598 CHAPTER 16: The Future of Android: The 64-Bit Android 5.0 OS
Bluetooth 4.1 support will also be added in Android 5.0 and later, which will extend the Bluetooth 4
range from 100 feet (30 meters) to worldwide (no range limit)! How is this possible, you may be
wondering? This unlimited range is now accomplished via the cloud. Bluetooth 4.1 devices can talk
to the cloud, via any Bluetooth-capable device, such as an iTV set in your living room or at the gym,
an Android set-top box (STB, used for eSignage or digital signage), an Android Game Console, such
as the Amazon Fire TV, an Android Home Media Center, and so on.
It is interesting to note that a Bluetooth 4.1-capable device does not necessarily need to be tethered
to a tablet or to a smartphone to talk to the cloud. These Bluetooth 4.1-compatible devices can
communicate with the cloud via any public Bluetooth hub. These public Bluetooth stations are
popping up in gyms and malls now. It is important to note that Bluetooth 4.x peripherals, such
as smartwatches, still need to be tethered to their parent device in order to accomplish their
applications processing, as discussed in Chapter 15.
Enhanced Notifications: Notify via Lockscreen
Android 5.0 has upgraded and enhanced notifications, making then more visually appealing and
enabling them to go “where no notification has gone before” (in keeping with our universe theme
for the book). Notifications no longer require you to stop what you are doing to attend to them; you
don’t have to leave your app or swipe the screen to deal with a notification.
Android 5.0 implements what Google calls Head’s Up! (dude) notifications, which overlay whatever
activity screen your users happen to be on with a small floating window that is managed by
the Android OS. There are capabilities to customize this behavior, of course, so that you don’t
bother users ensconced deeply in your i3D gameplay or for those watching a movie, for instance.
Notifications can be “skinned” using material themes, which is covered a bit later in this chapter.
These allow you to brand (customize) your Head’s Up! notifications with custom UI design colors,
patterns, shadows, fonts, borders, drawables, shapes, and the like.
These notifications distribute more than just text messages and updates; they can also “surface” content
and even suggest actions for users to take. This can be done without the user having to unlock their
phone or tablet. This is called lockscreen notification, and there are also powerful visibility controls that
allow you to control precisely what types of information will be shown on the end user’s lockscreen.
USB Audio Port: Connect Audiophile Equipment
Another exceptionally forward-looking feature that Google added to Android 5.0, which integrates it
seamlessly with other types of consumer electronics devices such as home media centers and home
stereo system products, is Micro USB Port audio data transport. I would not be surprised to see
Micro USB Port video data transport either, based on the features that Google added to Android via
the Camera 2 API.
While Apple is again promoting its Lightning audio connector as a proprietary media port, Google is
doing the exact opposite of this “closed” or proprietary play, using a standard $1 USB-to-Micro USB
cable for audiophile audio hardware connection, rather than a $20 Lightning-to-USB cable.
The difference between using the USB port for audio data and the headphone jack is that the
headphone jack is for analog audio signals, while the USB Audio Port uses digital audio data. This
means that other types of data, in addition to the audio data, could be sent over this connection as
well, allowing metadata as well as transport control data to be sent from the Android 5.0 device to
the home audio hardware product.