Project Volta, Quick Settings, Android Runtime and more are coming to several smartphones and tablets from HTC, Motorola, LG, Samsung and Sony. Find out what upgrades will arrive via firmware update and how will they help each Android device.

Project Volta - Improved Power Management

Although Samsung and Sony have their own power management tools, Project Volta on Android 5.0 Lollipop is still a big help especially on devices running vanilla ROM such as Moto X, Moto G and Moto E. So what does Project Volta do on an upgraded Android device?

- Default battery saver feature that can extend battery life by up to 90 minutes.

- Shows the estimated time left to fully charge a device plugged in to any power source.

- Displays estimated time left before recharging again on the Battery Settings menu.

New Security Implementations

A set of new security implementations are available on Android 5.0 Lollipop for all compatible devices. New security implementations include multiple user accounts, encryptions, malware-protection and a smart lock.

- Create multiple user accounts to enable friends log-in on personal devices without viewing private contents.

- Secure pairing of an Android device to a trusted device such as wearable using Android Smart Lock.

- Automatically activates encryption on Android Lollipop devices to protect data if lost or stolen.

- SELinux enforcing for all apps to increase protection against malware attacks and vulnerabilities.

User Interface Improvements

Several parts of the user interface on Android 5.0 Lollipop have been upgrades which affect apps, services and shortcut settings. These upgrades are not found on Android KitKat or Android Jelly Bean.

- Material Design UI with smoother and more fluid interfaces. Icons and colour schemes are only obvious to devices running Android vanilla ROM while branded UI can incorporate UI improvements.

- New notifications on the home screen and lock screen with new customisation options such as hiding sensitive content or prevent disrupting users while watching or playing.

- Intelligent ranking of notifications by classifying relation to apps, contacts and others.

- New shortcuts have been included on the Quick Settings such as flashlight and adaptive brightness.

- Activate Google Now by saying "Ok Google" even if the screen is turned off on devices with digital signal processing support.

- 15 additional languages added.

Apps And Multimedia

Android 5.0 Lollipop comes with Android Runtime or ART that replaces Dalvik as default runtime. It improves how apps run on devices such as increasing responsiveness, boosting performance by up to 400 percent, smoothing out user interface and compacting background apps to improve multitasking.

For multimedia, Android 5.0 Lollipop supports multi-channel audio streaming of up to eight channels such as 5.1 and 7.1, USB Audio support to allow plug-in of USB microphones, speakers or amplifiers to an Android device, OpenGL ES 3.1 to bring mobile graphics closer to desktop class performance, capture full resolution of 30 frames per second, raw formats such as YUV and Bayer RAW support and UHD 4K video playback.

Brand manufacturers will need to integrate the new OS first before sending out firmware updates to respective devices. However, device with branded UI will need to wait a little longer to receive an update due to software integration unlike with devices running pure or near-vanilla UI.