“Why Is Nobody Using Google’s Android Lollipop?”

Even after a long while from its release Android Lollipop still is pale in comparisons to other versions of Android in terms of its distribution. Lollipop is the greatest face lift in Android’s history and deserves a lot of credit. Not only is it better but looks and functions in an amazing way. The fact is some people don’t get why they don’t have it yet. A Countless number of articles are out there slaying Google’s new Android version instead of giving real reasons as to why people aren’t seeing it yet. Here are reasons why you don’t have Lollipop yet.

1. Do you own a Google Nexus device?

Apple is given a lot of credit as to releasing iOS to the devices it promises early. The updates are timely. Well Google has done the same time and again. If you own a Google Nexus device then chances are you are now running Android Lollipop. All Nexus devices from the Nexus 4, Nexus 7 (2012) and up have the latest Lollipop OS. Yes it is mainly on Google’s devices but they were built to show case Android’s latest software technology.

2. It’s not 100% Google’s fault

So many people think it’s Google’s fault for not having Android Lollipop update but the fact is that Android was designed to be flexible and open source. To be used by everyone and not just Google devices either. So many of us don’t have Nexus branded devices, so brands like Samsung, HTC, LG, Motorola, Sony and others all run Android OS’s but they don’t all look the same. Many of these companies change the OS to appeal more to their own consumers. Even long after the main Android OS release, users are still waiting for their brands to receive the latest updates because they are modifying Android to their liking. I’m still waiting for my Xperia Z3 update because Sony’s still working on it.

3. Depends on your OEM

Motorola’s Android UI is pretty much like Google’s stock Android. For this reason they were the first to upgrade their devices across the board. LG did update their G3 early but that was only in Poland. HTC always promises 90 days and then some. Sony says earlier February. All Nexus devices have the next update of Android Lollipop (Android Lollipop OS 5.0.2). This means if you are always looking to stay updated with the rest of the Android users, and you really want those new features or the latest interface, then you should choose the best OEM with the fastest update track record. That’s Android’s flexibility for you.

4. Let’s blame Google a bit here

This was the greatest facelift of Android yet and thus it had to have some annoying bugs and users had to run into issues. Today we are at Android 5.0.2 from 5.0. This is because of the previous bugs, that has forced Google to release several patch updates such as 5.0.1 and 5.0.2. There are rumors of Android Lollipop 5.1 but those are just as I said rumors. Google should have done better bug fixing and release coherent versions so other OEMs don’t have to wait for a stable release. Anyway every software overhaul has a ton of bugs as we saw with iOS 7 and Windows Phone 7. These things can be fixed though.

For conclusions it doesn’t take much to see that it is hard to get Android Lollipop on your devices now except by using device-specific, custom ROMs or by having a Google Nexus or Motorola device. Hopefully by the end of February there should be a substantial increase in users as OEM flagships will get their Android Lollipop updates.