Android 4.0
The next version of Android 4.0 is due very soon, possibly before the end of October. It was expected today but Google and Samsung delayed their announcement, apparently as a mark of respect to Steve Jobs who passed away a few day ago and nothing to do with any patent battles with Apple, honest.
Rumors have been flying about “Ice Cream Sandwich”, Android 2.4, which morphed into Android 4.0, for most of the year. I’m getting quite excited about the release, it should run on existing phones less than a year or so old – I made a point of getting the Nexus S so I would be able to run the current version without waiting forever while the other manufacturers didn’t bother updating.
Having said that the OTA updates so far have not been quick in arriving.
What’s new in Android 4.0
Enough talk, what can we expect in the much anticipated Android 4.0?
As most of us know version 4.0 is an attempt at reducing fragmentation so there will only be one version that app writers have to cater for and it will remove the distinction between tablets and phones. We should find a similar interface to the sexy Honeycomb UI with its pseudo 3D look.
and some more shots from Rootzwiki
And a leaked video
I get the feeling that most changes will be to the UI but the photos leaked above don’t really shout revolutionary even though Google is says that Ice Cream Sandwich it its “most ambitious release to date”.
Other stuff you are likely to find:
- New App Launcher and multi-tasking tool
- New Unlock Screen
- USB hosting (if the phone has the hardware connected) to allow connecting things like mice and keyboards and lots of other USB stuff to your phone
- Face tracking
- …
Lets wait and see what we do get, not long now.
