Have a Break, Have an Android KitKat Smartphone!

Google is good at coming up with delicious-sounding names for each iteration of the Android operating system. With past favourites like Donut and Eclair sitting alongside the current Jelly Bean, Google have teamed up with Nestlé for Android KitKat 4.4 OS. With just the name unveiled so far, we’re unaware of the chocolately fuelled goodness, the next iteration will hold.

Interface in your face

Google has never been one to stand still when it comes to how Android’s interface is arranged and there will be more motivation than ever to make changes for Android KitKat given that Apple’s iOS 7 has been so radically redesigned.

While you can bet that Android 4.4 will still use multiple homescreens, the way that people engage with it could be changed.

For example, in August it emerged that Google had patented a gesture-based technology that is designed to allow users to launch different apps automatically when they unlock the phone depending on the pattern which they trace with their finger over the lock screen.

This is an evolutionary feature that already exists and it should make Android even more customisable and intriguing than it has been in the past.

A lighter, less serious colour scheme is also expected, given that Google Play has been smartened up and received a new font in recent months. This is not going to make a huge difference to the way Android operates, but it could change how it is perceived.

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Social leanings

For all Android’s good points, it is not the best operating system to use in conjunction with social networking services like Facebook and Twitter.

Sure, there are good dedicated apps for these platforms and individual smartphone manufacturers have added their own features to Android to make them easier to use, but the bog-standard Android experience remains a bit socially stunted.

And listen here, Google, you need to do more than just make Google+ integration a priority all over again. No-one wants to use your service, so give Facebook and Twitter a chance to shine, or you could alienate your users.

Video value

Many Android smartphones and tablets have front-facing cameras, which you can use in conjunction with third party apps to chat face to face with friends and family. But the lack of a native video calling app in Android is something that should be addressed in Kit Kat, at least if the requests of fans are heeded.

Google needs something to compete with Apple’s FaceTime and it is no good relying on third party software to get the job done when people are increasingly expecting this to be a standard feature.

Hardware inclusiveness

Android has been evolving along with the hardware that powers smartphones, but this inevitably means that older devices get left behind when new updates arrive.

This may not be the case with Android Key Lime Pie, as the Wall Street Journal recently revealed that it will not place too much stress on a handset’s components and so won’t require the same high end kit to function as its predecessors.

This could help budget Android phones to flourish further and even mean that Android KitKat 4.4 is handed down to those with much older devices.

For those craving the chance to try out the new software, Asus Nexus 7 users will get instant access to Android KitKat.

Get ready for an avalanche of information relating to Android 4.4 to arrive over the coming months, even if details are thin on the ground at the moment.