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When the Nexus 9 launched, it was one of just two devices to be available running Android 5.0 Lollipop, one of the biggest redesigns of Google’s mobile operating system Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich launched back in 2011. Lollipop bought with it a colorful, animated and much more interactive look and feel to the table, along with some big changes under-the-hood like the move away from Dalvik to the Android Run Time, known as ART. Since then however, the Nexus 9 hasn’t looked quite so shiny, quite some time ago now Google revealed Android 5.1, a refinement to the original 5.0 release of Lollipop and with it came a big performance boost, at least for Nexus 6 owners anyway. Nexus 9 users looking to get in on the 5.1 action have had to wait, until today, it would seem.
Google has officially announced that the update to Android 5.1 is starting to roll out to Nexus 9 Android tablets starting today. In a Google+ post shared by the official Nexus page, Google notes that”Starting today, #AndroidLollipop update 5.1.1 will be rolling out to a #Nexus9 near you.” This is encouraging news, but there is one last piece of confusion here. The original Tweet that went along with this share on Google+ notes a release of Android 5.1 coming to the Nexus 9, not Android 5.1.1. We’re pretty sure that Android 5.1.1 will be heading to the tablet after the delay, but considering that Android 5.0.2 only just made its way to Google’s largest tablet, we wouldn’t be surprised if Nexus 9s all over the world had a little more waiting to do.
In the last few months, Google have come under fire for taking longer than expected when it comes to rolling out updates to either Android 5.0 Lollipop to the likes of the Nexus devices or Android 5.1 to the Nexus 9. Working with 32-bit and 64-bit builds of any software distribution can’t be easy and Lollipop marked a big change for Google, so it’s unsurprising that updates have not been so quick this time around. With the Nexus 9 dropping to £199.99 in the UK, and this recent update to Android 5.1, the Nexus 9 could be getting a shot in the arm.
While there’s no OTA link found just yet, we’ll update the page as soon as we find one. Hold on to your hats, people.