS and other functions were already tested and the XDA said it works. If you decide flashing the update with Odin, just remember to back up everything and that you carefully follow the steps, because you are doing it at your own risk.
If it happens to have another Galaxy S5 variant, you can also look on the XDA Developers forum, where other Android 5.0 Lollipop updates are currently developed for you to enjoy until the official update comes out.
Furthermore, even if Android 5.0 Lollipop hasn’t assaulted our smartphones since its release, Google’s distribution data for February show that Lollipop has finally started to make its debut in charts, with a distribution of 1.6%. The KitKat version of Android is still the most popular, with a 39.7% distribution and it actually showed a small growth from January, when it had 39.1%. After KitKat, JellyBean occupies second place, with a total of 44.5% distribution, showing a decline from last month with 1.5%. IceCream Sandwich also showed a decrease, from 6.7% to 6.4%.
Even if KitKat continues to hold on and is still the most used Android version, Lollipop at least made its official debut in charts. And while 1.6% might not be much for now, once the updates roll out all over the world, it will surely win against KitKat and more devices will use the Lollipop version.
If you update your Galaxy S5, let us know what you think in the comments section below.
Source: Verizon PDF