Google Nexus 6, 5, 4 Spotted Running Android 5.1 Lollipop Update; Official Rollout to Begin Soon

We already know that Google has been working hard to build the new major MR (Maintenance Release) Android 5.1 Lollipop to Nexus devices; now new reports have surfaced online hinting the new update might be released soon.

Technology blog Myce, while sifting through Google's Chromium issue tracker, has picked up multiple threads of Nexus devices, revealing search engine giant-testing Nexus 6, 5, 4 series smartphones and the tablet Nexus 7 (2012) cellular model on LMY software series, understood to be the latest Android 5.1 Lollipop.

According to the Chromium screen-shot, Google's Nexus 7 (2012) tablet is seen tested on software build version LMY47D.

Whereas the Nexus 5 (aka Hammerhead) and 4 (Occam) were seen running on LMY47E and LMY36B. On the other hand, Nexus 6 (aka Shamu) was tested on LMY40.

For the uninitiated Google uses pseudo-mnemonics involving words and numbers to write software codes. For instance, in LMY40 the first letter indicates 'Lollipop' family and M signifies branch code, which helps Google to identify the exact code branch the build was made from. Y40 is date code; Y implies - year 2015 Q1 and 40 represents 40 day of Q1 that translates to 9 February, 2015.

[Note: A: 2009, Q1; B: 2009, Q2;.... ; Y: 2015, Q1]

So going by the above report, Google has been doing tests for almost a month now. If they don't find any recurring bugs, the company in all probability will announce the roll-out details very soon and it would take probably a week or two to cover all the major hubs of the world.

Some of the major enhancements expected to feature in the soon-to-be-released Android 5.1 Lollipop include improved RAM and battery management, general improvements in the system like "OK Google", bug fixes, and last but most significant improvement is the inclusion of the silent mode which was sorely missed in Android v5.0.

Leaked Android 5.1 Lollipop build version details: