This is a general post about features of Android Lollipop that don't appear on my Samsung device. I got the upgrade yesterday, it installed without a hitch, and my apps and smartphone functions overall seem to be intact. However, the S4 implementation of Lollipops seem to be somewhat compromised. I did an online search for "android lollipop features missing on samsung" and found messages like this and this, suggesting that certain features are absent, including:
- screen pinning
- guest mode
- user mode
- flashlight toggle, user switching, and battery percentage in the notification bar
These specific items are missing in my experience as well. It may be Samsung (allowing these only in newer phones, i.e., compelling us to buy new devices if we want this stuff). It may be Verizon (just because they're Verizon; but that second link above concerns an AT&T S4). But from what I've seen in a day's looking around, the Verizon S4 version of Lollipop is significantly different from what standard Lollipop should be, WRT such features.
I also have some lockscreen issues, such as the inability to customize it (reported here). Also, supposedly one can double-tap a notification on the lockscreen and have the app open, but I find that that sometimes works, sometimes doesn't; and sometimes wants a long-press instead of a double-tap.
The only really good new user-experience item (besides Material Design look and feel, which some like and some don't) that Samsung seems to have let through intact for the S4 is the Overview/Recent apps Rolodex-style view, which I like, especially because it seems to include more apps--and persists after a restart, which I really do like.
Has anyone found any of the features I mentioned above on their S4 or other Samsung device?
