A report published today suggests that the next version of Android that is KitKat will focus more on low-end smartphones, wearable tech (smartwatches and like), and smart TVs. The report came from Amit Efrati who is ex-WSJ reporter. He got access to the Android documents Google shared with Android device makers, according to those docs Google is working hard to address the Android’s fragmentation issue.
Less than half of the Android devices are running the latest version Jelly Bean, if you compare this with Apple almost two-thirds of Apple devices are on latest software. This fragmentation is becoming a hurdle for developers as they can’t push the latest versions of their apps to most of the devices. To address this issue Google is making sure that KitKat runs both on low-end devices and high-end devices without memory constraints.
According to the report KitKat optimizes the memory in every major component and provides tools for developers to create memory-efficient applications for entry level devices that has 512MB RAM.
Android KitKat will also include support for three new type of sensors: geomagnetic rotation vector, step detector and step counter. These sensors are geared towards the wearable tech, like the rumored smartwatch from Google, non Google devices etc. These sensors will also great for fitness apps for accurately tracking number of steps.
KitKat will also allow developers to create apps for controlling TVs, tuners and switchers. The high-end devices like Galaxy S4 and HTC One already have IR blasters. But with the new features developers will be able to write apps for wide range of devices and future Android phones will also work as remote controls.
