It has been six long months since the Dell Venue 8 (aka the 7000 Series or the 7840) crossed our desks. And while we had plenty of nice things to say about this tablet in our review it couldn't be more clear that the biggest problems here were software-related. Dell's ultra-thin, (nearly) bezel-free, horizontally asymmetrical tablet feels amazing in your hand and handles anything you throw at it with ease. But it was running Android 4.x KitKat, and Dell's small additions to the software were clumsy at best. Now that the big update has landed on this device, it's time to take a second look at the software running on this stunning little looker and see what happens when you give Dell and Intel a Lollipop.

This Android tablet was built for Lollipop, and in many ways sets the bar for others. As our fearless leader pointed out in his review of this tablet, something I have agreed with repeatedly in my many months of using it, there never was a point where it felt like Lollipop would dramatically improve the overall experience here. This isn't a slight against the latest version of Android — though in fairness we've seen plenty of folks who have had less-than-stellar update experiences this time around — but it speaks to the quality experience already available through this tablet. Battery life was decent, tablet always felt snappy, and outside of a few resolution conflicts with a handful of apps and the general quirkiness found in Dell's bolted-on software, the out of the box experience here was downright enjoyable. I take it all back. This tablet was built for Lollipop, and in many ways Dell has set a new bar for performance in the Android tablet ecosystem.

Android 5.0.2 brought this device from nice and snappy to flawlessly smooth, which is beautifully shown off through every animation, toggle flip, and keyboard tap against the 2560x1600 OLED display. The deep, flat colors fill the nearly bezel-less experience Dell has created, and Material Design feels like it was made for this tablet. Homescreen setup is cleaner with transparent navigation and notification bars, and while the icons on the bottom look smaller and closer to the launcher their touch targets are the same. Toss in Adaptive Brightness and Ambient Display, and the whole Lollipop experience comes together quite nicely. This is mostly stock Android, just like what we used before. This is mostly stock Android, just like when we used the tablet in the early months 2015, which means you've got a Nexus-like experience with Dell's software scattered about. Unlike the previous generation of this software, in which Dell's part was confined to apps and some subtle integration into Settings, Dell's imprint is now thoroughly woven into Android. You see My Dell and Dell Cast in the Quick Settings, and several embedded sections in the Settings panel for everything from screen calibration and Intel Smart Video to a flip to silence function — something every tablet should have in my opinion — that keeps the tablet quiet when on its face. (But because you need Dell Cast hardware to ever use that tool, and there's unlikely to ever be a good reason for your average consumer to drop $80 for screen extension and desktop-like functionality, it's kind of a bummer to see it taking up such precious real estate.)

Dell's included software hasn't changed much visually, save for one app. The Maxx Audio notification widget is higher resolution now, so it's significantly less of an eyesore. The app itself hasn't changed, right down to the odd legacy button that pointlessly hides an about page, but at least now you can define your presets once and only use the notification widget for getting the most out of the fantastic speaker on this tablet. Like every other stock — or stock-ish — Lollipop tablet experience, the notification shade in landscape is frustrating. On KitKat, notifications and Quick Settings could be pulled down separately on opposite sides of the screen, which took advantage of the space available and generally made sense. In Lollipop, you get this narrow little pull down in the dead center of the screen when held vertically, which isn't particularly useful to anyone. With controls on the sides of the display, you can casually flick in either direction with your thumb and never really move your hand. With controls in the center, you have to let go of the tablet with one hand to pull down from the center. It's not a huge deal, but a clear usability flaw that Google introduced into Lollipop that is all the more noticeable on a tablet that can only be gripped firmly on one side due to the design.