“Google shows new Android version this week with release in autumn”
Google plans to show the next major Android version, due this fall, at its Google I/O developer conference this week. With this, Google is making a change of course; previously announcement and release followed in quick succession.
That’s what Android CEO Sundar Pichai says in an interview with Businessweek. “I want the world to understand what we are doing sooner,” Pichai said. According to Businessweek, this was partly decided to accommodate developers of Android equipment. They would find a release in the autumn inconvenient because there is not enough time to put new devices in the shops before the holidays. Whether Google, like competitor Apple, will come up with beta versions between announcement and release is not yet known. To ensure that manufacturers can get started faster with new versions of Android, Google already introduced a platform development kit in 2012.
Rumors have been circulating for some time about the upcoming version of Android, which will probably have a code name that starts with the letter L. Google is said to have several new features in the pipeline, such as a revamped user interface, a more powerful camera API, faster app runtime and support for 64-bit SOCs. Earlier this week, screenshots surfaced that are believed to be from this upcoming L release. According to Forbes, the new version will be called Lollipop.
According to the most recent rumors, the release of this new version will coincide with the arrival of a new Nexus tablet, made by HTC. This ‘Nexus 9’ would feature an 8.9″ screen with a 4:3 ratio and a resolution of 2048×1440 pixels. It would be powered by Nvidia’s upcoming Tegra K1 soc that features two custom 64-bit processor cores. and a powerful GPU.
From the interview with Businessweek, it can also be concluded that Google will show various Android Wear smartwatches at its I/O developer conference this week, from LG and Motorola, among others. In addition, Android TV will also be shown for the first time. That will be Google’s second attempt at bringing Android to televisions after Google TV – which the company has been working on for the past few years – flopped.