Android has come a long way since its debut in 2008. The first major release was Android 1.5 Cupcake, and now we’re returning to dessert-themed names with Android 16, which has the internal codename Baklava. The modern UI we see in Android today, Material Design, was first introduced with the launch of Android 5.0 Lollipop in 2014.
However, things didn’t go as smoothly as Google had hoped. Whether you owned a flagship Android smartphone or a budget model at the time, Lollipop struggled to perform properly. Here’s why Android Lollipop is often regarded as one of the worst Android releases in history.
Android 16 timeline revealed: Platform Stability in Q1, rollout in Q2
Beta releases begin in January
5 Material Design failed to deliver consistency
Lollipop’s new design was stylish, but far from polished
Android looked quite different a decade ago. Before Android Lollipop, versions like Ice Cream Sandwich and KitKat used the old Holo design language with robotic shapes and blue accents. But everything changed with Android Lollipop, as Google introduced Material Design for the first time, featuring a sleek design with fun and colorful UI.
While Material Design brought smoother animations and a more cohesive aesthetic, it struggled to deliver consistency. As expected with any new design language, adoption took time, and many apps hadn’t transitioned at the time, leaving users with inconsistencies across apps and devices, resulting in a fragmented user experience.
4 The infamous memory leak bug broke the system
Users suffered from poor performance and frequent app crashes
One of the most critical issues Android Lollipop introduced was the infamous memory leak bug. At a time when even flagship Android phones had just 2GB of RAM, users who updated to Android 5.0 reported that the system would consume a massive portion of memory — up to 1.5GB — and to compensate, Android would forcibly close background apps to free up resources. This led to frequent app crashes and launcher redraws.
Beyond the memory leak bug, users experienced poor performance on Android Lollipop, including lag, stuttering, and app crashes. While the issue was eventually addressed in Android 5.1, early adopters were left frustrated by the poor memory management in the initial version. Some users even expressed thoughts of “abandoning [their] Nexus 5” due to the severity of the problem.
3 Battery life took a hit with Android Lollipop
The new OS drained more power than it saved
Android Lollipop introduced several power management features, including a Battery Saver mode that promised to extend battery life by up to 90 minutes and a tool displaying remaining battery life in hours. However, ironically, Google had to delay the release of Android 5.0 due to a battery drain bug.
The issue stemmed from Wi-Fi, where simply turning it on consumed excessive battery. Additionally, early versions of Android 5.0 caused other phantom battery drain issues that proved problematic for users. A subsequent Android update eventually resolved these problems, with many reporting improved battery life — but only after the issues intensified.
2 Android Lollipop lacked a simple silent mode
Priority mode left users confused and unable to mute easily
Another complained-about feature of Android Lollipop was the removal of a straightforward silent mode. Previously, users could easily silence their phones with a quick toggle, but Lollipop replaced this with a feature called “Priority Mode,” designed to give users more granular control over which notifications could come through.
While the intention was to provide finer control over notifications, many users found Priority Mode confusing and less intuitive. Activating silent mode required multiple steps, whereas it previously took just a single tap. Priority Mode eventually evolved into the “Do Not Disturb” mode (again) with Android Marshmallow, but for Lollipop users, the removal of the easy silent mode made silencing their phones unnecessarily frustrating.
1 Lollipop had some odd connectivity bugs
A buggy update made connectivity unreliable
If performance and battery issues weren’t enough, Android Lollipop also introduced bugs in connectivity. At launch, users who updated to Android 5.0 reported being unable to connect to certain Wi-Fi networks. This issue was widely reported by users trying to connect to corporate networks using Cisco APs.
Although it was resolved fairly quickly, it was frustrating for those who updated their device only to find they couldn’t connect to their office Wi-Fi. Additionally, many users reported Bluetooth issues, including trouble pairing with new devices and random disconnects.
Android 5.0 had its fair share of issues, but it was a landmark update
All in all, as Google sought to take Android in a new direction with Lollipop, it faced a few issues at launch. However, it remains one of the most significant Android releases in recent history. The design direction introduced with Lollipop can still be seen in Android 15 today. While Android 15 is much more stable, it still has a few minor bugs — but fortunately, they are relatively easy to fix.
