Kitkat any one
- Thread starter hiwayracer
- Start date
YAYTech
Well-known member
I think I liked "key lime pie" better. I had to poke around to make sure this was legit, and make sure it wasn't April 1. Just seems like a cheesy name / marketing ploy.
As long as they follow through and bundle in a KitKat with every New Nexus 10, I'm gold.
Or even better, bundle a new Nexus 10 with every KitKat.
at this point, android isn't limited by its software but rather hardware and external software like apps. it's hard to know where they can 'improve' is a noticeable way. most android updates are just bug fixes and some minor interface changes/additions. with all the apps out there, there's a lot android simply doesn't do because it's already done by an app.
I doubt kit kat will bring too much to the table, especially since it has to still be able to run across a myriad of devices. it's like trying to make an OS that will run well and snappy for desktops with single core and quad core CPU's, with GPU's being 20x apart from each other performance wise. the slower hardware that android supports, holds it back for years at a time until those devices are completely obsolete, which is why a tablet that ran froyo for example, isn't allowed to update beyond that. then of course there's physical hardware that they can't really do anything with anymore because the chips don't support certain instruction sets. of course, it's also in googles best interest to keep android as barebones as possible in order to make new devices run even snappier. there's kind of a tug of war between these things, so we never really get big changes....just tiny increments.
not to mention, apps themselves limit android in some ways. for example, if android were to adopt a more customizable interface like next launcher, the developers of that app would essentially be out of business. a lot of paid apps fill in the gaps of what android doesn't offer but should, and for android to offer those things would destroy many app developers. since google takes a cut of whatever is sold in the play store, it's not in their best interests to usurp paid app developers. this is why android can't change too much. hell, android doesn't even have a built in file system explorer, and probably never will because there's soo many free and paid apps that do it. so apps as a whole actually influence the direction (or lack there of) of android.
there's only soo many optimizations they can make before hardware becomes a limiting factor to what they can or should do.
most updates for android have been "meh" at best.
I doubt kit kat will bring too much to the table, especially since it has to still be able to run across a myriad of devices. it's like trying to make an OS that will run well and snappy for desktops with single core and quad core CPU's, with GPU's being 20x apart from each other performance wise. the slower hardware that android supports, holds it back for years at a time until those devices are completely obsolete, which is why a tablet that ran froyo for example, isn't allowed to update beyond that. then of course there's physical hardware that they can't really do anything with anymore because the chips don't support certain instruction sets. of course, it's also in googles best interest to keep android as barebones as possible in order to make new devices run even snappier. there's kind of a tug of war between these things, so we never really get big changes....just tiny increments.
not to mention, apps themselves limit android in some ways. for example, if android were to adopt a more customizable interface like next launcher, the developers of that app would essentially be out of business. a lot of paid apps fill in the gaps of what android doesn't offer but should, and for android to offer those things would destroy many app developers. since google takes a cut of whatever is sold in the play store, it's not in their best interests to usurp paid app developers. this is why android can't change too much. hell, android doesn't even have a built in file system explorer, and probably never will because there's soo many free and paid apps that do it. so apps as a whole actually influence the direction (or lack there of) of android.
there's only soo many optimizations they can make before hardware becomes a limiting factor to what they can or should do.
most updates for android have been "meh" at best.
YAYTech
Well-known member
Google has been moving a lot of the bigger-impact updates from the OS to apps (Google Maps, Search, Now, etc), so that leaves less to update in the OS. More recent updates have had as much or more to do with polishing the OS in ways that most people don't notice, but lend to a better user experience (ex: TRIM support in 4.3). More recent updates have also had to do with multiple user setup, which has no value to many users, but is massively useful to others.
One rumored update would be further streamlining Android so it works better on cheaper devices, which helps Google expand in all markets, but especially 3rd world ones. Unfortunately, many older devices still probably wouldn't be updated, as it would require investment in device-specific programming. But it would go a long way toward alleviating the "my device is more than a year old, guess I won't get any more updates" syndrome. Google has said "our goal with Android KitKat to make an amazing Android experience available for everybody." Sounds like that jives with the idea of making it work better on lower end devices.
They could also improve app & setting backup and transfer.
Preparation for wearable accessories? (smart watches, shoes, glass, etc)
It's good that it's getting more difficult to think of things they should add. I'm sure there are a number of other great ideas out there, but I'm having trouble thinking of some. That's the point where some Googlers can get really creative...
One rumored update would be further streamlining Android so it works better on cheaper devices, which helps Google expand in all markets, but especially 3rd world ones. Unfortunately, many older devices still probably wouldn't be updated, as it would require investment in device-specific programming. But it would go a long way toward alleviating the "my device is more than a year old, guess I won't get any more updates" syndrome. Google has said "our goal with Android KitKat to make an amazing Android experience available for everybody." Sounds like that jives with the idea of making it work better on lower end devices.
They could also improve app & setting backup and transfer.
Preparation for wearable accessories? (smart watches, shoes, glass, etc)
It's good that it's getting more difficult to think of things they should add. I'm sure there are a number of other great ideas out there, but I'm having trouble thinking of some. That's the point where some Googlers can get really creative...
YAYTech
Well-known member
BTW, there is a thread for this in the 4.4 section:
http://forums.androidcentral.com/android-4-4-kitkat/311386-android-kitkat-wish-list.html
http://forums.androidcentral.com/android-4-4-kitkat/311386-android-kitkat-wish-list.html
One thing that would be really useful is a complete device mirroring backup system baked into the operating system, like iOS has. This lets you set an automatic interval for complete device backup, and then it automatically backs *everything* up--OS settings, apps, app settings, downloaded data, etc--either to the cloud or to a local computer (when you are attached by cable or WiFi). Then if you wipe your device, replace it, or upgrade, you can replicate everything exactly as you had it before with pretty much zero effort.
Android lets you get some of the way there by fiddling around with apps like Helium or other approaches that require rooting, but getting a 100% mirroring solution is really desirable.
Android lets you get some of the way there by fiddling around with apps like Helium or other approaches that require rooting, but getting a 100% mirroring solution is really desirable.
YAYTech
Well-known member
While I too hope for better backup & restore functions, there is also a need for the system designers to keep in mind that it may be possible to back up a problem, and leave you with no good option for restore.
That is a very good point. iOS lets you keep (and manage) a series of historical backups, so you can revert to an earlier one that was working if you back up a messed-up configuration. So Android could do the same.
YAYTech
Well-known member
Historical backups would be good. Might also be nice if there were an option to restore, for example, app data from last week, but system settings from last month.
Cross-device app syncing would be excellent as well.
Cross-device app syncing would be excellent as well.
I think the next step in natural language is to have 'conversational' commands, so for example if a reminder comes up, you can tell it by voice to remind you again later, or that you're busy right now, or that you're already doing it. That's one possibility for a future iteration of Android.
On that end, imagine you could say, 'I'm going shopping' and it pulls up a list of things you might like to buy? Relevant offers and such. That sounds right up Google's street.
On that end, imagine you could say, 'I'm going shopping' and it pulls up a list of things you might like to buy? Relevant offers and such. That sounds right up Google's street.
YAYTech
Well-known member
They've made some solid progress on this, but I agree - more would be good, and I bet they're working on it. That said, the voice search features seem to have been largely separated from the OS updates, and are instead part of the Google app (blue google icon that opens Google Now).
I see a lot of people wanting SMS integration with Hangouts, better Google Now stuff, etc, but that won't be coming with an Android OS update.
Google has addressed their fragmentation problems by pushing new APIs through Google Play Services, so these kind of things would be done with that kind of update. I don't think we are going to see a whole lot of sweet new features with OS updates anymore because of this change. Maybe they should roll out Services updates with OS updates to ride the hype train, but that would be the extent.
Things we can expect with an OS update will be more bluetooth features, power efficiency, project butter optimizations, launcher updates, etc.
Google has addressed their fragmentation problems by pushing new APIs through Google Play Services, so these kind of things would be done with that kind of update. I don't think we are going to see a whole lot of sweet new features with OS updates anymore because of this change. Maybe they should roll out Services updates with OS updates to ride the hype train, but that would be the extent.
Things we can expect with an OS update will be more bluetooth features, power efficiency, project butter optimizations, launcher updates, etc.
bjrosen
Well-known member
Yes, multiple open apps with a task bar for switching - like Windows! A lot of apps run in the background, so why not have a task bar?
Well, I'd like to see GPS access in the quick settings menu. There's a blank square, why not fill it? They've got Bluetooth in there, why not GPS?
Sent from my Nexus 7
Sent from my Nexus 7
yeah multiple open windows is about the best thing they could do right now. but I think they're trying to stay away from it because part of androids speedyness is due to the fact that the processor focuses mainly on one app at a time. if you start throwing multiple apps in there, you're going to be seeing some speed issues. keep in mind, 1.5Ghz ARM quad core is not even really as fast as a 1Ghz x86 dual core. You just don't notice much because ARM completely removes the possibility to run certain high powered tasks common in x86, so the programs themselves need less speed to run, but they can only do soo much. some apps will be fine, others will suffer greatly.
I'd really like to see the youtube app allow me to pin videos in a corner of the screen and run the browser at the same time. certain videos on youtube I can just listen to while doing other tasks, but can't with android because the videos go away and stop playing when the app is minimized. the least they could do is make a desktop widget that streams the video you selected in a respectable size, and clicking the video could maximize youtube.
dual, triple, and quad panes would be nice for some usage scenarios. but I'd say some apps would probably be incompatible, as in look funky or cut off, making them hard or impossible to use.
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yeah multiple open windows is about the best thing they could do right now. but I think they're trying to stay away from it because part of androids speedyness is due to the fact that the processor focuses mainly on one app at a time. if you start throwing multiple apps in there, you're going to be seeing some speed issues. keep in mind, 1.5Ghz ARM quad core is not even really as fast as a 1Ghz x86 dual core. You just don't notice much because ARM completely removes the possibility to run certain high powered tasks common in x86, so the programs themselves need less speed to run, but they can only do soo much. some apps will be fine, others will suffer greatly.
I'd really like to see the youtube app allow me to pin videos in a corner of the screen and run the browser at the same time. certain videos on youtube I can just listen to while doing other tasks, but can't with android because the videos go away and stop playing when the app is minimized. the least they could do is make a desktop widget that streams the video you selected in a respectable size, and clicking the video could maximize youtube.
dual, triple, and quad panes would be nice for some usage scenarios. but I'd say some apps would probably be incompatible, as in look funky or cut off, making them hard or impossible to use.
I'd really like to see the youtube app allow me to pin videos in a corner of the screen and run the browser at the same time. certain videos on youtube I can just listen to while doing other tasks, but can't with android because the videos go away and stop playing when the app is minimized. the least they could do is make a desktop widget that streams the video you selected in a respectable size, and clicking the video could maximize youtube.
dual, triple, and quad panes would be nice for some usage scenarios. but I'd say some apps would probably be incompatible, as in look funky or cut off, making them hard or impossible to use.
- - - Updated - - -
yeah multiple open windows is about the best thing they could do right now. but I think they're trying to stay away from it because part of androids speedyness is due to the fact that the processor focuses mainly on one app at a time. if you start throwing multiple apps in there, you're going to be seeing some speed issues. keep in mind, 1.5Ghz ARM quad core is not even really as fast as a 1Ghz x86 dual core. You just don't notice much because ARM completely removes the possibility to run certain high powered tasks common in x86, so the programs themselves need less speed to run, but they can only do soo much. some apps will be fine, others will suffer greatly.
I'd really like to see the youtube app allow me to pin videos in a corner of the screen and run the browser at the same time. certain videos on youtube I can just listen to while doing other tasks, but can't with android because the videos go away and stop playing when the app is minimized. the least they could do is make a desktop widget that streams the video you selected in a respectable size, and clicking the video could maximize youtube.
dual, triple, and quad panes would be nice for some usage scenarios. but I'd say some apps would probably be incompatible, as in look funky or cut off, making them hard or impossible to use.
Apps running in the background is extremely different than how Windows functions. For apps, there are two processes: Activities and Services. When you have an app open, the window you are looking at is an Activity and when something is running in the backround, it is a Service. There is no point in time that two Activities are running at the same time. When an Activity loses focus, it gets frozen and any process that's running when that activity loses focus gets paused/killed so it isn't consuming CPU cycles. Allowing multiple windows would be nice, but it will be a huge change and it will cause a significant hit to performance.
I use HD widgets for that. It's not a 'toggle' though, it just opens the GPS settings page. Probably because it has a disclaimer you have to agree to.
I would like a mute toggle in the settings pulldown, or how about making the pulldown customizable for all the settings?
Jnorton2724
Well-known member
Yes. Just yes. Device back up would be so sexy when I switch android phones but I don't think its possible.
IPhone 5 is the same as the next iPhone 5 so that makes doing a back up easier I assume? If I back up my HTC one and load it on my Nexus 4 or the next Nexus phone that might be tricky, I would think.
EDIT: Quoting someone doesn't work for me on this app. Oh well.
Sent from my HTC One
IPhone 5 is the same as the next iPhone 5 so that makes doing a back up easier I assume? If I back up my HTC one and load it on my Nexus 4 or the next Nexus phone that might be tricky, I would think.
EDIT: Quoting someone doesn't work for me on this app. Oh well.
Sent from my HTC One
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