The next version of Google's Android mobile operating system will be released in March, according to an executive of the mobile phone company HTC.
Mo Versi, vice president of product management for HTC, revealed that a maintenance release update will be rolled out by Google for Android in March, which could be the widespread release of Android 5.1 Lollipop.
Versi made the revelation through a tweet answering a question regarding a bug in the button lights of the HTC One M7 Google Play Edition smartphone. Versi tweeted that the fix for the bug will be included in the next maintenance release of Google in March.
@JensEsbjerg It'll be tied to Google's next MR, which is in March. Thanks.
— Mo Versi (@moversi) February 18, 2015
The Android 5.1 Lollipop has reportedly already been seen in action in new Android One smartphones that have been launched in several countries in Asia, including Indonesia, the Philippines, Sri Lanka and Nepal.
While Google has previously confirmed that the Android 5.1 Lollipop is coming, the company has not yet officially announced details regarding the launch of the new operating system, along with what the update will bring to Android devices. Live images of the Android One smartphones supposedly running Android 5.1 Lollipop, however, reveal changes such as updated toggles in quick settings for Bluetooth and Wi-Fi and an additional arrow sign that leads to options without exiting the quick settings screen.
Google, assuming that the rollout of Android 5.1 Lollipop will indeed be in March, is expected to use a familiar process to launch the new operating system, beginning with launching the operating system in the Android Open Source Project for developers first. The rollout will be staggered, as Google rarely rolls out updates to all users at once.
Among the rumored changes that Android 5.1 Lollipop will contain are the re-addition of Silent Mode; general improvements in system stability, RAM management and battery life; and fixes for the sudden closure of apps, wireless connection issues, Okay Google problems, notifications issues and sound problems.
The disappearance of Silent Mode with the update to Android 5.0 Lollipop has been among the biggest complaints by users, with the feature being brought back by several companies into their custom versions of the operating system.
However, a Reddit user that goes by the name luag, who apparently has an Android One device in his possession running Android 5.1 Lollipop, said that Silent Mode has not been brought back in the update. In addition, the smartphone did not come with default encryption, which could mean that Google will not be including forced encryption for hardware that is not able to support the feature.
The update to Android 5.1 Lollipop is shaping up to be a massive one, which could be similar to the significance of the release of the Android 4.4.3 KitKat, which addressed several major issues with that version of the operating system.
