Google’s Android 4.4 KitKat was announced back in September and we expect the platform to see a release any day now. The latest version of Android is expected to be an upgrade over the previous builds of Android, naturally, but is that all there is to it? Well according to former Wall Street Journal report, Amir Efrati, it seems that apart from introducing various upgrades and improvements to the Android operating system, Android 4.4 KitKat could also be the version of Android that Google might use to target lower-end devices as well as wearable electronics, like a Google-made smartwatch for example.
Efrati claims that through his covert access to some of Android 4.4’s feature list, some of the improvements made could be better memory management that should allow entry-level Android devices to run on a mere 512MB of RAM. While Android fragmentation might not be as bad as it once was, safe to say not all smartphones are running the latest version of Android just yet, meaning that app developers, especially indie ones with no access to a multitude of devices, might have a hard time updating or creating apps for everyone, thus lessening their reach on Android devices.
As for wearable computing devices, the alleged features of Android 4.4 KitKat will support new sensors, such as a step detector, step counter, and geomagnetic rotation vector, all of which sounds like it could be used to make a pretty good fitness device, or at least be used for fitness features. Will all of this truly make its way into Android 4.4 KitKat? We guess we will have to wait and see.
Filed in . Read more about Android 4.4 and Google.