Google officially unveils Android 5.1 Lollipop

Despite the fact it has technically been around for a little while now, Android 5.1 Lollipop has finally been made official, thanks to a blog post from Google. Some of the changes in this update include stability and performance improvements, native support for multiple SIM cards, HD voice on compatible phones and, most notably, Device Protection.

With the new Device Protection feature, if your Android device becomes lost or stolen, it will stay locked until you enter in your Google account information – even if the device has been reset to factory settings. Google says the feature will be available on most Android devices shipped with the software, in addition to the Nexus 6 and 9.

Next up is support for HD voice on compatible devices, letting Android 5.1 devices take advantage of the clear high-definition voice calls that certain carriers like T-Mobile and Verizon offer. Android 5.1 will also now let you join Wifi networks and paired Bluetooth devices directly from your quick settings page. Before the update, users would need to click on the Wifi or Bluetooth buttons and jump into the Settings menu to make any changes.

While Google doesn’t official say when the update will be rolling out or to what devices, according to a few newly updated T-Mobile documents, Android 5.1 is supposed to rollout to the Nexus 4, 5 and 7 starting today. We’ll be sure to keep you updated on the official rollout as soon as we learn more!