After languishing on Android 5.0.2 Lollipop for nearly a month, the Samsung Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge running on T-Mobile are finally receiving the highly anticipated update to Android 5.1.1 Lollipop.
The news, which was first reported by SamMobile, is expected to bring some much-awaited relief for owners of the Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge who have been waiting for Samsung to push the software update and deliver fixes for the major issues that have been plaguing the Samsung flagships running on Android 5.0.2.
Expectant phone owners can update their devices through Samsung Kies. If the over-the-air update has not arrived yet, they can also manually download the update from SamMobile's firmware database. The update is PDA G920TUVU2COF6 for device SM-G920T, which is the model number for the S6, and PDA G925TUVU2COF6 for SM-G925T, which is the model number for the S6 Edge.
As expected, Android 5.1.1 brings a number of minor but interesting new features that were previously not available in earlier versions of Android Lollipop. Among these new features is a simplified manual exposure control system to let users change the exposure in a specific part of an image. Users will also be glad to know that the update also includes a noticeable performance boost.
It is still unclear what other camera improvements both smartphones are receiving, although we reported earlier that Android 5.1.1 will bring support for Google's camera API for Lollipop. This will enable advanced features such as shooting in RAW and controlling the shutter speed, but an Android 5.1.1 test build previewed by SamMobile earlier this month did not show any of these features.
Also included in the update are several changes to the user interface, most noticeable of which is the application of a parallax effect to the wallpaper. It is also likely that Android 5.1.1 will now let users remove the S Finder and Quick Connect icons from the notifications bar, a handy new addition for those who don't need these two items so much, and see a big purple button for the theme store.
Currently, the update is only for the Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge for T-Mobile, and there is no word yet when the other carriers will start pushing out the update to their versions of the Samsung smartphones. Still, the update has begun for T-Mobile, and it shouldn't take so long before the other carriers follow suit.
Photo: Kārlis Dambrāns | Flickr
