Android L now available for the Nexus 4 in addition to Nexus 5 and Nexus 7

As many of you are probably aware by now, Google released a developer preview of the Android L shortly after the operating system was announced at this year’s I/O. Until now this version was only available for the Nexus 5 and Nexus 7 (2013), but developers recently got it working on the Nexus 4 as well. The preview still has a lot of bugs and reports say that the current version of Android L can cause a number of problems to your device. But if you happen to own a Nexus 4 handset that you don’t really use anymore, or if you’re willing to take a chance, the developer preview is definitely worth checking out. The installation instructions can be found below and you can download the file from here.

• Put the file onto your Internal Storage
• Reboot into Recovery (CWM/TWRP]
• “wipe data/factory reset”
• “mounts and storage” -> “format system”
• “advanced” -> “wipe dalvik cache”
• “install zip” -> “install zip from sdcard” -> choose the mako-bla-bla-zip and confirm flashing procedure
• “wipe cache”
• “advanced” -> “wipe dalvik cache”
• “reboot into system”
• first boot may take up to 10 minutes – be patient

For more information about updates, notes, and further instructions check out the original thread here. The devs have already managed to offer some improvements to the Nexus 4’s camera, NFC, bluetooth, and superuser. That’s just the beginning however and we’re likely to see many more improvements as development work progresses. Reports say that the Nexus 5 benefits from up to 36% increased battery life while running on Android L so perhaps we might and up seeing something similar on the Nexus 4 as well.

The operating system wont be exclusive to Nexus devices of course, but for the moment only the N4, N5, and N7 (2013) seem to be able to run it. A couple of manufacturers have already given a time frame for when Android L will be available on their products, however it mostly depends on Google. “Well, we’re keen to announce today that the OnePlus One will indeed be getting the L treatment,” a OnePlus representative said earlier this month. “When, you ask? That depends on Google. We promise to have it done within three months of their releasing a final build.” HTC also made a similar statement by saying that the HTC One M8 and HTC One M7 will also get Android L within 90 days of the final release.

If you want to check out the Android L developer preview for the Nexus 5 and Nexus 7 (2013) visit this page.