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Michael Goff

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Jul 5, 2012
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As everyone is trying to guess whether the next big Android update is going to be Key Lime Pie or not, and whether the release will be Android 5.X or 4.X, we have yet to hear anything concrete. After getting a tip from an eagle-eyed reader (thanks, deepayan!) and digging deeper, I can definitively tell you that Google is currently working on Android 4.3, and it is still Jelly Bean.

http://www.androidpolice.com/2013/0...and-testing-android-4-3-its-still-jelly-bean/

Anyone else disappointed? Small number difference probably means small differences. Key Lime Pie might not be coming yet.
 
Point updates mean the addition or subtraction or modification of Google apps within the OS, but using the same base code format for developers to easily upgrade. (Google Babble will be in 4.3 for instance.)

Number updates signifies a complete code update. Think how different 2.x was to 4.x or the completely bastardized 3.x was for tablets like the original Galaxy Tabs and Xoom.

While I still believe Google will discuss 5.0 at I/O next month, I don't think they will release any code or make a promise of a specific release date. More like KLP will be released "in the fall" of 2013 (likely around the time Apple releases the iPhone 5s in order to steal some thunder from Apples announcement.)
 
Point updates mean the addition or subtraction or modification of Google apps within the OS, but using the same base code format for developers to easily upgrade. (Google Babble will be in 4.3 for instance.)

Number updates signifies a complete code update. Think how different 2.x was to 4.x or the completely bastardized 3.x was for tablets like the original Galaxy Tabs and Xoom.

While I still believe Google will discuss 5.0 at I/O next month, I don't think they will release any code or make a promise of a specific release date. More like KLP will be released "in the fall" of 2013 (likely around the time Apple releases the iPhone 5s in order to steal some thunder from Apples announcement.)

Yep. Agreed. I think they are going to go all out with the motorola X and KLP at around same time as the iPhone 5S launch.
 
Well, Apple has been pushing out incremental iOS updates forever and no one seems to complaining, so I really don't care if Google does this, as long as KLP is around the corner.
 
I won't be disappointed if they don't release it at I/O, I will be disappointed if they don't release something this year.

Honestly, I would much rather them release 4.3 than 5.0 if the updates are going to be incremental. In 5.0, I expect a whole UI refresh.

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I suspected KLP would be delayed. Don't expect it till September I'm thinking.

Thiiiis. They might do what they did with Ice Cream Sandwich. They had a launch event for Galaxy Nexus sometime in the fall where they showed off Ice Cream Sandwich for the first time as well.
 
I won't be disappointed if they don't release it at I/O, I will be disappointed if they don't release something this year.

Honestly, I would much rather them release 4.3 than 5.0 if the updates are going to be incremental. In 5.0, I expect a whole UI refresh.

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They might do what they did with Ice Cream Sandwich. They had a launch event for Galaxy Nexus sometime in the fall where they showed off Ice Cream Sandwich for the first time as well.

Wait, what?

A whole UI change? What's wrong with the UI we currently have?
 
Wait, what?

A whole UI change? What's wrong with the UI we currently have?

There's really nothing wrong with it, I'd just like to see a new UI. We've had this UI for 2 years now. :)

Android, with the exception of 1.6 -> 2.0, has received a UI refresh every major release. The UI changed in 2.3 Gingerbread, 3.0 Honeycomb, then 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. I expect Google to continue doing this, unless they are trying to do what Apple does.
 
There's really nothing wrong with it, I'd just like to see a new UI. We've had this UI for 2 years now. :)

Android, with the exception of 1.6 -> 2.0, has received a UI refresh every major release. The UI changed in 2.3 Gingerbread, 3.0 Honeycomb, then 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. I expect Google to continue doing this, unless they are trying to do what Apple does.

They couldn't do "what Apple does" if they tried. If you want to talk about lack of UI refreshes, Apple is king of the hill. ;)
 
They couldn't do "what Apple does" if they tried. If you want to talk about lack of UI refreshes, Apple is king of the hill. ;)

I wouldn't really consider 3.0 to 4.0 a complete refresh. 4.0 just brought the changes in honeycomb to the phones.
 
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Not to make too big a deal out of it, but have you guys seen the statistics on Android versions? Less than 2% on 4.2. JB not even the 2nd most used Android version.

I think Google needs to make it a point to port their latest OS to a larger audience. They have done such great work and put in such amazing features since GB, yet roughly half of their user base doesn't get said upgrades.
 
Not to make too big a deal out of it, but have you guys seen the statistics on Android versions? Less than 2% on 4.2. JB not even the 2nd most used Android version.

I think Google needs to make it a point to port their latest OS to a larger audience. They have done such great work and put in such amazing features since GB, yet roughly half of their user base doesn't get said upgrades.

Most Android phones are not high end phones though. I don't think carriers are going to waste time branding updates for plenty of phones that aren't meant to do much(loosely speaking), compared to top of the line phones.
 
Google doesn't and can't control who gets the updates. That's up to the phones specs, carrier and manufacturer. All three and especially the latter two are what determines when, or if a device will get an update. The core apps are updated separately anyway.

Honestly though, does google really care what version of android a phone is running as long as it's in their ecosystem? Either way, they're generating cash.
 
Not to make too big a deal out of it, but have you guys seen the statistics on Android versions? Less than 2% on 4.2. JB not even the 2nd most used Android version.

I think Google needs to make it a point to port their latest OS to a larger audience. They have done such great work and put in such amazing features since GB, yet roughly half of their user base doesn't get said upgrades.

Here are the stats as of April 2nd. And while 4.2.x is only available on a few select phones, that number will increase quite a bit in the next 60 days, with the S4.

177011-androiddistributionapril.jpg
 
Here are the stats as of April 2nd. And while 4.2.x is only available on a few select phones, that number will increase quite a bit in the next 60 days, with the S4.

Image

My point was only that Google has a problem, whether minor, small, big, doesn't matter. Enough resources are devoted to Android such that having only 2% of your user base actually using the latest and greatest, most powerful mobile OS is kind of deflating.

You have to consider too that some of those getting 4.2 are also coming from a 4.2 phone. Look deeper at why so many devices are on GB (not ICS), and see how many are because they are on lower end devices. Then thinking further, how many of those users are going to actually move up in the price scale to aim for a GS4.

This isn't a knock on Android or Google, b/c again I think it is the most powerful mobile OS. There's so much that they've done since 2.0 that isn't getting the exposure it deserves.
 
I wonder if ios7 will be that much stronger, although really its playing catch up and its so far behind android in many aspects. The incredibly low adoption rate of new android versions would also affect this.
 
Here are the stats as of April 2nd. And while 4.2.x is only available on a few select phones, that number will increase quite a bit in the next 60 days, with the S4.

Image

There's really no benefit of 4.2 over 4.1 anyway. I actually have my galaxy nexus running. 4.1.2 cm10 stable as I prefer it.
 
My point was only that Google has a problem, whether minor, small, big, doesn't matter. Enough resources are devoted to Android such that having only 2% of your user base actually using the latest and greatest, most powerful mobile OS is kind of deflating.

You have to consider too that some of those getting 4.2 are also coming from a 4.2 phone. Look deeper at why so many devices are on GB (not ICS), and see how many are because they are on lower end devices. Then thinking further, how many of those users are going to actually move up in the price scale to aim for a GS4.

This isn't a knock on Android or Google, b/c again I think it is the most powerful mobile OS. There's so much that they've done since 2.0 that isn't getting the exposure it deserves.

I understand where you are coming from, I just think the average consumer just doesn't know any better or just doesn't care. Gingerbread is perfectly fine for most people running low to mid tier phones and the stats will only change once people eventually upgrade to newer phones running higher specs capable of handling the newer OS's.
 
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