Android 5.0 Lollipop

Android Lollipop was the 5.0 release of Google’s mobile operating system. This version of Android launched with groundbreaking features, including an all-new “Material Design” language, enhancements to notifications, performance improvements, and more. Google called this release the biggest in Android history at the time, with over 5,000 completely new APIs.

Google separated Lollipop from the strictly flat design of Apple’s iOS with Material Design, which allows developers to specify the “elevation values” of elements within apps — automatically creating shadow and perspective for the user. The company also updated its famed typeface Roboto, allowing developers to use one optimized font across a number of different platforms.

As part of Material, there are several animations for developers to use that include sleek visual feedback to freshen up the experience when users are navigating Android apps.

Google also enhanced the notification experience in Lollipop, bringing full access to notifications right on the lock screen. Swiping down gives you the full list of notifications, essentially combining the lock screen and the notification pane. The company also introduced a completely new kind of notification called a “heads-up” that is really easy to dismiss or engage with.

Google also announced something called “personal unlocking” alongside Android Lollipop, which enables your device to determine whether or not it is in the owner’s hand. It can take advantage of locations, Bluetooth devices that are in range, and even voice. In the Keynote, the example of a Bluetooth watch was used and when the watch was removed, the device prompted for a passcode.

Android Lollipop also included a plethora of performance improvements. Lollipop runs on the “Art” runtime that was (first previewed with the release of Android 4.4 KitKat), which is truly cross-platform covering ARM, x86, and MIPS processor types. The runtime is fully 64-bit compatible, which brings “larger number registers,” “newer instruction sets,” and “increased addressable memory space.”

Android Lollipop also shipped with better graphics capabilities through something the Android Extension Pack. This set of capabilities includes tesselation, geometry shaders, computer shaders, and ASTC texture compression. The feature was demoed at the event with a video of EPIC’s Unreal Engine 4 desktop rendering pipeline running on Android Lollipop.

Rounding off the performance improvements in Android Lollipop was improved battery life. Project “Volta” was announced, which — amongst other features — improves the “instrumentation” of battery data through a tool called Battery Historian. Also announced is the JobScheduler API, which helps developers optimize power consumption in apps. And finally, Google added a “Battery Saver” mode in Lollipop which can be triggered manually or configured to be enabled automatically when the battery is low.

Android 5.0 Lollipop works with most Android phones released after mid-2014, and many that were released prior. Phones that shipped in 2016 onward likely shipped with Android 6.0 Marshmallow or later, which you can read about here.

Society 5.0

Half of today's so-called 'unicorns' are in the United States. And yet, other countries are beginning to make their mark. Japan is one of them - with a record $1.9 billion in private equity and venture capital investment raised in 2016.

What's more, it's been announced that Tokyo will become a hub for the 'World Economic Forum Center for the Fourth Industrial Revolutions Japan: C4IR (Japan)' in the summer of 2018. This means Japan's innovations in science and technology will be shared across the world, in sectors such as healthcare and mobility.

As well as sharing knowledge that will help the global economy, Japan is also a trailblazer when it comes to changing society. At the heart of its 'Society 5.0' future model, is the concept that innovation and the wellbeing of its population need to work in tandem. Society 5.0 will target Japan's economic and social challenges, such as: its ageing population, labour shortages and weak growth - all of which will be applicable to many other countries in the future. Above all, the model aims to create a human-centred society, and it's using technology and innovation to achieve it.

As venture capitalists and entrepreneurs came together at the World Economic Forum in Davos for a lively debate named 'A search for Unicorns and the building of Society 5.0' prestigious keynote speaker, Toshiaki Higashihara, President and CEO, Hitachi Ltd., opened the discussion with some interesting anecdotes. Mr Higashihara said confusion in the world is "overwhelming". And that's why Japan has already set its own growth strategy.

"Currently, numerous social issues are related to each other in a complex way. For this reason, even if we focus on one problem and aim to solve it, it still will not lead to that fundamental solution. To solve these complex and tangled issues, it's necessary to build an innovation eco-system that aims to verify and solve the problems from the various angles", said Mr Higashihara to the audience.

As he handed over to the panellists, the experts first turned their thoughts to the importance of innovation. Navin Chaddha - Managing Director of Mayfield, a top tier Silicon Valley venture capital firm that invests in early stage tech companies - kicked-off the discussion with his opinions on the environment in which start-ups need to thrive. He said the biggest lesson for entrepreneurs is that "it's a marathon, not a sprint" and that we now need a 'Pegasus' that will do good in the world. By that, he means a 'unicorn' that has grown its wings and actualised its value.

Turning to Japan, and when Tomotaka Goji, Managing Director of the Japan Venture Capital Association was asked what the secret to entrepreneurial success is in Japan, he said that his country needs "agile start-ups more than ever to make innovation effective". He also commented that while ten years ago, most of Japan's highly educated people joined big companies, these days they are found creating unicorns or highly successful start-ups. "U.S., Chinese and Japanese unicorns are playing different games. U.S. and Chinese unicorns are based on a huge consumer base market, like SNS or payments. Japanese unicorns are based more on science and technology, that can be applicable to many challenges"., said Mr Goji.

While entrepreneur and Chief Innovation Officer at Philips, Joeren Tas, said that even large, longstanding companies need to have innovation as their lifeblood these days. Philips is now 126 years-old, and Mr Tas believes "you need people with a drive to create something new, but not too far from home".

And yet, are such rapid technology advances endangering our rights? Perhaps the most outspoken points of the discussion came from panellist Sharan Burrow, the General Secretary of the International Trade Union and WEF Co-chair. Ms Burrow argued that innovation is coming at a cost, citing platform-based businesses like Amazon and questioning, "Are we all going to be Amazon citizens? What are our rights?" But she said she believes that Japan's Society 5.0 is a "brilliant concept" because it brings people into the mix and not only builds on the opportunities born from Industry 4.0., but also builds on society by making it better for all.

But will the development of disruptive technologies go too far? In 2017, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos claimed, "We are now solving problems with machine learning and artificial intelligence that were … in the realm of science fiction for the last several decades". And that AI development was having an "amazing renaissance". While Tesla's CEO and Founder, Elon Musk, tweeted to the world: "If you're not concerned about AI safety, you should be".

So, what's the truth? Should we be worried that an AI apocalypse is on the horizon, as Musk has alluded to, or be calmed by Bezos' eulogising about its revolutionary capabilities? Mr Tas firmly agreed with Elon Musk, warning that "every technology has unintended consequences" and that, "Governments are behind. We have to get in front of it whether we like it or not". While Mr Chaddha added, "You don't want AI driving humans, but humans leveraging the potential of AI…. Technology needs to augment humans and make them better. How do we want to harness it and develop it?". And it was agreed that re-skilling people to help us all keep apace with technology was the only answer.

So, can start-ups simply make a profit these days? Across the board at the Davos discussion, it was a resounding no. On the one hand Mr Goji said "100% of investments should be aligned with social responsibility and sustainability", while Mr Tas said he believed "entrepreneurial spirit is to solve the problems of the world". Mr Chadda also added that "if you don't have a mission, forget it. We need to know the driving motivation to change things".

The most poignant question of the whole debate was, therefore: can you make both a profit and a difference to society? And while the panellists had diverse and unique insights that they bought to the table, they were all in agreement that future 'unicorns' - and even an elusive 'Pegasus' - need to transform society for the better. In many ways, Japan has turned that concept on its head. It's not waiting for 'start-ups' to lead it in a certain direction. With its Society 5.0 future model, the destination has already been decided - it's now making sure entrepreneurs, innovation and technology are going to get it there, fast.