Android 5.0 Lollipop, the latest version of the Android mobile operating system, was officially announced by Google only roughly a week ago. Alongside the newest iteration of the world's most popular smartphone OS, the tech giant also announced three new Nexus devices, namely the Nexus 6 smartphone, the Nexus 9 tablet, and the Nexus Player media streaming device.
But soon after Google's announcement of Android 5.0 Lollipop, the question that popped in most people's minds was: When is it going to be available?
Well, it appears that Android fans may not have long to wait. Google has recently sent out an announcement on the Android Developer Console, which is what developers use in order to distribute apps. In the announcement, Google is effectively advising developers to get their apps ready just in time for November 3rd, the day Android 5.0 Lollipop becomes available to consumers.
The November 3rd date is not actually fresh news. Google actually hinted as much last week when it stated that the Nexus 9 tablet and the Nexus Player will be made available on the same date. The tech giant's advisory to the developers just serves as further confirmation.
Seeing that the latest Android OS version would undoubtedly make its debut appearance on the new Nexus devices, the next question would then be: How soon can we get the Nexus 6, the Nexus 9, and the Nexus Player?
The Nexus 6 smartphone can be pre-ordered starting October 29th, but no proper released date has yet been announced. It sells at $649 for the 32-gigabyte edition and $699 for the 64-gigabyte edition.
As for the Nexus 9 tablet -- as mentioned earlier, it will be officially available on November 3rd. As a matter of fact, you can already pre-order the device now.
The same thing goes, more or less, for the Nexus Player media streaming device. This Android TV and gaming device is already available for pre-ordering and will likely come out the same time as the Nexus 9 tablet.
What about other non-Nexus Android devices? Owners of those handsets will have to wait a while. If it is any consolation, some phone makers have already provided early updates, although most of them are rather vague at this point. HTC, for one, is targeting to have the latest Android OS available in its devices within 90 days of getting the Android 5.0 Lollipop code. And considering that we are about to enter into the holidays -- well, let us just say that if there is ever any delay, we would not be surprised.
Other phone makers have not made solid announcements of their own, but do not fret. We posted a guide days ago listing which smartphone makes and models are expected to get Android 5.0 Lollipop.
