Android 5.0 Lollipop Developer Preview Released for Nexus 5 and Nexus 7 2013 (Wi-Fi): How to Install

Android Lollipop SDK released with final APIs

Google has confirmed the availability of Android 5.0 Lollipop SDK (Software Development Kit) with final APIs (Application Program Interface).

"Since the L Developer Preview began, various APIs and behaviours have changed, so if you've been using the Preview SDK you should update now to test your apps and take advantage of new features," notes the Android Developer site.

Android Lollipop is Google's largest and most ambitious release on Android with more than 5,000 new APIs for developers. The material Design, Notifications, Battery, Security, Device Sharing, Quick Settings, Connectivity, Runtime and Performance, Media, OK Google, Android TV, Accessibility, 15 new languages are the most notable features of Google's major Android version.

As Nexus 6 and Nexus 9, the first Nexus devices to run Android 5.0, will not be in stores for another couple of weeks, the SDK will allow developers to play more with the Android version to ensure the latest OS delivers flawless function when it launches finally, adds Android Central.

To get the latest Android 5.0 SDK head over to Android Developers site.

Android 5.0 Lollipop Preview system image

The Android 5.0 Lollipop Preview System Images are now available to test the apps on Nexus 5 (hammerhead) and Wi-Fi Nexus 7 2013 (razor). The system images comes with build number Ipx13d. Below are the download links for Developer Preview for the aforementioned Nexus devices.

Nexus 5: hammerhead-lpx13d-preview-f7596f51.tgz

Nexus 7 2013: razor-lpx13d-preview-ae4f461f.tgz

Those who are looking for a tutorial to install the preview image, may follow the guide, courtesy of Google Developers site. But note that as this is not a final software version, bugs are likely. Hence proceed at your own risk.

Key points

To install the system images you need fastboot, which you can get either from

Android Open Source Project
Or, platform-tools/directory in the Android SDK. Ensure that you have the latest version of Android SDK platform-tolls from SDK Manager

Flashing the system image will delete all you data, therefore, create a back up before jumping to the installation method.

How to install Android 5.0 system image on Nexus 5/ Nexus 7 2013 Wi-Fi

Download appropriate system image for you nexus device and unzip it to a directory
Connect the device to the computer using USB
Start the device in fastboot mode. To do so, turn the device off and turn it on and immediately press and hold Volume Up, Volume Down and Power buttons together as the device begins booting up
Unlock the device's bootloader by typing the following command

fastboot oem unlock (the device will show a confirmation screen)

Open a terminal and navigate to the unzipped system image directory
Execute the flash-all script which installs the necessary bootloader, baseband firmware, and operating system
Once the script finishes, the Nexus device will reboot. You can now lock the bootloader