Rumors have been doing the rounds that Google will unveil
Android 5.0 Key Lime Pie at its May I/O conference, potentially on the Motorola
X Phone. We should be so lucky. We reckon we'll see an incremental update to
Jelly Bean and an updated Nexus 4 in May, and the next Google mobile operating
system running on the new Nexus 5 smartphone and Nexus
11 tablet in November.
Android 5.0 Key Lime Pie: release date
With Google's I/O developer conference scheduled to take
place in a couple of weeks (May 15-17), many of us had hoped to finally see the
much anticipated unveiling of Android 5.0 Key Lime Pie. After all, during last
year's I/O we were introduced to Android 4.1 Jelly Bean running on
the Nexus 7 tablet.
Unfortunately, it sounds as though we've a bit longer to
wait for Android 5.0 Key Lime Pie, and Google will in fact announce an
incremental rather than major update to its smartphone and tablet operating
system: Android 4.3 Jelly Bean.
Android Police has noted in its server logs a
group of IP addresses belonging to known Google employees. All are running
Android 4.3 Jelly Bean, not Android 5.0 Key Lime Pie, on either the Google
Nexus 4 smartphone or Google Nexus 7 tablet.
Furthermore, the build number awarded to Android 4.3 Jelly
Bean is JWR23B, with the initial 'J' referring to the codename Jelly Bean. As
yet, no Kxxxxx Android builds have been spotted, suggesting the Key Lime Pie
mobile operating system remains in development.
Adding fuel to the rumors that Android 5.0 has been delayed,
last month Gadgetronica cited "trusty internal sources" in
its claim that Key Lime Pie would be another two- to four months in the oven,
with Google hoping to give device manufacturers more time to roll out Jelly
Bean. This would make sense, given that a major criticism of Android has always
been that many devices ship with outdated operating systems and are never
updated.
Of course, a big new software release deserves some great hardware on
which to deliver it with a bang. With a Google Nexus 5 smartphone and
a Google Nexus 11 tablet rumored to be in development, it is
increasingly likely that Google will use these new devices on which to peddle
Android 5.0 Key Lime Pie. Whether all three will be unveiled at the imminent
Google I/O is doubtful, yet it would certainly come as a very nice surprise. We
suspect that this is more likely around the end of October or early November.
Android 5.0 Key Lime Pie: Google Nexus 5
Google's Nexus 4 has been plagued with stock
shortages, but this high-end smartphone with a mid-range price tag has proven
incredibly popular with consumers. Rumors of a new Nexus smartphone, the Nexus
5, have been doing the rounds for a while now, with LG once again expected to
manufacture the device.
Rumoured specifications include a 5- or 5.2in full-HD screen, a
Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 quad-core processor clocked at 2.3GHz, and 3GB of RAM.
Either 16-, 32- or 64GB of storage may be included, along with a 16Mp Nikon
camera and - we reckon - Android 5.0 Key Lime Pie.
Should Google announce Android 5.0 Key Lime Pie on its forthcoming
Nexus 5, the mobile operating system will also be rolled out to its Nexus 4
smartphone and other Nexus devices.
We're not convinced that the Nexus 5 will be
unveiled at Google I/O, however. With the Galaxy
Nexus unveiled
in November, the Nexus S in December, and the Nexus 4 at
the end of October, the Nexus 5 - and Android 5.0 Key Lime Pie - are more
likely to appear within the latter part of 2013, perhaps the end of
October/early November.
Indeed, in May, rumours suggest you'll
instead be able to expect an updated Nexus 4 with
32GB of storage and 4G LTE support.
Android 5.0 Key Lime Pie: Google Nexus 11
Earlier this week SamMobile reported
Samsung's tablet plans for 2013. As maker of the Google Nexus 10, the
first tablet to outdo the iPad not only in performance but in its much admired
Retina display, it's believable that the firm will also manufacture its
successor, the Nexus 11.
The Nexus 11 is rumoured to be the world's
first octa-core tablet, running an Exynos 5410 processor. It may also have an
11in Super PLS TFT touchscreen, 8Mp rear and 2Mp front cameras, and support
microSDXC for additional storage (up to 64GB).
We also think the Nexus 11 will be the first
tablet to ship with Android 5.0 Key Lime Pie, at which point Google will also
roll out the update to its Nexus 7 and Nexus 10 tablets, plus other Nexus
devices.
With the Nexus 10 unveiled at the end of
October 2012, it seems likely that Google will announce the Nexus 11 toward the
latter part of 2013, along with the Nexus 5 smartphone and Android 5.0 Key Lime
Pie.
Android 5.0 Key Lime Pie: features &
performance
Google Babble (or Babel) is one forthcoming
feature we expect to see in Android 5.0 Key Lime Pie, a messaging service that
aims to unify the various Talk, Hangout, Voice, Messenger and Chat services.
There have also been rumours of a Google Games hub.
In February Android
Central reported
that Google is working on the Linux 3.8 kernel for Android (it currently uses
3.4). Should that make its debut it will offer a lower
memory footprint (yet the Nexus 5 is rumoured to come with 3GB of RAM), with
better multitasking support.
NenaMark2 benchmarking results posted on the Nena website last November claim to show Android
5.0 Key Lime Pie running on a LT30i (a variation of the Sony Xperia T). The
phone in question reportedly has a 1.6GHz processor and Adreno 220 graphics,
whereas the Xperia T we reviewed is listed with Adreno 225 graphics and a
1.5GHz processor, running Android 4.1.2.
Although Google gave several manufacturers
the opportunity to build its Nexus devices, and Sony could well become a future
hardware partner, we're not buying into this one. On the slim chance that it is
genuine, however, a notable difference in performance is apparent, and that's
something that will likely increase with the improved hardware of the Nexus 5
and Nexus 11.PCadvisor
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