Android 5.0 running on the Galaxy S5. Video: SamMobile
Samsung’s flagship Galaxy S5 has become the latest third-party smartphone to get an Android 5.0 Lollipop upgrade. Handsets with the SM-G900F model number — which are typically sold in Europe — are getting the new software first, and it brings a whole host of new features alongside significant performance improvements.
Android 5.0 running on the Galaxy S5. Video: SamMobile
The Samsung Galaxy S5 will get its Android 5.0 Lollipop upgrade by the end of this year, according to one European carrier, while the Galaxy Note 4 will get the same release in January. The rollouts will make Samsung’s flagship Galaxy devices some of the first third-party smartphones to get Google’s latest Android software.
Galaxy Note 4 not provided. Photo: Samsung
When Samsung’s Gear VR headset was announced earlier this year, my colleague Killian Bell wrote that if this “isn’t the coolest smartphone accessory ever made, then I don’t know what is.”
For those who don’t know, the Gear VR is a device — resembling a giant pair of ski goggles — that turns your Galaxy Note 4 into a virtual reality headset. There’s even the option to activate the Note 4’s rear-facing camera to see what’s happening around you while you’re wearing it.
If the idea sounds interesting to you, you’ll be happy to hear that Samsung has finally announced both a shipping window and price for the Gear VR.
How much will it set you back? Read on to find out.
The Galaxy S4 will get sweeter. Image: Cult of Android
There’s no good reason why the Galaxy S4 wouldn’t have received an Android 5.0 Lollipop upgrade — it’s perfectly capable of running it — but just in case you were worried that your handset might be left out of Samsung’s upgrade plans, the South Korean company has put your mind at ease.
The Galaxy Note 2 won’t get all of the Note 4’s features from Samsung. Photo: Samsung
It’s highly unlikely Samsung will bring the Galaxy Note 4’s awesome new features to older Note handsets — especially not one as old as the Note 2. But it doesn’t have to, because the handset still has strong support from third-party developers, who have taken it upon themselves to bring a long list of Note 4 apps and features to the two-year-old phablet.
