Android 4.4 Kit Kat

Android 4.4 KitKat release date,
news and rumors

Everything we've heard about the next
version of Android
Well, this is a surprise. Having long
expected version 5.0 of Android to be
given the code name Key Lime Pie, Google
has instead handed the 'K' release name
to Android 4.4 and in a weird cross-
promotional deal it's called it Android
KitKat.
As part of the deal Nestle is running a
contest to win a Nexus 7 or Google Play
credit through specially branded Kit Kat
bars.
So, apart from the fact that the chocolate
bar has a space between Kit and Kat and
Android 4.4 doesn't. what do we know
about KitKat so far?
Android 4.4 release date
Android 4.3 recently arrived on the Nexus
7 , Nexus 7 2012, Nexus 4 , Nexus 10 and
Samsung Galaxy Nexus but is yet to roll
out to other devices. It'll also be arriving
'soon' on the HTC One and Samsung
Galaxy S4 Google versions, with HTC
saying it expects to push it out to
developers by the end of September .
So now we can start to look forward to the
Android 4.4 KitKat release date. But when?
We'll take a guess at late October or early
November 2013 for now - which is when
we were previously expecting to see
Android 5.0 break cover.
A release date tipped to Ausdroid - and
one which the site says it's taking with a
large grain of salt - is October 14.
On September 20 Nestle Germany
confirmed an October launch for Android
KitKat on its German KitKat Facebook
wall , replying to a question with a
translated message which reads: "Hi Tim,
Android 4.4 KIT KAT is available in
October".
Android 4.4 features
Android 4.3 came with a few minor
upgrades including better multi-user
customisation, support for Bluetooth smart
technology and an updated keyboard. As
a minor release, Android 4.3 didn't even
get its own desert-themed name, sharing
the Jelly Bean moniker with Android 4.1
and 4.2.
So with a brand new code name, we can
expect Android 4.4 to bring some bigger
changes, but all Google is saying at this
stage is: "It's our goal with Android KitKat
to make an amazing Android experience
available for everybody."
From this, we can assume that Google
wants to get Android onto less powerful
devices, something we were previously
hearing about Android 5.0 when it was
claimed that the new OS would be
optimised to run on devices with as little
as 512MB of RAM .
We also learned from Android Central back
in February 2013 that Google is working
with the Linux 3.8 kernel. One
improvement that this kernel brings is
lowered RAM usage, which fits with
Google's goal of bringing Android to more
devices.
The source who tipped Ausdroid with the
October 14 release date also leaked some
supposed details of the new OS,
confirming that it would be available for
"older phones", adding that it would also
bring gallery visualization tweaks, new
animation APIs, new notification widgets
and the ability to change the Android
default blue to other colors.
Leaked screenshots sent to 9to5Google ,
as well as other sites, show what might be
a sneak peak at the Android 4.4 phone
and messaging apps. The screenshots
show a cleaner design and a lighter
colour, plus a status bar that changes
colour according to the colour scheme
selected.
However, Android Police appears to have
received the same screenshots, and
having taken a close look at them , it
reckons that they're actually either full-
screen mockups or a custom ROM.
An image that Android Police is more
positive about is one of a Korean keyboard
that was posted to Google Play. In a small
change, that shot shows that the status
bar icons have changed from blue to gray.
Those images on Google Play have since
been replaced with Jelly Bean
screenshots.
Android 4.4 phones
In a commercial for its new operating
system, Google revealed what seems to be
the long-awaited Nexus 5 .
Shown off in a 38 second advert, the new
Nexus handset looks to be equipped with
a large camera and a matte black finish,
carrying an LG logo on the back.
Google has since taken the video down,
leading to further speculation that it did
indeed reveal the Nexus 5.
An Android 4.4 powered Nexus 5
supposedly raised its head again on 16
September where it was seen flaunting its
stuff in a bar. 9to5Google posted photos
and video of what might be the new
Nexus, apparently left there plugged in and
unsupervised by a Google employee so
that an eagle-eyed bar worker was able to
snap some photos and shoot a video.