News by: Robert Nazarian 31st October 2013
As we all know that Google has officially taken the wrapper off the newest version of their operating system, Android 4.4 KitKat.this will be rolling to devices soon. Google is calling it Beautiful and Immersive and says it has a more polished design, improved performance, and new features. What are those features. Well lets get started.
You can now say “OK Google” from your home screen or in Google Now. This
will launch voice search and also allow you send a text, get directions
or play a song. For now, this will only be available on the Nexus 5
When your device is locked, you will see full-screen album art when you
are listening to music or projecting movies to Chromecast. You will also
get Play, Pause, and Seek.
Immersive Mode: Automatically hides your navigation buttons and status
bar when playing a game or reading. Developers need to implement this
with their app. When you’re ready to navigate, just swipe the edge of
your screen.
Faster Multitasking: Android 4.4 has optimized memory better and improves the touchscreen.
New Phone App: automatically prioritizes your contacts based on how
frequently you talk to them. Searching for nearby places, contacts, or
people in your Google Apps domain has been added. Google will search
through local listings in Google Maps for those callers that are not in
your Caller ID.
Hangouts updated: SMS and MMS integration within Hangouts. You can even share your location as well as send animated GIFs.
Emoji support now available in the Google Keyboard
Print whenever or wherever: Print photos, documents, and web pages
directly to Google Cloud Print, HP ePrint printers, or to other printers
that have apps in the Google Play Store.
Quickoffice has been redesigned:
You can now open and save files on Google Drive, other cloud storage services, or your device.
And Also:
Bluetooth MAP support: Android now supports the Message Access
Profile (MAP) so Bluetooth-enabled cars can exchange messages with your
devices.
Applications that embed web content now use Chrome to render web components accurately and quickly.
Closed captioning now supported
The Downloads app has been redesigned, giving you new sorting options
and list and grid views for all the files you’ve downloaded.
Easy home screen switching: If you love to customize your device and
have installed one or more home screen replacements, you can switch
between them easily in Settings > Home.
Email app refresh: The redesigned Email app has a fresh new look with nested folders, contact photos and better navigation.
Full-screen wallpapers with preview: Your wallpaper now extends
through the notification tray and system buttons. And when you change
your wallpaper, you can preview just how it will look before you set it.
Camera – HDR+ mode on Nexus 5 automatically snaps a rapid burst of
photos and combines them to give you the best possible single shot.
Daytime pictures are vivid with clean shadows, and nighttime photos are
sharp with less noise.
Infrared blasting: On devices with an infrared (IR) blaster, Android
now supports applications for remote control of TVs and other nearby
devices.
Location in Quick Settings: Access your location settings from anywhere with a new tile in Quick Settings.
Location modes and monitoring: If you want to conserve battery, go
to Settings > Location to switch between high accuracy and
battery-saving location modes. There’s no need to toggle GPS, Wi-Fi, and
mobile network settings. And to see which apps have recently requested
your location, go to Settings > Location.
Low-power audio playback: Android 4.4 on Nexus 5 lets you listen to music for longer – up to 60 hours of audio playback.
Secure app sandboxes: Application sandboxes have been hardened with Security-Enhanced Linux.
Step counting built-in: When you use fitness apps like Moves on
Nexus 5, the phone acts as a pedometer to count steps. Android 4.4 and
updated hardware make this a more battery-friendly way to measure your
activity.
Tap to pay, built a new way: Android 4.4 introduces a new, open
architecture for NFC payments that works with any mobile carrier, and
lets apps manage your payment information in the cloud or on your
device. Now you can tap to pay with Google Wallet or other apps at more
than a million stores.
