Nexus owners, if you’ve been a bit jealous of the Moto G and, now, the Moto X getting their Lollipop on, you no longer need to feel unloved. Google has finally started the rollout of Android 5.0 to its blessed line of smartphones and tablets, so all you’ll have to do is to wait for it to land. But, if you’re really excited to get the dessert now and don’t mind starting from scratch, there is always the Factory Image path available for you to take.
After some waiting time, and a small guessing game, Google has finally unleashed Android 5.0 on its Nexus devices. Of course, there will still be some waiting time involved as not everyone will receive the update all at the same time. The OTA update will soon be arriving on the Nexus 5, the Nexus 10, and the WiFi only versions of the Nexus 7, both 2012 and 2013 models.
But for those who have a more adventurous streak, another option exists to get their hands on Lollipop right here, right now. Google has also released factory images as well as their accompanying binary drivers for the same range of devices. Of course, flashing will involve wiping your device clean, so this is not something for the faint of heart. The Android 5.0 images all have the version number LRX21, but be sure to get the right one for your specific model. And whether you take the OTA route or the flashing route, never forget to make a backup.
Sadly, not all Nexus devices are created equal, and we’re not even talking about those that have reached their “end of life”. Neither update nor factory images are available for the mobile version of the Nexus 7 nor are they ready for the Nexus 4. We presume that Google is still ironing out some last minute kinks and we should see those land in a few days, if not hours even.
Download: Factory Images, Binaries
SOURCE: @Android, Google
