Firmware 5.0. Android update: how to update to a new version, rollback? Guide in detail

As promised by Google, today, October 17, the search giant released the final versions of application programming interfaces (APIs) and developer kits (SDKs) so that they can actively develop applications that support Android 5.0 Lollipop. Firmware images of the final version of the sweet update for the Nexus 5 smartphone and the 2013 Nexus 7 tablet were also published. The rollout of the new version of the green robot will start early next month.

Google I/O 2014 announced that Android 5.0 Lollipop includes more than 5,000 new APIs - including material design libraries, new animations, UI elements, new features, and more. . The API level for applications supporting Android 5.0 Lollipop is Level 21. From now on, applications with API 21 will be published in the Google Play store.

Google has also released tons of documents to help developers get started on creating Material Design user interfaces for branded apps, creating user interfaces for the new Android TV platform, developing apps that support Android Wear and Android Auto, and more. All of them are available on the official Google Developers website - you can view some of them below using the links.

Marked a new era Android. The platform has absorbed all the best from the world of mobile technologies, and the latest innovations are direct confirmation of this. Next we will look in more detail Android5.0 Lollipop. ABOUT Nexus 6 And Nexus 9 you can read in other posts on our website.

UPD (20.10.14): Update schedule to Android 5.0 Lollipop + Android 5.0 Lollipop in pictures

UPD (10/29/14): Security options for Android 5.0 Lollipop

UPD (06.11.14): New principles for working with SD cards for Android 5.0 Lollipop

UPD (06.11.14): Removing pre-installed applications

UPD (11/13/14): The update to Android 5.0 Lollipop is ready for Nexus smartphones and tablets

UPD (11/19/14): 10 main problems with Android 5.0 Lollipop and their solutions

UPD (03.12.14): Android 5.0.1 Lollipop

UPD (10.01.16): Android 6.0 Marshmallow - material design, optimization, improved battery life, new applications and a lot of goodies

The era is over Android4.x. IceCreamSandwich, JellyBean And KitKat still continue to exist on different devices, becoming less and less relevant every day, since they were replaced by Android 5.0 Lollipop– new version of the operating system Android. The first devices to receive the update are: Nexus 4 , Nexus 5 , Nexus 7 (both the 2013 tablet and its older brother), both generations MotorolaMotoX, both generations MotoG together with MotoG 4 GLTE, MotoE, family Droid (Ultra, Maxx, Mini), device series GooglePlayEdition.

And here is the new statue dedicated to the release:

"Be Together. Notthesame" is the new slogan under which Android 5.0 Lollipop. Apparently, it refers to a huge number of different Android devices that are united within one platform, but run on different versions of the OS. Are the creators hinting? Android 5.0 Lollipop to what awaits us soon Android revolution, after which will come total unification? Watch the video and don’t forget to share your opinions in the comments.

Well, now we can talk about the main features Android 5.0 Lollipop. Let's start with factory reset protection. Thanks to the feature FactoryResetProtection V Android 5.0 Lollipop to wipe you need to enter your login and password Google, which are tied to the device. This feature will significantly reduce the number of accidental wipes, and will also make the theft of smartphones pointless, since selling a device with user data will be extremely difficult.

The first thing that catches your eye when looking at a device with Android 5.0 Lollipop, is the navigation bar. The fact is that the usual buttons have now been changed to triangle, circle and square. The second element that has undergone major changes is the status bar. It can now be either transparent or colored (depending on the application). Also, for the status bar in Android 5.0 Lollipop new icons were created.

On the lock screen in Android 5.0 Lollipop full notifications are displayed, so now checking messages or notifications from games is much more convenient. In addition, the new version of the OS has special windows for notifications that pop up on top of any applications. These windows allow you to respond to notifications, or you can simply ignore them. It is worth noting that this solution has been available to users of custom firmware for some time C.M..

New colors, the use of multiple layers, minimalistic but cool animations - these are the main features MaterialDesign, which are fully realized in Android 5.0 Lollipop. New policy Google must universalize all available interfaces Android, designed for different screens. For now, we see only positive changes in the appearance of the good old OS. As soon as Android 5.0 Lollipop will be available for more devices, it will be possible to draw conclusions on how well the universalization of user experience is going.

Here is the official list of innovations and changes

The operating system's vibrant and responsive design pairs perfectly with an intuitive user interface across all your devices. Color design thanks MaterialDesign has become more realistic thanks to lighting effects, shadows and new colors. More efficient use of the entire screen and new fonts allow you to concentrate on important aspects in detail, without being distracted by trifles.

Notifications

IN Android 5.0 Lollipop A completely new way of interacting with notifications has been implemented. Now the entire system can be configured in such a way that notifications will only arrive at the moment when it is convenient for the device owner. In general, their use has reached a completely new level. Firstly, the point here is the above-mentioned possibilities associated with lockscreen. Secondly, a special mode has appeared in the OS, which is called Prioritymode. Its essence is that the user selects a group of applications and users from whom he wants to receive notifications while this mode is running. All other notifications are blocked. Thirdly, it is worth noting once again the notifications that appear on top of other applications - this is very convenient and practical.

Working hours

Android 5.0 Lollipop boasts several innovations related to charging and operating time. First, there's the new power-saving mode, which should provide up to 90 minutes of extra time. Secondly, an indication of the time remaining until the battery is fully charged. Thirdly, the approximate time after which the battery will be completely discharged (displayed in the battery settings).

Safety

You can now secure your Android device using this feature AndroidSmartLock. Its essence lies in the fact that the smartphone or tablet is unlocked using the selected device, which is connected via Bluetooth (smart watch or car dashboard). Besides, in Android 5.0 Lollipop Data is automatically encrypted. SELinux provides additional protection against malicious applications.

New access to devices

IN Android 5.0 Lollipop By default, remote access to devices is implemented. If you forgot your smartphone at home, then to access the content stored on it you just need to use another device with the OS version Android 5.0 . To do this, you just need to log in with your account. The OS also has access for guests.

New quick settings

Quick settings are now launched with two swipes down. New features: flash, hotspot, screen position, big screen broadcast settings. In addition, turning on/off different settings is now much more convenient.

Connections

Now there are no glitches when switching from WiFi to mobile Internet. Connections are made only to proven WiFi networks, and searching for Bluetooth devices has become less energy-consuming.

Performance

WITH Android 5.0 Lollipop The new ART application runtime has been fully implemented. Thanks to this, some applications experience a fourfold increase in performance. In addition, the OS supports 64-bit processors (ARM, x86, and MIPS).

Media

The new version of the OS has reduced playback latency. In addition, there is support for USB audio devices and multi-channel playback (5.1 and 7.1 systems). As for the graphics, thanks OpenGLES 3.1 Android becomes on a par with computers and game consoles. There were also innovations in the field of photo and video, but they were less significant.

OK Google

Team " OKGoogle" now works on the lock screen (for now only for Nexus 6 And 9 ).

Android TV

The new interface is better adapted to the big screen. In addition to this, in AndroidTV there is voice search for GooglePlay, YouTube and some other applications (the list will expand).

The presence of a new version of the operating system somewhere on the network does not mean it is available on a specific device. Typically, it takes some time from the official presentation to the appearance of the OS on devices. If this Nexus devices, the gap may be insignificant. If these are devices on top of which the user interface is installed (for example, Samsung), then users have to wait much longer. The geographic location of each specific device, the operator and the model of the smartphone/tablet itself also matter (some updates never reach them). Next we will talk about the update schedule to .

Of course, the very first devices to receive official updates are smartphones and tablets of the series Nexus And Google Play Edition. In the case of C, you shouldn’t expect anything new. Regarding devices that can be upgraded to Android 5.0, then there is very good news: in addition to the above Nexus 4 Lollipop will also be available for Nexus 7 2012. As for the order of updates, they will appear first for Nexus 5, 7 (2013) And 10 . Concerning GooglePlay Edition devices, then we can certainly say that the updates will reach and Moto G. Concerning HTC One M7, Samsung Galaxy S4, Sony Z Ulra And LG G Pad 8.3, then the situation with them is not yet clear.

Devices from Motorola usually receive updates immediately after Nexus And Google Play Edition smartphones and tablets. This year will be no exception. It is not known how soon the updates will be ready, but you won’t have to wait long. As for the devices that were lucky enough to get their hands on them, these are Moto X(two generations at once), Moto G(also both generations + model with 4G LTE), Moto E, Droid Ultra, Maxx And Mini.

Samsung However, it always delays with updates and, in addition, freezes their release for many of its devices. As a rule, only the coolest smartphones and tablets of the company receive a new version of the OS. Concerning Lollipop, then, most likely, the owners of the following devices were lucky: GalaxyS3 , Galaxy S4, Galaxy Note 8.0, Galaxy Note II, Galaxy Note 10.1. Of course, we shouldn’t forget about the flagships: , , and others.

As for with LG, then the picture is still not clear. You will definitely get an update to . We don’t yet know what happens to the rest of the devices.

In case of HTC we see the following picture: the company has officially stated that updates to will be ready within 90 days from the date of release Lollipop. Devices that are sure to receive the new OS are HTC One M7 And HTC One M8, I would like to see more on this list.

Burst-mode camera APIs
H.265
NDK media APIs TV input framework
Low latency audio recording audio patch panel
Improved AV sync
USB audio
Cast receiver hardware assisted hot word
ART
64-bit trusted execution environment
Volta
Improved battery stats, predicted time remaining
Battery historian
Time to charge time on lock screen
JobScheduler
Multi-network
Bluetooth 4.1
BLE central & peripheral modes
HFP 1.6 SAP
Multi HFP
Map Email
OpenGL ES 3.1 & Android Extension Pack
Personal unlocking
Enterprise
Lock to app APIs
Document-centric multi-tasking
Lockscreen notifications
Heads-up notifications
Don't disturb
New quick settings
Phone rotation lock
Improved game controller support
Closed caption
Color inversion
Color space correction
Improved text rendering
Material theme
Activity transitions
View shadows
View elevation
RecycleView
CardView
Path animations
Color extractor

UPD (27.06.14): New screenshots of Android L

UPD (07/03/14): Detailed description of Android L

New design

Bright, flat and layered Android is a consequence of a new design policy called . The last major changes in the appearance of the operating system occurred back in the days Ice Cream Sandwich in 2011. Now we can observe another qualitative leap. All that made me so happy KitKat, has been rethought and redesigned, as a result of which you can observe the aforementioned multi-layering, and more thoughtful transition animations between various interface elements, and an unusual surface reaction to touch. Another important feature is the ability of the new interface to absorb the colors of pictures and images that are in the foreground, creating the most suitable design. Lastly, it’s worth remembering the new buttons, which now look very minimalistic – triangle, circle and square.

This had to happen at some point: the Android operating system was sooner or later bound to combine several platforms, and now Android Auto, Android Wear And Android TV are an excellent example of the implementation of this idea. Cars, smart watches and wearable computers, as well as televisions, will all run on the same operating system. Moreover, Android will become even closer to Chrome OS: in the near future applications with Google Play It will be possible to run on Chromebooks. Also, notifications from a smartphone can be displayed on devices with Chrome OS.

Energy saving

Thanks to the implementation of the project Volta developers will be able to optimize application performance by minimizing energy consumption. This will happen as follows: in the application, you can introduce restrictions on performing certain automatic actions, for example, connecting to the network. By reducing the number of connections per day, developers can reduce battery consumption. Besides, in Android L There will also be a special energy-saving mode that will extend the operating time of any device by limiting traffic usage, reducing processor activity and screen refresh rate.

Safety

Another important innovation is Personal Unlocking. The essence of the feature is to make life easier for users by automatically unlocking devices in specified locations. In addition, with Android L will also appear Factory Reset Projection– mode for cleaning and devaluing stolen devices.

Notifications

Notifications will expand its presence in Android L. They will be able to appear in new places on top of applications, and will also receive additional properties. This will happen with minimal interference in other processes, but with the ability to interact with them: immediately go to the sending application, or send for further viewing.

Speed, distribution and new technologies

ART (Android runtime) finally replace Dalvik. Of course, applications will take longer to install and will take up additional space, but they will launch noticeably faster. In addition, the use ART will make many platforms more accessible, ranging from ARM and ending Intel x86. Another important nuance is full compatibility with 64-bit processors, which, apparently, will become dominant in the world Android in 2015.

New status for Chrome browser

IN Android L browser tabs Chrome equal to applications. As a result, they can be found in the list of recent applications.

Office work

Thanks to the feature Android for Work, Android devices with OS Android L can be used at work. Of course, this has always been possible, but now we are talking about creating a corporate network of devices that will be controlled by the administrator. Main Feature Android for Work is that a special space will be created on devices for this. This way, rest and work can be separated.

Caring for those who are visually impaired

IN Android L There will be new options for adjusting the display of colors. In Settings > Accessibility you can choose one of 6 modes, each of which is created specifically for one type of color blindness. Moreover, it will be possible to reverse the colors there. Another nice bonus is changing the zoom using a triple touch on the screen. Now too small font can be enlarged in a couple of moments.

There are rumors that the fifth version of the OS will appear this summer, along with the release of the tablet. . Last year this event was predicted for the fifth birthdayAndroid, but then the world was shocked by the appearance , which was preceded by an update in the form. For now, there is no official information about whether we will receive an update to or 5.0 , no, but we tried to collect all the relevant data in this post.

UPD (05/29/2014): Android 4.5 (5.0) Lollipop will appear instead of 4.4.3

But really, why release two versions of the OS in such a short time? This is an extra headache for mobile operators and hardware manufacturers. A more reasonable solution would be to combine the long-awaited 4.4.3 With 4.5 (or 5.0 ). Thus, Google will kill two birds with one stone: it will fix existing bugs and present users with a completely new interface, and no one doubts that it will be radically different.

Increasingly, various experts are saying that Google is going to universalize the user experience. Apparently, this will manifest itself in the fact that the new interface will be the same in some of its properties both on smartphones/tablets and on Chromebooks or personal computers in the case of web applications. Once you start working in the application on one device, you can easily switch to another device. Currently this feature is known as Project Hera. Of course, this cannot be done without integration with HTML5.

Besides, Android 4.5 (5.0 ) Lollipop will be tailored for 64-bit processors, the emergence of which in the ecosystem Android planned for this year. More information can be expected at Google I/O. According to some reports, in addition to the new version of the operating system Google will also present a tablet Nexus 8.

This is what the design could be like Android 4.5 (5.0 ) Lollipop:

Roundup of old rumors

UPD (12.08.13): Work on Android 5.0 is in full swing

UPD (04.09.13): Information about the name of the new OS has been refuted. New OS version - Android 4.4 KitKat

UPD (30.09.13): Added the most likely names for Android 5.0 and the concept of a new OS version

UPD (30.09.13):

Version Android 5.0 Key Lime Pie has been cancelled, Google announced KitKat, but no one refused 5.0. We'll talk about what to expect from the operating system a little later, but for now here are the likely options for new names. Of course, it may also appear Android 4.5 Android 4.6, Android 4.7, but for convenience let's call the next version .

Laffy Taffy is a very popular brand in North America. Why not? Next on the list is the letter "L"; the above-mentioned sweetness is known and loved at the greatest Android market, and the tradition with brands can be continued, both sides benefit from this, otherwise what is the use of frozen yogurts and jelly beans?

Well, this bar is even more popular and also belongs to Nestle. True, there is one nuance here. Lion- this is the international name, in the USA it is Mr.Big.

Android 5.0 Lime Pie

Why not? Remove the "chunk" from the working title of the current version and you'll get a great idea of ​​what to call . The name is already on everyone's lips. A good option if you get tired of working with brands.

Android 5.0 Licorice

Liquorice sweets are very popular in certain countries. True, there are many people who cannot stand their taste. So it would not be worth using this name, or only if it becomes something not entirely pleasant.

But everyone has long known and loved the candies on the shelf. A very good and quite neutral option, which does not carry such connotations as licorice sweets, for example.

What is your opinion on this matter? Which sweet has the best chance?

New concept for Android 5.0

We still don't know what it will look like Android 4.4, but we can already imagine the concept. Its developer was Craig Tuttle. From the video it is clear that he loves it very much Google Now. Separately, it is worth noting the new version of the multitasking screen. The designer's solution is very convenient and practical. You can find out the rest from the video.

UPD (04.09.13)

Google presented the name of the new operating system, and it's not Key Lime Pie, and her version is not 5.0 . The new OS will be Android 4.4 KitKat. This news was published against the backdrop of the fact that the number of activations of the operating system has reached one billion and continues to grow. Read more in the main post about Android 4.4 KitKat .

UPD (12.08.13)

Not far off, but it is still unknown whether this version will be called Key Lime Pie. All we can say with certainty is that it will be a dessert starting with the letter K. A recent leak of information obtained thanks to Chromium Project, contains reports about operating system bugs KRS36B, which is most likely the same version 5.0 .

In the meantime, the developers are testing Key Lime Pie on Nexus 7 And Nexus 4(they were precisely indicated in the reports), you and I can only wait for October, since it is during the celebration of the fifth anniversary Android The fifth version of the operating system is expected.

University of Michigan student Jinesh Shah presented the design in a very minimalistic way. Updated clock, on-screen buttons, widget Google search and other elements absorbed the progressive vision of the author. Lockscreen received only two permanent elements: voice search and Google Now. According to the author, the latter should always be open so that useful information is displayed continuously. The rest of the widgets are hidden. You can get to them by swiping down. Navigation between the widgets themselves occurs thanks to side swipes.

That's all for now. Stay tuned to this post for the latest news on Android 5.0 Key Lime Pie. You can read about which new version of the operating system other users would like to see.

UPD (11.08.14): Devices that are most likely to receive updates to Android L

• Firstly, this Nexus smartphones and tablets, as well as series devices Google Play edition. These devices are not only guaranteed to receive updates, but this will happen immediately after the presentation of the new version of the operating system. It is currently not known which ones Nexuses will receive new software, but we can say with confidence that it will be Moto G and will be updated to Android L.
• Fifthly, updates await the latest generation of flagship mobile devices from Samsung.
• At sixth, Xperia Z1, , Z3 and all sorts of variations on their theme will also receive Android L.

UPD (08.10.14): Using windows in Android L

On AndroidPolice there was an interesting article about how multitasking can be implemented in Android L. We are talking about using two windows with applications at the same time. Something similar can be seen in Samsung, but in AndroidPolice hope that in Android L This feature will be taken to a whole new level. At the same time, the author of the article warns readers that all his reasoning is based only on previous developments Google, which means there is every chance that we will never see anything like this in the new version of the operating system.

The supposed multitasking is that the user will be able to expand one application to half the screen (apparently, for this he will need to rotate his smartphone horizontally). In this case, the second half of the screen will have the same functions as the homescreen, which means that it will be possible to deploy a second application on it, which will take up all the remaining space.

It will be possible to establish interaction between these two applications: drag and drop pictures, text or files.

UPD (10/12/14): The presentation of Android L will take place on October 23

Annually Google leaves little clues indicating what to expect from the upcoming presentation. They are usually encrypted in time, which is indicated on the application screenshots in Google Play. And if last year before leaving Android 4.4 KitKat the clock showed 4:40 (and once before 4:30 and 4:20), but now we see 2:30. Of course, this is not the version number of the new Operating System, but it is quite similar to the presentation date. So we are waiting for October 23rd. Expected that Android L will be presented at Nexus 6 And Nexus 9.

Very soon Android L will be officially presented, and we will learn about all its features, but what would you like to see in the new OS? What do you think needs to be excluded? Share your thoughts in the comments.

UPD (03.12.14):

Android 5.0 Lollipop is a new version of the operating system from Google:
rating 80 out of 80 based on 80 ratings.
There are 80 reviews in total.

Users of the first versions of Android probably remember how illogical and inconvenient the system interface was when it appeared. But time passes, today Android has grown to version 5.0 and has significantly changed from all sides.

Material Design

For a long time, Google did not have a standard design for Android, so manufacturers created application interfaces to their own liking, which did not always lead to good results. Google quickly decided that Android needed deeper changes. This is how the idea of ​​Material Design emerged, covering every segment of the Google mobile OS design.

It changes the appearance of the system, from icons to animation. It is based on the concept that flat design doesn't have to be flat.

Lock screen

In Android 5.0, manufacturers have improved the lock screen, where quick settings are available and all notifications are displayed. As a result, in order to view, for example, incoming letters or turn off Wi-Fi, it is not at all necessary to unlock the device.

Application menu

Installed and system programs are collected in one menu, which has also been updated.

For ease of navigation, applications are now displayed on a white background because their icons are now much easier to distinguish.

Changing users

The system has a full-fledged user manager. For a phone this is not so interesting, but for a general tablet it can even be very useful. Thanks to this mode, you can create several accounts on one device and switch between them.

Alert panel

The notification panel that drops down from the top of the display in Lolipop has been radically changed. Now it does not cover the main screen, but only obscures it.

Settings

The settings menu has only been slightly improved; it is still a list of icons with the names of functions.

One of the innovations in the Lollipop settings is the “Contactless payment” section for mobile payments.

Smartphone

Calendar

The application has changed noticeably. It has a new display option “Schedule”, which shows the calendar and events in one feed.

Watch

The Clock application shows local and world time, there are alarms, a timer and a stopwatch.

In this program, you can check “Night mode”, which displays the time when the display is turned off.

Contacts

The address book displays the entire list of contacts, and you can also go to the “Favorites” tab, where there are marked contacts.

Photo

The photo storage mode is closely related to Google+, and allows you to save pictures in the Google cloud.

The program automatically enhances photos, creates animations and interactive albums from a series of frames.

Keyboard

The keyboard has been significantly redesigned. Its design, the animation of button pressing, and even the vibration of the response to pressing have changed.

Google Fit

The system will immediately install the Google Fit service application, which can only independently count steps, but with the advent of compatible utilities and accessories, it will make it possible to collect a variety of information about the user’s health in one place.

Results

Android 5.0 Lollipop is a very serious update for Android that takes Google's mobile OS to a high level. The idea of ​​Material Design combined the best of volumetric and flat design, presenting an unusual, but overall good interface.

Video review of Android 5.0 Lollipop

Installing Android 5.0 Lollipop firmware

Now it has become even easier to update and install the operating system of your smartphone or tablet to the latest version. Now, to install new firmware, just download Android 5.0 Lollipop from our website, follow the instructions from the downloaded archive, download and install the application on your smartphone or tablet with the Android operating system.

Recently, an important event happened within the Android x86 project - a stable version of the Android 6.0 Marshmallow operating system was released. This means that the latest version of Android is now available for installation on computers and laptops. In this article, we will tell you how to install Android 6.0 Marshmallow on your computer, as well as how to set up and better use this system on a full-fledged computer.

How to install next to other OS

To install Android 6.0 Marshmallow x86 on your computer or laptop, you need to follow fairly simple instructions. Burning an image to a disk or USB drive:

1. Download the ISO image of the system from the official website - and bit (direct download links).
2. The image can be burned to disk in the standard way through the CD Burner XP application for Windows, or using a standard utility in Windows 7 and higher. If you don’t want to waste an extra disk, you can create a bootable USB:
3. To do this, it is better to use the Linux Live USB Creator (LiLi) application, which can be downloaded for Windows and Linux on the official website of the project.
4. Launch the utility, in step 1, select the USB drive on which you would like to install Android.
5. Select the image itself that you downloaded earlier.

Ignoring all the settings, click on the lightning bolt in step 5, after which the image will begin recording to the USB drive.

System installation:

1. Prepare a disk partition for Android. To partition a disk, it is better to use the Acronis Disc Director Suite software package. The new version of Android x86 allows you to install systems next to another OS without damaging it. Therefore, you don’t even have to worry about the division if you don’t want to bother too much.
2. Once you have finished burning the image to the USB drive, if there were no errors, reboot your laptop. After turning on and the manufacturer’s logo appears on the screen, periodically press the button that brings up a window with alternative boot methods. On ASUS laptops this is the Esc button, on most PCs it is F8 or nearby buttons from this row. It's better to check on the Internet. If an alternative boot is not available, then enable it in the BIOS, which is usually called by the Delete button.
3. In the alternative launch window, select the USB, CD, or DVD drive where you installed Android.
4. After this, you will see a window with four options. The first three allow you to run Android in Live CD or Live USB mode - working with the system directly from the disk. The last option starts the installation. This is exactly what we need.

Next, you have to choose which partition to install Android on. You can select any supported partition by formatting it, or installing Android next to another system. In the latter case, select the “Do Not Format” option instead of the file system name. If you decide to install the system on a blank partition, then select a file system (ext3 or ext4 are recommended).

The next window will ask you to install the GRUB boot manager. If you do not have it installed on another Linux system, then you can safely select “Yes”. Then, the next time you turn on the laptop, it will display a window with options to launch all installed operating systems. It is worth noting that Windows is recognized normally. If you already have GRUB installed, you can select “Skip” and then add Android to the /grub/menu.lst list in another OS. In both cases, you can choose to install GRUB - you can't go wrong.

After this, the installation will begin. Upon completion, the installer will offer to immediately launch the installed Android or reboot the system. If you chose to install GRUB, then after turning on the laptop you should see something like this.

Select the first item, after which the installed Android will start launching.

Next, you have to go through the usual operation that every buyer of a new Android device faces: installing the language (Russian is present), setting up a Google account, connecting to Wi-Fi, and so on. There is nothing complicated here.

After all this, you should see a full-fledged Android desktop. Voila, the mobile OS is running on your laptop.

How to install on a virtual machine

If you do not want to install Android x86 on your computer as a full-fledged system, but would like to try it on a virtual machine, then there is one more instruction for you.
How to install Android x86 6.0 Marshmallow on a VirtualBox virtual machine:

1. Create a new virtual machine in VirtualBox. Select the Linux type, Linux version 2.x / 3.x / 4.x (32 or 64 bit) depending on your PC. Also create a virtual partition of at least 2 GB. As a result, the settings should look like this:

After creating the machine, in its settings, connect the Android x86 image you downloaded. This can be done in the “Media” section.

Start the virtual machine. If everything is set correctly, you will see a screen with four items. Select the bottom one - “Installation”. But you can also try Live CD without installation.

A section selection menu will appear. The sequence of actions is as follows: Create / Modify partitions → Do you want to use GPT (no) → New → Primary → (you can select the partition size) Enter → Bootable → Write (yes + enter) → Quit.

Select the partition that was created (VBOX HARDDISK). It will be the first item on the menu. File system - ext4.

Are you sure to format this partition? → Yes

Do you want to install boot loader GRUB? → Yes

Do you want to install EFI GRUB2? → Skip

Do you want to install /system directory as read-write? → Yes

The system is installed, select Reboot.

After rebooting the virtual machine, the GRUB bootloader will appear. To launch Android, select the topmost item in its menu. You don’t have to touch anything at all and the system will boot automatically.

Voila! Now you can use Android in a virtual machine.

Additional settings

Launcher
As an interface shell for Android x86, we can safely recommend ADW Launcher, which offers a lot of settings, and its design is better optimized for the mouse. After installing the launcher, all gestures will become much easier to perform with the mouse, and the desktop will become a little more convenient.

Keyboard
During setup after the first launch, you may notice that switching the language using a keyboard shortcut does not work. To fix this, you need to go to the “Language and input” section in the settings and select the layout you need. Android developers for computers even provide support for a keyboard shortcut to change the language - by default it is CTRL + Space. By the way, if you need a virtual touch keyboard that is not initially displayed on the screen, then switch the “Show input method” toggle switch in the same layout selection menu.

Many shortcuts that are necessary for normal operation are supported: copy (CTRL + C), paste (CTRL + V), cut (CTRL + X), the Windows button minimizes all applications and returns to the desktop. On some laptops and computers, the function keys in row F will work. The PrintScreen button works, which takes a screenshot.

Video
On Android x86 it is better to use a special video player called Dolphin. It better understands the architecture of desktop chips and also works well with a large number of formats. You can download the Dolphin video player for Android x86 on Trashbox.

Battery
To see a more detailed status of the laptop battery, it is better to install the Battery Disc widget, which can be placed on the desktop. The widget displays the battery charge as a percentage.

As you can see, Android 6.0 Marshmallow x86 is already pretty well optimized for most laptops, considering that my device has an AMD chip. I even managed to play the Android port

Other versions and updates

Major changes in Android 6.0 Marshmallow for x86 systems:

• updated Linux kernel to version 4.4.12;
• OpenGL ES 3.x hardware acceleration support for Intel / AMD (radeon / radeonsi) / Nvidia (nouveau) graphics, as well as in VMware and QEMU (virgl);
• OpenGL ES 3.0 support via software rendering on or without other graphics chips;
• Support for secure boot via UEFI and installation to a UEFI disk;
• the ability to install on partitions with ext4 / ntfs / fat32 file systems via a text-graphical interface;
• improved updating from older Android x86 releases - ext2 and ext3 file systems are now automatically updated to ext4;
• improved support for multi-touch screens, audio, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, sensors, cameras and Ethernet (via DHCP only);
• automatic mounting of USB drives and SD cards;
• support for other architectures (arm / arm64) through the native mechanism (Settings → Application compatibility).

Images of the following versions of Android x86 are also available for download:

• Android 6.0 Marshmallow RC1 (32 bit).
• Android 6.0 Marshmallow RC1 (64 bit).

The installation process for version 5.1 is identical to 6.0 Marshmallow.

Google has begun distributing Android 5 Lollipop to Nexus device owners. In the near future, the update will be available for downloading over the air on Nexus 5, Nexus 7 2013 Wi-Fi and Nexus 10. If you want to install it already, then read the instructions on your smartphone. Installing Android 5.0 will entail deleting all user information from the device. You need to make a backup copy, transfer photos, documents, etc. to your computer. Charge the device at least 30% and connect it to the computer. To update, you need the ADB and Fastboot software, which is located in the platform-tools/ folder of the Android SDK, as well as the firmware itself for the compatible device.

How to download Android 5.0 Lollipop update and firmware

How to install Android 5.0 Lollipop

Installing Android 5.0

1. Open the folder with ours for nexus, for Nexus 7 it’s called razor.
2. Copy the contents of the folder and paste the files into the folder \Android-L\adt-bundle\sdk\platform-tools
3. Launch the command prompt Win+R, type Cmd and press Enter.
4. Run the command adb reboot bootloader in the folder with the firmware.
5. Or open the folder with the firmware file and run the flash-all script. This script will install a new bootloader and firmware.
6. Wait until Android 5.0 Lollipop is installed.