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See the Samsung Galaxy S5 running Android L in this 8 minute-long preview

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By Chris P.

Updated: Oct 03, 2014, 1:38 AM

See the Samsung Galaxy S5 running Android L in this 8 minute-long preview

The folks at SamMobile just landed a sweet exclusive -- a chance to play around with a test build (LRW58J) of Android L for the Samsung Galaxy S5. Before we get into the specifics, let's get one (rather important) thing out of the way -- according to SamMobile's source, Android L is indeed slated for a re-branding to Android Lollipop. In other words, if this turns out to be true, then the majority of you will have been spot on in one of our latest polls.

Going back to the Galaxy S5 and the build in question, the eight and a half minute-long preview will give you a pretty thorough feeling of how Samsung is approaching Android L and, more specifically -- how it's implementing the new Material Design guidelines without losing its TouchWiz face. We're told (and you can see that) that the Dialler, Messages, Memo, and Clock apps (among others) have been redesigned from the ground up in order to keep true to the aforementioned guidelines. This being a test build, however, many animations are still missing, so not all buttons, knobs, and the like provide animated feedback just yet. Indeed, that's one of the reasons SamMobile won't be releasing the build for the wider public to check out.

Moving on, as you can see for yourself, one of the biggest changes is the theme -- it's now predominantly white, which is a nice change of pace from the bluish visuals of old. Lockscreen widgets are either missing or not going to make the final cut, by the way, though the heads-up notification that we've come to love are there. Another stand-out new feature is MirrorLink, which will allow you to connect your Samsung phone to your car's infotainment system, which is, admittedly, pretty cool.

Take a look at the embedded video below and the massive gallery of screenshots SamMobile compiled underneath it.

Thanks for the tip, Peter!

Samsung Galaxy S5 running Android L

source: SamMobile

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Chris Panayotov is a former mobile tech reviewer of phones, tablets and wearables at PhoneArena. However, his contribution to PhoneArena content includes not just reviews, but all kinds of regular and experimental features, such as news stories, buying guides, and an exclusive column on the most notable phones out of Asia.