Android 4.4 KitKat release date, features and rumours

What to expect from Android 4.4 KitKat

Android 4.4 KitKat: five whole fingers of fun

With Android 4.3 Jelly Bean now upon us, and the odd new name of Android 4.4 'KitKat' announced, thoughts turn to when Android 4.4 KitKat will arrive and what features it will bring. We've rounded up all the Android 4.4 KitKat release date, features and rumours. Updated 4/9/13.

Google recently launched the new Nexus 7 tablet running Android 4.3 Jelly Bean. So, we expect the Nexus 5 and an updated Nexus 10 to introduce 4.4 KitKat soon. (See also: Why Google has called Android 4.4 'KitKat'.)

We know that the next version of Android will be called KitKat because of a Google+ posting from Sundar Pichai. But that's about all we know: as yet there are no details on when the new operating system will surface or what it will feature, but the KitKat announcement will likely kickstart another round of the rumour mill. Here is what we already know about the OS previously known as Android 5.0 Key Lime Pie. SeeAndroid Advisor.

Android 4.4 KitKat: release date

With Google's I/O developer conference in May, many of us had hoped to finally see the much anticipated unveiling of what we then knew as 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, no Android 5.0 Key Lime Pie or new Nexus hardware was announced. And we now know that the OS we were looking for was Android 4.4 KitKat. See also: Google I/O announcement roundup: Android, Google Play, Google+, Chrome and Maps. 

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 (or KitKat), on either the Google Nexus 4 smartphone or Google Nexus 7 tablet. 

Adding fuel to the rumours that Android 5.0 has been delayed, in July 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. Whether this means that Android 4.4 is a separate product to Android 5.0 remains to be seen, although because of Google's alphabetical naming system we'd expect that KitKat is what was once meant to be Key Lime Pie. 

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 rumoured to be in development, it is increasingly likely that Google will use these new devices on which to peddle Android 4.4 KitKat. We suspect that these will arrive around the end of October or early November. So expect KitKat then.

Android 4.4 KitKat: 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. Rumours 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 4.4 KitKat.  

Should Google announce Android 4.4 KitKat on its forthcoming Nexus 5, the mobile operating system will also be rolled out to its Nexus 4 smartphone and other Nexus devices.

The Nexus 5 - and Android 4.4 KitKat - are likely to appear toward the latter part of 2013, perhaps the end of October/early November. 

Android 4.4 KitKat: Google Nexus 11

Earlier this year 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 4.4 KitKat, 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 4.4 KitKat. 

Android 4.4 KitKat: features & performance 

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. 

Let us know in the comments section below what you'd like to see in Android 4.4 KitKat.