Android 5.1 Leaked at Developer Conference; Lollipop Name Probably Stays

While Google has just started rolling out its latest Android 5.0 Lollipop to Nexus devices worldwide, two Android developers have reportedly revealed the existence of what will probably become Android 5.1 Lollipop.

During the Devoxx conference currently taking place in Belgium, Romain Guy, Android Software Engineer, and Chet Hasse, Google Senior Software Engineer, were using a Google Nexus 5 handset during a presentation that was running Android 5.0 Lollipop MR1 (Maintenance Release) build.

(Also See: Android 5.0 Lollipop Review: A Sweet Upgrade)

As noted by AmongTech, historically Android Maintenance Release versions translate into new iterations of the OS, such as Android 2.0 MR1 becoming Android 2.1. Similarly, Android 3.0 MR1 became Android 3.1, Android 4.0 MR1 became Android 4.1, and Android 4.3 MR1 later became known as Android 4.4 KitKat.

The Android 5.0 Lollipop MR1 version seen at the presentation was captured in an image by Android World, but almost nothing about what the OS will hold was seen at the presentation or revealed by the engineers. It is speculated that Android 5.1 will not include very many new features or changes, and the codename is expected to remain the same, i.e., Android 5.1 Lollipop, especially since Lollipop is a major release.

Notably, the Android 5.0 Lollipop OTA update on Wednesday started rolling out to Nexus 5, Nexus 7 (2012 and 2013) Wi-Fi only models and Nexus 10 along with the Moto X (Gen 2), Moto G and other handsets. Additionally, Google has also released factory images for the Nexus devices.