64-bit Android L developer preview

https://plus.google.com/u/0/+AndroidDevelopers/posts/XG1WmNDMe8H

by nantunes • 12 years ago

75 65 12 years ago

plus.google.com

kolev14• 12 years ago

Anybody using Android L? I've been using it on my primary phone for a month and I'm not impressed. It freezes too often needing a reboot, Hangouts Dialer often cannot complete or receive calls, the screen lock is buggy requiring a workaround how to get in without having to reboot, the bright theme is a step back when a dark one is not available. Many basic apps don't work or misbehave (Swarm, Square Cash, etc.). Worst of all, there are no frequent updates (if any), no autoupdate either.

sciurus• 12 years ago

It's a developer preview, which by definition is not something you should run on your primary phone.

kolev14• 12 years ago

Yes, I'm a developer, and I need to test in the real-world, not in a lab to get a real feel of it.

yincrash• 12 years ago

Not sure what you're expecting from a preview released several months before release.

ChrisClark• 12 years ago

I haven't been using Android L. I've only been using the Dev Preview of Android L which I assume you are too.

I haven't had a single problem with it, I've been using it for months and love it.

suyash4• 12 years ago

Atleast you got it..non Nexus devices can't even play with L yet :(

Someone1234• 12 years ago

This line:

Worst of all, there are no frequent updates (if any), no autoupdate either.

Is a little odd. Didn't you install the L developer preview by manually downloading the ROM from here: https://developer.android.com/preview/setup-sdk.html and then flashing it yourself? Then you're strangely shocked there isn't a consumer-orientated auto-updater?

I can absolutely see that criticism if the auto-updater didn't exist, wasn't working, or there were no updates upon the retail release of L. For a developer preview you personally installed knowing full well it was a developer preview that criticism is hard to take at all seriously.

aaronbrethorst• 12 years ago

Apple's been supporting this for the last couple years. This year, for instance, I upgraded to iOS 8 when Beta 3 shipped. I then received OTA updates for each subsequent Beta until the final release, which I installed manually. It's unfortunate that Google doesn't offer OTA beta updates, too.

kolev14• 12 years ago

I got a gazillion updates from Yosemite and Xcode.

krishan711• 12 years ago

I've been using it on my main device since July and haven't had any of the problems you've metioned :S The only problem I have is the Settings app ocasionally crashes when I try to setup a new wifi connection. But I don't do that nearly often enough to be upset about it. That said, I haven't noticed any improvements. It seems the same (speed / performance) wise as 4.4 on my N5.

kolev14• 12 years ago

Yes, even on 4.4.4, there was no noticeable difference between even ART and Dalvik. Again, that's why I wanted to use it daily as labs are one thing, but real world is often quite different.

infogulch• 12 years ago

Stability complaints while using a beta product that that is introducing big underlying changes to the platform. Classy.

kolev14• 12 years ago

Really? Most of my software is prerelease. I'm writing this on Firefox Aurora, from time to time I'm using Google Chrome Canary, and I'm on Yosemite since day one together with Fedora Rawhide. So, please, don't tell me what to expect from prerelease software as I have a pretty good base for comparison. Let's stop setting the bar too low! Edit: typos and grammar.

SL61• 12 years ago

I've been using it as my daily driver on my Nexus 7. It's surprisingly stable for a dev preview. I only have one app that doesn't work with it, and the major freezing bugs only happen every couple weeks. It's probably not smart to use it as a daily driver on your primary phone though. If it causes problems on my Nexus 7 I'll only lose my play device for a little while.

CmonDev2• 12 years ago

Did you at least like the design language they borrowed from Microsoft?

vetinari• 12 years ago

Microsoft has pseudo-3D with multiple planes and realtime-computed shadows now?

kolev14• 12 years ago

It's another oversold thing that will only create extra work for app developers who just finished catching up with KitKat design guidelines, I'm sure. The switch to bright is making a huge leap backwards!

ZoFreX• 12 years ago

It's a developer preview, not a consumer preview. If you aren't running it on a second phone that contains nothing important, you are operating with a large amount of risk.

suyash4• 12 years ago

Intel had been pushing hard for supporting x86 based devices running Android. Glad to see it coming thru for Android developers with L release.

personZ• 12 years ago

You aren't necessarily saying differently, but it's worth noting that Android has supported x86 for quite some time (the platform, the runtime, the NDK cross-compiling, and the x86 emulator image -- all have been available for a couple of years).

And to the other comment (from a different user, though I am responding here while on the topic of x86) claiming that Intel support doesn't matter -- it very much matters. Already there are a large number of deployed x86 devices (even ones that people don't realize are x86, like the Dell Venue 7), and Broadwell will only accelerate that. Supporting multiple platforms is awesome.

suyash4• 12 years ago

It has supported for a long time but that's for C++ native development not for Java developers. This is a big change in x86 support in L.

Which other comment, I never said it doesn't matter.

dangrossman• 12 years ago

Android's been running on x86 in my living room for 4 years. The original Google TV box (Logitech Revue) has an Intel Atom inside.

dingaling• 12 years ago

As does the new Tesco* Hudl2 tablet, against ARM in the outgoing v1.

Released this week, if it follows is predecessor it will quietly sell a million units in the UK and never even register on the radar of most Android tech blogs.

* a big supermarket chain in UK & Europe, which also tried to venture farther east.

higherpurpose4• 12 years ago

Unfortunately it doesn't come with support for what really matters: 64-bit ARM. Support for Intel's 64-bit chips is irrelevant.

suyash4• 12 years ago

It's not irrelevant, think TV's, Gaming consoles etc are much better off with Intel processor than Arm.

higherpurpose4• 12 years ago

Are you talking about micro-consoles? Why would they be better with Atom over something like Tegra K1? (which the first Android TV box is said to have anyway).

Intel has given up on TV's a long time ago - around the time it forced Logitech to launch the first Google TV for $300 because Atom was like $90 a piece, as a component (probably making for about 50 percent of its BOM).

izacus2• 12 years ago

Uhm... Android L will certanly support 64-bit ARM and the support is in the new SDK and NDK.

This is just an emulator image so you can test compatibility with 64-bit targets.

higherpurpose4• 12 years ago

So why are they making a big deal about Intel's chips then. Where is the ARMv8 ISA support?

Zigurd• 12 years ago

Who's got 64 bit ARM in a handset other than Apple? x86 is the way to get to 64 bit hardware fastest.

krzyk• 12 years ago

Why 64bit is needed in phones right now? Is there a memory limit similar to he one on PCs where 32bit can support up to 4GB RAM? If so then I think there aren't many phones that have 3GB, not to mention 4GB.

higherpurpose4• 12 years ago

Samsung already has a 64-bit ARM chip in Note 4. But because Google seems to be dragging its feet on adding 64-bit ARM support, it only works in 32-bit mode for now.

HTC has also just launched not one, but two, 64-bit devices: Desire 510 and Desire 820, with Snapdragon 410 and 615 - both based on Cortex A53 (ARMv8).

So the question is, why is Google so slow with 64-bit ARM support, when 64-bit ARM Android devices are already shipping?

gcb0• 12 years ago

title should say 'emulator' or it is mostly pointless.

blinkingled• 12 years ago

Google's (or is it Intel) got to be out of decent QA people. The 64 bit image doesn't even start on Linux and the G+ post has people complaining the same about Windows and OS X.

nodata• 12 years ago

Tell me about it. And if you dare to mention it, then "Well nobody else has reported this problem". So next time you don't bother.

donniezazen• 12 years ago

What? I have the same problem. It starts as blank. Nothing happens.

srcmap• 12 years ago

Is the source code for the emulator available? L maybe not ready, but is the kitkat x86 emulator source code part of the AOSP where I can build completely from src?

tadfisher• 12 years ago

https://github.com/android/platform_external_qemu

yourad_io• 12 years ago

Sidenode - Chromium 37.0/Ubuntu bug - crashes if I attempt "right click-save link as" on any of the download links here https://developer.android.com/tools/sdk/ndk/index.html#Insta...

Anyone else seeing this?

Edit: Found it - https://code.google.com/p/chromium/issues/detail?id=357473 - carry on.

64-bit Android L developer preview

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