Someone interested in mobile operating systems, especially Android OS versions, would very much like to know the difference between Android 4.4 KitKat and Android 5 Lollipop. Android is a Linux based mobile operating system that is widely used on mobile devices such as smartphones and tablet computers. Android, which is currently being developed by Google, is now being used in products of famous companies such as Sony, Samsung, HTC, and LG. After introducing a bunch of versions such as Gingerbread, Honeycomb, Ice Cream Sandwich and Jelly Bean, Google in September 2013 introduced Android KitKat, that is also known as the version 4.4. Then, in June 2014 Google unveiled the next Android version called Android Lollipop that is also known as Android 5. Currently, Android Lollipop is the latest android operating syste m available out there. Android Lollipop being the successor of Android KitKat has inherited a lot of features from the previous version while it has numerous new features and improvements as well. There are a lot of notable improvements in aspects such as design, security, notifications and efficient battery usage.
Android 4.4 KitKat Review – features of Android 4.4 KitKat
Android KitKat, which is also named as Android 4.4, is the immediate new release after Android Jelly Bean. KitKat includes a lot of features inherited from previous Android versions. As any other modern systems Android supports multitasking , where users can enjoy several applications simultaneously. Android, that is usually an operating system designed especially for touch screen devices, has multi-touch support. Voice based features allow calling, texting and navigation through voice commands. While android has support for a large number of languages, it has many accessibility features as well. Inbuilt applications are available for calling, messaging and web browsing while the google play store acts as the central place for managing and installing applications. Android also has a very special feature for screen capturing that can be used by pressing power button together with volume down buttons for few seconds. While a large number of connectivity technologies such as GSM, EDGE, 3G, LTE, CDMA, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, WiMAX and NFC are supported, special features such as hotspots and tethering capabilities are notably important to mention. While many media formats are supported Android supports streaming media as well. Android provides support for variety of hardware including sophisticated sensors. The virtual machine called Dalvik in Android is the layer that is responsible for running java applications while providing necessary security features.
While above mentioned are the general features in Android in which KitKat has inherited from previous versions. Now, let’s jump on to the new features it has. In Android KitKat, memory management is done in a very special fashion that it can run smoothly even on devices with only 512MB of RAM. In Android KitKat, one has the chance to easily activate the Google Now feature by just saying, “OK Google” to the microphone. The default calling app has got a lot of new features such as Smarter Caller ID. The immersive mode introduced in this version lets everything including navigation bar and buttons be hidden while running applications such as games and readers. While cloud storage features have been integrated into the system, a new feature called printing on the go allows printing over Wi-Fi or Bluetooth. There are numerous other graphical changes done to the user interface so that the users can enjoy a completely new view of the system.
Android 5 Lollipop Review – features of Android 5 Lollipop
Android Lollipop or Android 5 is the latest Android version available so far, where it became available just a couple of months ago. While it inherits almost all the features of its predecessor KitKat, a considerable number of new features and improvements are available. The design has been greatly improved with vivid new colors, typography and real time natural animations and shadows. Notifications can be controlled as necessary, to get interrupted only when it is really necessary, while it has the capability to prioritize the notifications intelligently. A new battery saver feature increases the battery usage even more. With encryption auto enabled on devices, the security level has become much more enhanced. Also, sharing features have become more and more easy with multiple user account support and the new “guest” user makes it is possible to lend your smartphone or tablet to someone else without exposing your private data. While media features such as photos, videos, music and camera have been greatly improved, now users can connect even USB microphones to an Android device. While accessibility and language support is further enhanced, there are many other interesting new features that are found of Android Lollipop.
What is the difference between Android 4.4 KitKat and Android 5 Lollipop?
• Android 5 Lollipop has an enhanced design than what is found on Android 4.4 KitKat. Colors are more vivid and the typography is clearer. Also, features such as natural motions, realistic lighting and realistic shadows make the design excellent.
• In Android 5 Lollipop, user can view and respond to messages on the lock screen itself while functions are there to hide sensitive information.
• The priority mode available in Android Lollipop makes it possible to set priorities over the notifications and it is possible to schedule time periods where notifications should be received and should be not. Also in Lollipop, it is possible to control and prioritize notifications coming from different applications
• The battery saver feature in Android 5 Lollipop can extend the time on battery by 90 minutes.
• Android 5 Lollipop also has a feature that shows remaining time to charge the battery when the device is connected to the power. Also, the estimated time that the battery can sustain before being discharged is also displayed in Android Lollipop.
• In Android 5 Lollipop devices, data is automatically encrypted. This is a good security measure on preventing private data getting on to others especially in case of a stolen device.
• Also, Android 5 Lollipop has Smart Lock feature that can secure the device by pairing it with a trusted device.
• Security-Enhanced Linux (SELinux) which is a Linux Kernel module is present in Android 5 Lollipop for preventing security threats such as malware.
• Android 5 Lollipop supports multiple user accounts on the same device. However, Android KitKat does not ha ve this feature. Because of this feature now multiple users can share the same device.
• Android 5 Lollipop has a guest account which is not there in Android 4.4 KitKat. Now the phone can be temporarily lent without having any issue on privacy.
• The new Android runtime called ART in Android Lollipop provides 4x performance and better multitasking capability.
• Android 5 Lollipop provides support for 64bit devices. With this it supports more powerful 64bit processors.
• 15 new languages are added in Android 5 Lollipop. They are Basque, Bengali, Burmese, Chinese (Hong Kong), Galician, Icelandic, Kannada, Kyrgyz, Macedonian, Malayalam, Marathi, Nepali, Sinhala, Tamil, Telugu. Previous Android versions did not support these languages.
• In Android 5 Lollipop, controls are provided for functionalities such as flashlight, hotspot, screen rotation and cast screen controls. Also, brightness control is much effective and controls are moreover easy to use.
• Android 5 Lollipop allows toggling between Wi-Fi and cellular data to provide consistent internet connections.
• Android 5 Lollipop has enhanced supported for Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE). While a new BLE peripheral mode is available, it provides power efficient scanning methods for BL E devices.
• OpenGL ES 3.1 and Android extension pack available in Android Lollipop can provide very quality graphics.
• In Android 5 Lollipop USB microphones, USB speakers and similar devices are supported.
• The camera in Android 5 Lollipop has new features like capturing full resolution at 30fps, enhanced control for capture settings and ability to capture metadata like noise.
Summary:
Android 4.4 KitKat vs Android 5 Lollipop
Android Lollipop is the latest version of the Android mobile operating system that was introduced several months after its predecessor Android KitKat. While Lollipop inherits almost all the features of KitKat it includes numerous other improvements and new features. The design with new graphical features such as real time shadows, natural motions and vivid colors, give a fresh new look to the UI in Android Lollipop. With many other features such as guest user, multiple user accounts, priority mode, auto enabled encryption, support for USB microphones and efficient battery usage which are not found in KitKat, it is worth to try out the new Lollipop operating system.
Images Courtesy:
- Android KitKat Home Screen by LeThéodorus (CC BY-SA 3.0)