Verizon is finally rolling out Android Lollipop to all HTC One M8 users who have been waiting for the update's unannounced release date after HTC previously said it will not be able to meet its self-imposed deadline of 90 days to roll out all Android updates.
The wireless carrier said on Tuesday that Android Lollipop will be coming to all HTC One M8 users via an over-the-air update, though those who can't sit still for Android Lollipop to arrive can also check for it through their phone's Settings menu and open the update servers.
The HTC One M8 running on Verizon's network is the latest smartphone to receive the Android Lollipop treatment. Sprint and T-Mobile began offering the update to HTC One M8 phones last month, several days after Mo Versi, vice president of product management at HTC, announced in a blog post that the Taiwanese smartphone maker was going to miss the 90-day mark. At the time, HTC pointed the finger at Google, who was plagued with several issues with Android Lollipop upon release.
"While we are committed to delivering within this time period, we are even more committed to ensuring these updates result in an even better experience with your device because that is what the updates are intended to do," Versi said. "We are continuing to push hard to deliver Lollipop to all devices as near the 90-day mark as possible, but we are taking every precaution to ensure the rollout is right and we aren't willing to compromise at your expense."
The Android Lollipop update for Verizon's HTC One M8 will include a variety of improvements, including the standard Lollipop enhancements Material Design and optimization tweaks throughout the entire interface. Users who allow the update will be able to experience the more vibrant colors and animations of Android Lollipop, its card-based notification and app switching system, lock-screen notifications, and the home screen notification panel that allows users to access notifications on the first top-down swipe and the Quick Settings on the second swipe.
HTC also adopted several Android Lollipop features in the Settings menu, including the ability to sync with Google Settings, the addition of Sidetone in Call Settings, and a search function that allows users to search for certain settings they want to tweak. The Recent Apps, too, has been modified to include Card View and Grid View, something that is not available in other phones running on Android Lollipop.
Aside from the Android Lollipop updates, Verizon said it has also enabled roaming for 4G LTE and improvements to three-way calling.
Photo: Kārlis Dambrāns | Flicker
