After teasing the users and developers with loads of beta updates and incremental updates, Google has finally unveiled its advanced and sophisticated Android 9.0 Pie. Google Pixel devices and Essential Phones were the first one to receive it followed by smartphones signed up for Android Beta program which will get the update soon. Finally, the Android Pie will be rolled out to other devices where the timeline could differ from maker-to-maker and model-to-model as well as carrier constraints, etc. The Android Pie is one of the best operating system released by Google yet as it brings loads of features while keeping user’s privacy and security as the topmost priority.

Android 9.0 Pie has a number of features such as unified fingerprint dialog, notch support, gesture-based navigation, upgraded notification tray, smart replies, do not disturb feature, Digital wellbeing, dark mode, etc. Here is a list of all the Lenovo smartphones eligible to receive an Android 9.0 Pie update as well as a list of devices that won’t receive an update, unfortunately.

Features of Android 9 Pie:

Let’s dig in to know what Android 9 Pie has it for its users and you will be surely impressed.

Enhanced Picture in Picture Mode: Google introduced the Picture in Picture (PiP) or split screen feature in Android Oreo where users could specifically play video in a split screen. The feature supported apps like Google Duo, YouTube, and Chrome. With the new Android 9 Pie, Google has enhanced the feature even further whereby the users can use multiple apps at once. However, Pixels users have already started complaining about the feature as it usually lags and crashes. But, don’t worry, Google will sort it out in its stable version which will release soon.

Screen Recording: It is speculated that this feature might be included in the upcoming Android 9 Pie. A native screen recording app will come pre-installed with the update where you can grab the screen that you want to share and create GIFs and other files out of it to share. It can also add external audio and video in the screen grab too.

Strict Permissions to apps: Google has been very strict about the user’s security and privacy which is reflected in the Android 9 Pie which has stringent features exercised on it to protect the privacy and security of the user and the data. With this feature, it won’t allow any app or service to use mic or camera to capture voice/audio or video/images which could be used by hackers or any other person and land you in trouble. Android 9 Pie discards apps that require mic and camera permission while running in the background.

Lockdown Mode: With the increasing dominance of fingerprint scanners, it has become way too easy to store sensitive data on the phone and then, feed your fingerprints as the passwords since fingerprints are difficult to copy. But, it is possible that someone grabs your hand forcefully and try to unlock the phone. It could be burglars or even enforcement personnel who can forcefully try to breach the security of your phone but don’t worry, Android 9 Pie won’t allow it to happen. With Lockdown mode enable, the phone will disable its fingerprint scanning capability which means, no matter how many times anyone tries to unlock the phone with your fingerprints, it won’t open until it is not disabled.

Message Enhancements: Unlike the generic message inbox that Android versions had earlier, the new Android 9 Pie has completely revamped the Inbox making it look sophisticated and great user interface. The Inbox comes with Smart Replies which is backed by machine-learning capabilities where the phone will scan the user’s messages and predict custom replies that they can send right away. The feature isn’t just confined to replies though.

Take a screenshot of the power button: Taking a screenshot just got easier with the new Android update. It lets you grab the screen with just a tap on Power button and then, tap on Screenshot and boom, the photo will be saved in the photo gallery. The other feature included is you can now edit the photos you have taken a screenshot of before publishing or sending it to anyone.

Revamped Notification Panel: So notification panel is the most used feature on a smartphone. Simply drag down the screen and the notification panel is here to give details about the messages received, time, date, plenty of shortcuts to features and much more. Google has completely changed the way the notification panel looks and has enhanced its user interface by giving it some colors. The icons have been changed too.

Multi-Camera Support API: If you are someone who likes photography or shooting videos, Android 9 Pie is surely made for it. It has a multi-camera support API that enables users to grab footage from multiple cameras at once. It can be rear and front cameras or triple cameras from other paired smartphones that can be viewed together on a single screen. It does have plenty of innovative features which makes it one of the coolest feature in Android 9 Pie.

Lenovo Android 9.0 Pie Update [Complete Tracker and Timeline]

Here is a list of Lenovo smartphones which will receive the upcoming Android update.

Lenovo S5 Pro

The Lenovo S5 Pro is one of the latest offerings from the Company. The device was released back in October 2018. The device has a 6.2 inches Full HD Display which is quite sharp. Under the hood, the Lenovo S5 Pro is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 636 chip along with 6 GB of RAM. These specifications are quite powerful for a device. With that being said, Lenovo is much likely to roll out an Android 9 Pie update for this device. Estimated Date: Early 2019

Lenovo K5 Pro

The Lenovo K5 Pro, if you remember was also released in the month of October 2018. The Lenovo K5 Pro has a 5.99 inch Full HD Display which is quite color accurate. Talking about the internals of the Lenovo K5 Pro, it is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 636 chip along with 3 GB of RAM. All this is backed up by a 4050 mAh capacity battery. That being said, the device would be updated to the latest version of Android, the Android 9 Pie. Estimated Date: Early 2019

Lenovo K9

The Lenovo K9 is another great Android device from the company. The Lenovo K9 comes with a 5.7 inch Full HD Display which is quite good. Under the hood, the Lenovo K9 is powered by a MediaTek MT6762 Helio P22 chip along with 3 GB of RAM. All this is backed up by a 3000 mAh capacity battery. Estimated Date: Early 2019

Lenovo K5 Note (2018)

The 2018 iteration of Lenovo K5 Note is among the few smartphones that are in the lineup to receive Android 9.0 Pie update. The device sports a Snapdragon 450 processor with 3/4GB RAM variant. It runs on ZUI 3.9 on top of stock Android 8.0 Oreo update and will get the Android Pie update in early 2019 although no fixed date is announced yet. This was confirmed at a launch event. Estimated Date: Early 2019

Lenovo K6 Power

Launched in September 2016, Lenovo K6 Power is a midrange smartphone sporting Snapdragon 430 processor clocked at 1.4GHz octa-core. It runs on Android 6.0 Marshmallow and upgradable to 7.0 Nougat. It is one of the few Lenovo smartphones that might get an update by early 2019. Estimated Date: TBA

Lenovo ZUK Z2 Plus

According to a global launch of Lenovo Z5, Lenovo actually announced that ZUK Z2 Plus along with a number of other ZUK lineup and other Lenovo smartphones will receive their Android 9.0 Pie upgrade by the end of this year or early 2019 Estimated Date: Late 2018/early 2019. ZUK Z2 Plus sports a 5” FHD+ display with 3GB RAM and 32GB internal storage. It is a budget smartphone with the impeccable 2.15GHz quad-core processor and a 3,500mAh battery under the hood. The device was earlier launched with Android Marshmallow 6.0.1 and then, upgraded to Android Nougat. Estimated Date: Late 2018/early 2019

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Lenovo ZUK Z2 Pro

Released in 2016, Lenovo ZUK Z2 Pro recently upgraded to Android 7.0 Nougat and it is in the lineup to receive its Android 9.0 Pie update by the early 2019 or as soon as late 2018. Sporting Snapdragon 820, this particular smartphone has a 4/6GB RAM variant along with 13MP OIS, 1.34micrometer dual-tone flash rear camera and an 8MP with 1.4micrometer pixel size and an aperture of f/1.8 front snapper. Earlier launched with Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow and upgradable to 7.0 Nougat, the device is waiting for the next update of Android 9.0 Pie and new ZUI skin. Estimated Date: Late 2018/early 2019

Lenovo K8 Note

Released in August 2017, the Lenovo K8 Note features a Mediatek Helio X23 deca-core processor bundled with Mali-T880 MP4 GPU. The device was launched with Android 7.1.1 Nougat and recently got its Android 8.0 Oreo update via OTA. Estimated Date: TBA

Lenovo K8 Note Plus

Lenovo K8 Note Plus features a 2.5GHz octa-core MediaTek Helio P25 processor with 3GB RAM and 32GB internal storage. It was released in September 2017 with Android 7.1.1. Nougat preloaded. It is also eligible to receive an Android Pie update, however, confirmation from the manufacturer is pending. Estimated Date: TBA

Lenovo K8 Plus

Lenovo unveiled the K8 Plus in September 2017 sporting Mediatek Helio P25 processor along with 3/4GB RAM variant. Originally launched with Android 7.1.1 Nougat, it had a planned upgrade to Android 8.0 Oreo and it is roped in as one of the Lenovo devices to receive Android 9.0 Pie update too. Estimated Date: TBA

Lenovo Z5

Lenovo Z5 os the latest high-end addition to the Lenovo smartphones lineup sporting Snapdragon 636 chipset with 6GB RAM and 64/128GB internal storage variant. The device has a built-in Android 8.1 Oreo and will receive an Android 9.0 P update soon. This was recently confirmed at an official launch event of Lenovo Z5 where few other smartphones receiving the Android 9.0 Pie update were confirmed. Lenovo is expected to roll out the next version of its skin along with Android Pie which means it will collectively release by the end of 2018 or early 2019. Estimated Date: Late 2018/early 2019

Lenovo K5 Play

At the launch of Lenovo Z2, Lenovo K5 Play was highlighted as one of the few Lenovo phones to receive an Android Pie upgrade later this year or as soon as early next year. The smartphone was launched in March this year with midrange Snapdragon 430 octa-core 1.4GHz processor with Adreno 505 and a 2/3GB RAM variant. It went on to sales in April 2018 with Android 8.0 Oreo preloaded. Along with Android Pie, it will also get the next variant of Lenovo’s ZUI skin. Estimated Date: Early 2019

Lenovo S5

Lenovo S5 is a high-end smartphone with Snapdragon 625 octa-core 2.0GHz processor with 13+13MP rear camera setup and a 16MP front snapper. It runs on ZUI 3.7 on top of stock Android 8.0 Oreo and will receive its Android Pie update by the end of 2018 or early 2019 as it was confirmed during a launch event held for Lenovo Z5. Estimated Date: Early 2019

Lenovo A5

Released in June and went up for sale in June as well, Lenovo A5 is a budget smartphone with MediaTek quad-core processor powered by PowerVR GE8100 GPU and 3GB RAM. It runs on ZUI 3.9 and Android 8.0 Oreo and might receive an Android Pie update, although no official confirmation has been released by Lenovo yet. Estimated Date: Might get an update

Lenovo P2

It is a high-end smartphone with a price tag of 240 Euros. It has a Snapdragon 625 processor with octa-core 2.0 GHz processor and an Adreno 506 GPU. Released in September 2016 with Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow update, it is upgradable to 7.0 Nougat update and might receive Android 9.0 Pie update. Estimated Date: Might get an update

List of Lenovo smartphones not eligible to receive Android P Update

  • Lenovo S650
  • Lenovo A328
  • Lenovo A390
  • Lenovo A316i
  • Lenovo P780
  • Lenovo A516
  • Lenovo Vibe X3
  • Lenovo Phab Plus
  • Lenovo Phab2 Pro
  • Lenovo S920
  • Lenovo S60
  • Lenovo A6600
  • Lenovo A859
  • Lenovo S90 Sisley
  • Lenovo Vibe S1
  • Lenovo A5000
  • Lenovo A850
  • Lenovo Phab2 Plus
  • Lenovo C2
  • Lenovo A6010 Plus
  • Lenovo Vibe X2
  • Lenovo A319
  • Lenovo S850
  • Lenovo Vibe P1 Turbo
  • Lenovo Vibe P1
  • Lenovo Phab2
  • Lenovo ZUK Z
  • Lenovo P70
  • Lenovo A536
  • Lenovo K6
  • Lenovo K3 Note
  • Lenovo A369i
  • Lenovo A7000 Plus
  • Lenovo Vibe Shot
  • Lenovo A6010
  • Lenovo A6600 Plus
  • Lenovo Vibe P1m
  • Lenovo K5 Note (2016)
  • Lenovo A6000 Plus
  • Lenovo A2010
  • Lenovo Vibe K5
  • Lenovo Vibe C
  • Lenovo K5 Plus
  • Lenovo A1000
  • Lenovo Vibe K4 Note
  • Lenovo A7000
  • Lenovo A6000

What should I do if my phone isn’t eligible for Android 9 Pie?

First of all, don’t worry because the majority of smartphones aren’t eligible for the new Android 9 Pie. You can spot the difference between eligible and not eligible smartphones in the list propounded above. There are many reasons that Google hasn’t made Android 9 Pie or any other Android version available for all. Since the smartphone industry and technology are skyrocketing, smartphones are getting smaller, lighter, and smarter every day. Smartphone manufacturers and companies are thriving and have mushroomed with different specifications of smartphones for the varied class of people which has increased affordability.

But when it comes to Android updates, Google makes it available for only the latest phones since only these phones have the aptitude to support new OS with its latest specifications. So if your phone isn’t listed under ‘eligible’ list, believe me, there are millions of other people feeling the same thing. But the question is, even when you know that your phone isn’t eligible for the new Android 9 Pie, how can you use it? The answer lies in custom ROMs. Yes, custom ROMs like Replicant, Lineage OS 16 which is presently under development is based on Android 9 Pie which means, you can use Android 9 Pie (Lineage 16) without actually spending 500 bucks to get a smartphone that supports the official version. There are a bunch of other OSes available that you can try.