Chainfire has already released CF-Auto-Roots for entire Nexus line running Lollipop

Android 5.0 Lollipop was officially released on November 3rd and has been rooted for some time now. While rooting has been available for Nexus devices running Lollipop since the developer preview, it hasn't been as easy as one, two, three… until now.

XDA Senior Recognized Developer Chainfire updated his CF-Auto-Root downloads to include an Android 5.0 root for the entire Nexus line. That means the Nexus 4, Nexus 5, Nexus 7 (2012 and 2013), Nexus 9, and Nexus 10 devices running 5.0 can easily be rooted.

For those of you who don’t know what CF-Auto-Root is, it is essentially the go-to method for beginners who are not well-versed in rooting. You can check out the officially CF-Auto-Root page here.

Source: XDA Developers | Via: Talk Android | Original story: AndroidGuys

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Android Lollipop will officially roll out today for Nexus devices

So finally after almost 5 months the wait for the Nexus owners comes to an end. In an official blog, Google has put out a post saying that Android 5.0 Lollipop has started rolling out already. Google has confirmed that Android 5.0 Lollipop would be coming to all the Nexus devices – Nexus 4, Nexus 5 and tablets Nexus 7 (2012 and 2013 editions) and Nexus 10. The Nexus 9, which has launched internationally, comes pre-loaded with the new operating system, and so will the Google Nexus 6 when it comes out.

Android’s official blog reads:

If you’re like me, you jump between a number of different devices throughout the day—reading a magazine on your tablet, checking the time on your watch, chatting with your friends on the phone, even plotting your route in the car. More and more, our screens work together, each helping make your life a little bit easier. But if the design is the way they communicate with us, it often feels like each one is speaking a different language. That’s why we unveiled material design earlier this year: one consistent design language flexible enough to span devices across mobile, desktop, and beyond. Design is a major focus for Lollipop—the latest version of Android—which begins to roll out today.

Last night, Google launched the new Gmail 5.0 app along with the Calendar app, both of which come with Material Design. The company is slowly updating all of its official apps in the ‘Material Design’ style. Google describes Material Design as a “bold, colourful, and responsive UI design for consistent, intuitive experiences across all your devices. Responsive, natural motion, realistic lighting and shadows, and familiar visual elements make it easier to navigate your device. Vivid new colours, typography, and edge-to-edge imagery help to focus your attention."

Motorola has already confirmed the update for most of its phones available in the market, which includes the Moto X (1st Gen. & 2nd Gen.), Moto G (1st Gen. & 2nd Gen.), Moto E, Droid Ultra, Droid Maxx and Droid Mini. HTC confirmed that it will be releasing the Android L update within 90 days of receiving the final software from Google.

Via: igyaan.in

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Evolution of the Nexus series (One through 6)

Google's flagship series, the Nexus line, have been one of the most successful phone lines ever since the original Nexus One was released in 2010. Many users gravitate to the Nexus series due to their unlockable bootloader, no manufacturer or carrier modification to the stock Android OS,  and most-importantly, they're the first phones to receive Android updates. Since 2010 Google has released 5 devices and the soon to be sixth device, the Nexus 6 is due out next month. We are going to recap all of the Google Nexus devices ahead of the highly-anticipated launch of the Nexus 6. 

Nexus One

The Nexus One was Google's first Nexus device. The phone was launched in January of 2010 and was manufactured by the Taiwanese company HTC. The device was debuted with Android 2.1 Eclair and was updated up to Android 2.3 Gingerbread. One prominent feature was that it is the only Nexus device to date that contained an SD card slot for expandable storage. 

Specs

Screen: size: 3.7"
Resolution: 480 x 800 (252 ppi)
Weight: 130 grams
Camera: (rear) 5 megapixels  - (front) none
Hardware: 1 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon QSD8250
Battery: 1400 mAh
RAM: 512 MB
Storage: 512 MB (Expandable - 4 GB included)
Released: January 2010

Nexus S



The Nexus S was Google's successor to HTC's Nexus One and it was manufactured by Samsung. The device was released in December of 2010 to be the first device to sport Android 2.3 Gingerbread. It was the first Android device to support NFC. Support for this device went all the way up to Android 4.3 Jelly Bean when it was laid to rest.

Specs

Screen: size: 4"
Resolution: 480 x 800 (233 ppi)
Weight: 129 grams
Camera: (rear) 5 megapixels  - (front) VGA 640 x 480
Hardware: 1 GHz Exynos 3
Battery: 1500 mAh
RAM: 512 MB
Storage: 16 GB
Released: December 2010

Galaxy Nexus




The Galaxy Nexus was Samsung's second and last time manufacturing a Nexus device. It was released in November of 2011 and featured a 720p display, which was a first for a Nexus device. The Galaxy Nexus was the first device to run Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich and has been since updated to Android 4.3 Jelly Bean, where its updates will not continue. This device was also the first Nexus device to feature all on-screen navigation buttons.

Specs

Screen: size: 4.65"
Resolution: 720 x 1280 (316 ppi)
Weight: 135 grams
Camera: (rear) 5 megapixels  - (front) 1.3 megapixels
Hardware: 1.2 GHz Texas Instruments OMAP 4460
Battery: 1750 mAh (HSPA+ version) 1850 mAh (LTE version)
RAM: 1 GB
Storage: 16/32 GB
Released: November 2011

Nexus 4


The Nexus 4, which was made by LG, was  what really set the Nexus line off. Google's Nexus 4 was the first Nexus device to support wireless charging, came with the biggest specs of any previous devices, and was released in November of 2012. It was the first device to debut Android 4.2 Jelly Bean and is expected to continue to be updated through Android 5.0 Lollipop. The device was a major success due to its lower price-point and performance/stability with stock Android.

Specs

Screen: size: 4.7"
Resolution: 768 x 1280 (318 ppi)
Weight: 139 grams
Camera: (rear) 8 megapixels  - (front) 1.3 megapixels
Hardware: 1.5 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro
Battery: 2100 mAh
RAM: 2 GB
Storage: 8/16 GB
Released: November 2011

Nexus 5




The Nexus 5 was LG's second and so far last iteration of a Nexus device. The Nexus 5 was released in late-October of 2013 and has had the most success of any Nexus device to date. It is the first Nexus device to feature a full 1080p display and it debuted Android 4.4 KitKat. Once again, Google succeeded with making a device with flagship specs without the flagship costs. The Nexus 5, along with the Nexus 7, is first in line to pick up Android 5.0 Lollipop on November 3, 2014. The device currently supports the Android 5.0 developer preview.

Specs

Screen: size: 4.95"
Resolution: 1080 x 1920 (445 ppi)
Weight: 130 grams
Camera: (rear) 8 megapixels  - (front) 1.3 megapixels
Hardware: 2.3 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 800
Battery: 2300 mAh
RAM: 2 GB
Storage: 16/32 GB
Released: October 2013

Nexus 6 



The Nexus 6, which is made by Motorola is Google's latest phone in the Nexus line. This device separates itself from Nexus devices by sporting the latest specs, including 3 GB of RAM, a Snapdragon 805 processor, 13 megapixel rear shooter, and a QHD display. To tag along with the 6 name, it comes with a near 6 inch display (5.96 inches). This device will be the first Android smartphone to debut with Android 5.0 Lollipop when it is released this November.

The Nexus 6 will be the first Nexus phone with front-facing speakers, Motorola Turbo Charge, a QHD display, 3 GB of RAM, a 13 megapixel camera, and to feature water-resistance. The device will also come in at the highest price of any Nexus device at $649.99 for 32 GB of ROM and $699.99 for 64 GB of ROM.

Specs

Screen: size: 5.96"
Resolution: 1440 x 2560 (493 ppi)
Weight: 184 grams
Camera: (rear) 13 megapixels  - (front) 2 megapixels
Hardware: 2.7 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 805
Battery: 3220 mAh
RAM: 3 GB
Storage: 32/64 GB
Released: November 2014

The Nexus 6 may be one of the highest-anticipated devices of the year. Do you plan on picking one up or does the size and price make you think twice? Let us know in the comments!

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Android 5.0 Lollipop first impressions!

Android 5.0 Lollipop was made official a few days ago along with the all new Nexus 6 and Nexus 9 devices. Unfortunately, the full release won't be available for Google Play Edition/Nexus devices until November 3rd and other devices at a later date. Fortunately, if you have a Nexus 5 and or a Nexus 7 (2013 edition), you can install the developer preview of Android 5.0. We recently acquired a Google Nexus 5 and installed the new developer preview release of Android 5.0 Lollipop, and we'll go over our first impressions.

Design

Hands-down, Android 5.0 is the best designed OS to date of any Android release. For the first time, Android truly has a uniform design, and it looks amazing. Everything from the app drawer, notification panel, lock screen, navigation bar, and even the settings have been overhauled.

    

The battery statistics have also been revamped. The battery section in the settings now includ an all new approximate time left in the battery's life and an approximate of how much capacity (in mAh) the user has used compared to the total battery capacity.

 

Performance 

While the design and aesthetics are amazing in the latest version of Android, the performance is even better. While using the Nexus 5, which comes with 2 GB of RAM powered by a Snapdragon 800 processor, we found no lag, stutters, or freezing of any type. 

Android 5.0 Lollipop's animations do not slow down the phones actions whatsoever. Every app is brought in a fluid motion, unlike previous iterations of the OS. Every transition is smooth through and through.

The on-screen navigation performs as well as ever. Every button's response is almost instantaneous, even multitasking. The multitasking menu pops up right away and scrolling through it is a breeze. It is very easy to navigate compared to KitKat's. Apps that are pressed when multitasking, open up almost immediately, even third-party apps.

We compared the responsiveness of the navigation on the Nexus 5 with 5.0 developer preview to the Galaxy Note 4 and the ever-popular OnePlus One, and it won outright every single time. Just imagine what the Nexus 6 will do with this software with the Snapdragon 805 processor with 3 GB of RAM. It will truly be unmatched.

Conclusion

Google has definitely hit a home-run with the latest release of Android in 5.0 Lollipop. Lollipop's performance is unmatched by any previous iterations, and we are only in the developer stage. We expect much more tweaks and enhancements once the final version is released November 3, 2014. 

Android has always lead the OS market in customization and having phones with the best specs, but the OS's performance and stability has lacked when comparing it iOS running with lesser specs. We believe Android 5.0 will change that and are fully confident that it will have better performance and more fluidity than iOS 8.

We will be sure to go over the final release when it comes out and we will have you covered on all things Nexus 6 once it is released. 

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Nexus 5 (2014) specs leaked

A few months ago, it was reported that the Nexus 5 would stay in the lineup, regardless of the release of the Google and Motorola device, the Nexus X (Shamu). Today we have new information surrounding the phone, giving our best look at the Nexus 5 2014 edition.

Smartphone leaker EMT Leaks released the image seen below yesterday. A few things worth noting is that this device will come with a 5.2 inch QHD display (1440 x 2560), 3 GB of RAM, 32 GB of internal storage, and the all new Snapdragon 805 CPU clocked at 2.7 GHz. 

Another thing that is worth noting in this leak, is the name the benchmark gives the operating system: Android 5.0 (Lion™). This is an interesting development due to the rumors of the codename being either Lollipop or Lemon Meringue Pie. Lion is a chocolate candy bar made by Nestle. This is definitely a possibility due to the partnership with Google and Nestle over Android 4.4 KitKat. 

The specs list can be seen below.

Screen: size: 5.2"
Resolution: 1440 x 2560 (565 ppi)
Weight: 150 grams
Camera: (rear) 12 megapixels (OIS) - (front) 2 megapixels
Hardware: 2.7 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 805 CPU
Battery: 2400 mAh
RAM: 3 GB
Storage 32 GB
Expected debut: October 31, 2014
Expected release: November 2014

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