Android 5.1 in March, here's what may be coming
If you've been following Android news, you might have been aware of whispers of an Android 5.1 update coming soon. There are even some amusing tips about an Android 5.2! Now HTC's Mo Versi is chiming in and is actually confirming at least the former. Technically, he's just saying that there will an Android Maintenance Release (MR) coming in March. Unless Google surprisingly rolls out such a significant update between then and now, we can safely presume that this is indeed the rumored Android 5.1 release.
Mo Versi's revelation comes in response to a query regarding bug fixes for the HTC One M7 Google Play Edition. This smartphone was one of the first HTC handsets to receive Android 5.0 before the retail models could. Sadly, while it did bring the sweetness of Lollipop, it apparently also had some bitterness of bugs, particular for the capacitive button lights on the One M7 GPE. But rather than roll out an emergency fix, Mo Versi says that it will be included in the March update.
The One M7 GPE's case, sadly, isn't an exception. Given the substantial changes that Android 5.0 made, it isn't surprising to hear some issues here and there. Some, however, seem to be more common than the rest, in particular some performance hits on devices. Suffice it to say, those already on Lollipop might be looking forward to this upcoming update to see some improvements in the situation. In particular, a leaked Google changelog seems to hint at these upcoming fixes:
• Silent mode added after missing on Android 5.0
• General improvements in system stability
• Improved RAM management
• Fixes for sudden app closures
• Improved battery management
• Excessive consumption of network devices when used Wi-Fi fixed
• Issues with wireless connections fixed
• Problems with Okay Google function solved
• Notifications problems solved
• Some sound problems experience by certain devices fixed
• Other improvements and changes
Of course, no list is official until it's officially announced so take it with a grain of salt. Reddit user luag, however, claims he has had a first-hand preview of Android 5.1 via the Android One Mito A10 Impact smartphone. He seems to confirm the performance improvements, or at least doesn't complain about any performance issues on the budget smartphone. Sadly, it seems that the said Silent Mode remains missing on Android 5.1. Google remove an outright and simple Silent mode from the sound options and instead distributed the functionality across different features, specifically in Priority mode, much to the confusion and frustration of some users.
Interestingly, the Android One smartphone doesn't seem to have encryption enabled by default. This feature was pointed out by some as the source of performance bottleneck. If so, Google seems to be taking a U-turn from its previous stance of strongly endorsing encryption to combat spying and privacy violations.