Android Lollipop confirmed for Huawei Ascend Mate 2: Register now to test the OS update

Huawei Ascend Mate 2 users throughout the world now have lots to cheer about as Google's Android 5.0 (Lollipop) OS update is finally confirmed to hit the high-end smartphone very shortly. This development is in line with Huawei's earlier announcement that users of Ascend Mate 2 will be directly seeded Android Lollipop, bypassing the Android 4.4.4 (KitKat) OS update.

Currently, Huawei's Ascend Mate is driven by the outdated Android 4.3 (Jelly Bean) operating platform, and Android Lollipop should bring a fresh wave of functionality to users of the smartphone.

Huawei, apart from confirming the rollout of Android Lollipop, is also inviting users of its Ascend Mate 2 to test out a pre-release preview version of Lollipop.

Huawei community users can navigate to the official online Huawei community and apply/join to receive the test build of Lollipop.

To apply/join, all users need to do is express their interest and Huawei will supply the Android Lollipop test build.

New users can join the official Huawei community to obtain eligibility to check out the pre-release build of the Android Lollipop OS update.

The China-based smartphone manufacturer, which occupied the number 4 spot in the global smartphone rankings during Q1 2015, also states that it would broaden its Android Lollipop testers base gradually, and roll out Android Lollipop OS update to owners of its Ascend Mate 2 smartphones in July 2015.

Hence, owners of Huawei's Ascend Mate smartphones, bearing model numbers G7-TL00 and G7-UL20 can regularly monitor their handsets for new OTA notifications representing Android Lollipop.

Android Lollipop OS update enhancements

• Material Design: Material Design offers fluid animations, vivid coloured themes and 3D-views.

• Improved Lockscreen: Shortcuts for both Phone and Camera are provided, along with Material Design-inspired notifications.

• Touchwiz: Brighter look and feel, bold colours, fluid animation inspired by Material Design.

• Floating Action Button: Floating action buttons provide easy access to the app's most important features, such as adding a new contact or favourite, or composing a text message.

• Interruptions: Priority notifications such as events and reminders, phone calls, and messages can be set up to sound or vibrate while all other notifications are muted.

• Recents: Easy access to your Chrome tabs right from the Recent apps page. Multi-window icons for ease of use during multi-tasking.

Ascend Mate 2 users who register as testers, and test out the beta Lollipop build supplied by Huawei, can let us know their thoughts on the OS update in our comments section.