The latest version of Google's Android operating system is out. Google with its new version of mobile software Google has added always-listening search, motion tracking features and more Here's what you need to know about it today.
Google unwrapped a brand new version of its mobile software on 31 October called Android 4.4 “Kitkat,
With Android this latest version Google has improved Android’s performance, added new features and services, as well as integrated new software to support the potential for innovative new uses.
Android 4.4 continues the confectionary naming scheme
Since its inception, Google has used both an increasing numeric value, like Android 4.4, as well as names taken from famous confectionary.
It started with Android 1.5 “Cupcake”, and continued through the alphabet via Android 1.6 “Donut”, Android 2.0 “Eclair”, Android 2.2 “Froyo” (frozen yoghurt), Android 2.3 “Gingerbread”, Android 3.0 “Honeycomb”, Android 4.0 “Ice Cream Sandwich” and most recently Android 4.1 “Jelly Bean”.
It was long-rumoured that the follow up to Jelly Bean would be “Key Lime Pie”, however in a deal with Nestle, Google named Android 4.4 after the Kitkat chocolate biscuit.
Better memory management
Better memory management
Google did more than just reduce Android's 4.x's memory footprint. "KitKat streamlines every major component to reduce memory use and introduces new APIs and tools to help you create innovative, responsive, memory-efficient applications."
This more efficient use of memory will show to its best advantage as KitKat starts to catch on and developers start building apps that can take full advantage of it. For users, this will mean your applications will run faster, and switching from one program to another will go faster.
Full screen immersion
Google has taken steps with Android 4.4 Kitkat to make the experience of using apps like ebook readers or web browsers a much more immersive experience. It has changed the way the system-level interface elements are presented, including the status bar at the top of the screen and the Android menu buttons at the bottom.
Instead of permanently bracketing your screen with two black bars, the top notification bar is now transparent, allowing more of your homescreen wallpaper to shine through. The menu bar at the bottom of the screen can now also disappear when an app is put into a full-screen mode, allowing content to take up the full real estate of the screen.
Dragging your finger down from the top of the screen or up from the bottom of the screen now reveals the notification or menu bars when in full screen applications.
Support for lower-end phones
Android fragmentation has been a big problem for app developers ever since the operating system’s inception. Essentially it means that multiple versions of Android that aren’t up to date exist on various devices. While that’s not an issue in and of itself, for developers it presents a massive challenge as they have to programme their apps to support multiple versions of Android – all with differing capabilities.
Google has already taken steps towards minimising fragmentation through the decoupling of its own applications and services from the operating system into separate downloadable apps. That allows users on older versions of Android to update these apps separately through the Google Play store and gain access to the new services and features.
Now Google is taking its battle with fragmentation a step further by reducing the system requirements for Android 4.4 Kitkat. In doing this Google has made it possible to run Kitkat on much lower power devices.
Improved phone app
Improved phone app
I know how 20th century of me it is to want to use a smartphone as a phone, but darn it, sometime I do, and Android 4.4 makes it easier. Google is "making calling easier than ever, by helping you search across your contacts, nearby places, or even Google Apps accounts (like your company’s directory), directly from within the app".
In a related development, Google+ Hangouts, which is also more closely tied into KitKat and replaces Google Talk, includes texting, location sharing, and animated GIFs. This functionality will be available in any device running Android 4.x or higher. Eventually, Google Voice, Google's voice-over-internet-protocol (VoIP) service, will work with this, but for now, Google Voice and new Hangouts are having trouble cooperating with each other.
