Thoughts on Nexus and Android Lollipop

I felt like compiling my thoughts on Android Lollipop and the latest Nexus devices. Here they are: 

Nexus 9:

I really like the size decision for the Nexus 9. As I've stated previously, I think the size was more of a necessity for Google rather than a conscious decision of the perfect size for a tablet. That being said, I think that for me, it would be the perfect size. I often find that my iPad Air feels too large for what I'm using it for, by iPad mini's in the past have felt too small for what I want to do with them (and again, as I said previously, the mini size [~8"] is rather too small when modern phones are ~5-6").

Related to size, but not the same, is the aspect ratio. I know a lot of Android fans were unhappy with the decision to forgo the 16:9 aspect ratio in favor of the 4:3 aspect ratio. I, however, am a fan. Yes, this does make the tablet less space efficient for video watching, but it arguably makes it better in every other respect. I think the biggest advantage of the different ratio is that it truly differentiates the tablet from just being a big phone, something that Android tablets have struggled with traditionally. The disadvantage, though, is that the more tablet-like aspect ration will make the lack of true tablet apps for Android more of a glaring issue. 

That being said, I don't think this is the tablet to compete with, or beat, the iPad. The biggest advantage of the iPad is more and better apps. I really appreciate Android's far superior scaling abilities, meaning that phone apps will at least work without being  the disgusting iOS blown up what have you. The problem, though, is that most apps have a true, dedicated iPad layout, or even separate app on iOS, which just leads to a better experience. Until developers back Android as a tablet platform, OEM's will never be able to compete with Apple, even if they were to make superior hardware (which, based on early reviews, the Nexus 9 is not). 

Nexus 6:

The Nexus 6 looks like a crazy awesome phone. Basically, if there's a spec that you are looking for in a phone, it has it. But I'm not looking for the biggest, baddest specs, I'm looking for a great experience. 

The Nexus 6 is too big. Google's big arguing point recently is that they fit a 6" screen in the footprint of iPhone 6 Plus. But iPhone 6 Plus is too big as well, so I'm not really sure why they want to use this as a defense. The larger screen also makes one-handed use harder, even if the footprint is that same, because the finger has to cover more real estate. 

I would also argue that the quad HD (2K) screen is unnecessary. Something higher than 1080p might be necessary just because of the screen size, but there's not a real benefit to full 2K other than padding the specs. This is one thing that I appreciate Apple for doing, which is refusing to continue with the pixel race. 

I don't really the overall look of the phone either, even though I think the design is pretty solid. This is definitely going to be a more durable phone than the Nexus 4 and Nexus 5 before it. But, then again, it should be given the cost. 

I'm up in the air about the phone. I am more than ready to eat my words once I feel the device in hand, but I'm also not holding my breath. 

Nexus Player:

I feel like the idea of the Nexus Player is what Apple TV should have become already. But that's just it, it's an idea, not a full execution, and Apple likely is working through a similar idea, and they're just waiting to reveal it until the idea is fully fleshed out.

Games are a great idea. There are so many wonderful, console like games on mobile platforms, and I really want to play them on a TV with a controller. A potential problem is that the power in the box could be very fragmented, making the gaming experience poor. The voice search is also an incredibly good feature. I honestly think it's the best feature available on the Amazon Fire TV. I love the feature, and it definitely will make the intentional search process better than what's currently available on Apple TV. 

Even though the interface is borrowed from the Fire TV, it looks great. Google successfully made an interface that's easy and intuitive enough to navigate on the television. This is surprising to me, honestly, because Google isn't exactly known for making great interfaces, especially on the first iteration. But perhaps this is a sign of the new, post-material design Google. If that's the case, I am very hopeful for the future.

The biggest issue that faces the Nexus Player is whether or not developers will support Android TV. The device and operating system has great potential. But it's just that: potential. Google TV had great potential, too, but the support just wasn't there. Gaming on Android TV will only be as good as the support for games from developers is. Apps will only work as well as developers make them work. I really hope the developers jump on this great new platform, because the potential is truly amazing. But I remain skeptical.

Android Lollipop:

I think the design has grown on me. Initially, I really hated the new look of the OS, and was left wishing for the return of Holo. However, like with iOS 7, I now quite like the design, or at least am used to it enough that I don't hate it. And the features are certainly nice, and absolutely worth it. 

The most important thing about Android Lollipop and its look is that finally we have a cohesive design on Android. Google tried in the past, but they never fully succeeded in making an OS that looked like it was truly designed together, not as separate pieces. Arguably, they finally did a better job than Apple at making a cohesively designed mobile operating system. Like it or not, I think material design is one of the most important updates to Android. Material design is the reason we got Android 5.0, and not Android 4.5.

The new multitasking looks great. I like the card approach, and I think that having chrome tabs and Gmail emails (and other things as supported by developers) open as separate multitasking cards is going to be really useful. I don't want to say that it'll be huge, but it'll be nice. Someone else had argued that this was Google attempting to better tie Chrome OS into Android. I'm not sure on how I stand on that point, besides to say that it'll make switching back to the right page easier. 

Google Now is probably my favorite part about the Google ecosystem. And that's understandable, considering that it's essentially the main driving force behind a lot of their products. The more I use it, the more it does things "auto-magically" for me, and I absolutely love it. The nice thing with Android is that Google Now just does more on that platform. 

I love the lock screen notifications on Android Lollipop. It is absolutely a feature taken straight from iOS, but that's not a bad thing. It's a useful tool, and a great use of the lock screen. For me, it's more useful than lock screen widgets. Google's implementation isn't the most elegant, but it's the best that they could do given the existing notification paradigms that exist on Android. 

One thing that I love about Android in general is developer support for interactive notifications, widgets, etc. While these features now exist on iOS, I haven't seen the adoption that I have on Android. There are literally widgets for anything and everything on Android. There are only a few widgets on iOS, and most of them aren't that good, in my opinion. I also haven't seen many developers take advantage of interactive notifications on iOS, and those that have haven't really done it that well. Apps like GroupMe just launch you into the app if you press "reply" from the notifications actions.

These are my thoughts on the Nexus and Android Lollipop announcements, but I'm interested in hearing yours. Let me know what you think in the comments.