Google has begun rolling out Android 5.1. The latest version of Android is still called Lollipop and it’s a relatively minor update over Android 5.0.

But Google says there are a few new features as well as performance and stability improvements.

android 5.1 dual sim

Android 5.1 Lollipop is already available on Android One smartphones available in Indonesia and India. Soon it’ll roll out to recent Nexus phones and tablets. And now that Google is releasing the source code it shouldn’t be too long before we start to see it hit other phones through official updates and unofficial custom ROMs.

Update: Factory images are now available for some devices including the Nexus 5, 2012 Nexus 7 and Nexus 10.

Update 2: Google says pretty much every Nexus device released since (and including) the Nexus 4 will receive an over-the-air update to Android 5.1.

So what’s new in Android 5.1 Lollipop? Here are a few things:

  • New features for devices with multiple SIM Cards (like different colors for contacts associated with each SIM)
  • HD voice capabilities on supported phones (such as the Nexus 6 on T-Mobile or Verizon networks)
  • Device Protection feature that locks your device until you sign in with your Google account even if a phone has been reset to factory settings.

The Device Protection feature will be available on the Nexus 6 and Nexus 9 as well as most devices that ship with Android 5.1 pre-installed.

Other new features include support for quickly connecting to WiFi networks or Bluetooth devices devices from the Quick Settings pull-down, new animations in the clock app, and more.

You can find more details in our “what’s new in Android 5.1 Lollipop” article.

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5 replies on “Google launches Android 5.1 Lollipop”

  1. I think Google has lost its way. Seems like they take away as many features as they add. I was using Kitkat but moved back to Jellybean as I like it better. I have played with Lollipop but find I like it less than Kitkat. If things keep going the way they are I will have to move to another platform. The problem with that is I dislike Apple, Blackberry is dying, Windows phone doesn’t have over half the apps I use regularly (and I hate the tile interface).

  2. If there are Android One devices here in Indonesia, then tell me where you can actually buy one! There is an Android One Web page in Bahasa Indonesia, but ZERO information on where to actually buy a device. So stop with the Android One in Indonesia stories already. It’s all smoke and mirrors. David in Jakarta

  3. If the Device Protection feature also ends up working on devices UPGRADED to 5.1 it could be great (as long as your gmail account has a good password so that common thieves can’t hack it.

  5. Does 5.1 still prevent apps from turning on/off mobile data, yet allows any human to disable your mobile data without unlocking the phone?

    Brad, it’d be great to get some press going about this “bug” that’s supposedly a Lollipop “security feature”. It’s obviously insecure this way and, instead, forces people to be online 100% using more mobile data. Sounds like a self-interest feature. Things that make you go, “hmmm”.

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