Google Launches Android 5.0 (Lollipop) On Nexus 6, Nexus 9 and Nexus Player

Google has officially launched the next version of its mobile operating system, with Android 5.0 (codenamed Lollipop) launching on the Nexus 6 smartphone, Nexus 9 tablet, and the Nexus Player set-top box.

Lollipop will also roll out to Nexus 5, 7, 10 and Google Play edition devices in the coming weeks.

Android 5.0 - or Android L as it was once known - was first unveiled in June 2014 at the company's Google I/O conference.

It introduces Material Design, a radical new look for the Android interface which which allow developers create layers within their apps.

The new design language will be rolled out across all of Google's software from its browser, Chrome OS, and of course Android.

Google has also launched the Nexus 6 smartphone and Nexus 9 tablet as reference devices to show off Android 5.0 to its best.

"Lollipop is designed to be flexible, to work on all your devices and to be customised for you the way you see fit. And just like Android has always been, it's designed to be shared," Google's Sundar Pichai said in a blog post about the launch.

The search giant has said the Android 5.0 update would be coming to the Nexus 4 and Nexus 5 smartphones in coming weeks, as well as Nexus 7 and Nexus 10 tablets. Play Edition versions of the likes of the HTC One and Samsung Galaxy S4 will also get the update soon.

In terms of other Android smartphones, this will be on a case by case basis, though Motorola's Moto X and Moto G smartphones will get the update soon.

HTC has confirmed the One (M8) and One (M7) will be updated, though this could take until 2015.

Aside from Material Design, there are also 5,000 new APIs for developers to use and the new software is designed to allow several different Android devices with different form factors to work together.

As such, Android 5.0 deeply integrates with Android Wear, the company's wearable platform which is powering smartwatches from the likes of Motorola, LG and Samsung.

There are also tweaked notifications, a battery saver mode to eek 90 minutes more from your camera, and new ways to secure your other devices via Bluetooth.