Android 4.4 “KitKat” is a version of the Android mobile operating system developed by Google. Google announced Android 4.4 KitKat on September 3, 2013. Although initially under the “Key Lime Pie” (“KLP”) codename, the name was changed because “very few people actually know the taste of a key lime pie.” Some technology bloggers also expected the “Key Lime Pie” release to be Android 5. KitKat debuted on Google’s Nexus 5 on October 31, 2013, and was optimised to run on a greater range of devices than earlier Android versions, having 512 MB of RAM as a recommended minimum; those improvements were known as “Project Svelte” internally at Google. The required minimum amount of RAM available to Android is 340 MB, and all devices with less than 512 MB of RAM must report themselves as “low RAM” devices.

Development

Android KitKat is a “Bridge-Version” to Android Lollipop, Android KitKat’s UI is similar to Jelly Bean and Ice Cream Sandwich but more simple and with faded transparency on the menu button.

KitKat’s new features

User interface and apps

  • Refreshed interface with white elements instead of blue
  • Clock no longer shows bold hours; all digits are thin. The H, M, and S markings for the stopwatch and timer have been removed, leaving just the numbers.
  • New framework for UI transitions
  • Ability for applications to trigger translucency in the navigation and status bars
  • Ability for applications to use “immersive mode” to keep the navigation and status bars hidden while maintaining user interaction
  • Action overflow menu buttons are always visible, even on devices with a “Menu” key, which was officially deprecated by Android 4.0.
  • Wi-Fi and mobile data activity (TX/RX) indicators are moved to quick settings
  • Settings application no longer uses a multi-pane layout on devices with larger screens
  • Settings application now makes it possible to select default text messaging and home (launcher) application
  • Built-in screen recording feature (primarily for developers, as usage of ADB is required)

WebView

  • WebView components now based on Chromium engine (feature parity with Chrome 30 for Android)
  • Disables text wrapping in the WebView browser component

Storage

  • Restriction for applications when accessing external storage, except for their own directories. This restriction was later removed in Android Lollipop.
  • Storage Access Framework, an API allowing apps to retrieve files in a consistent manner. As part of the framework, a new system file picker allows users to access files from various sources (including those exposed by apps, such as online storage services).

APIs

  • Optimizations for performance on devices with lower specifications, including zRAM support and “low RAM” device API
  • Public API for developing and managing text messaging clients
  • Sensor batching, step detector and counter APIs
  • Native infrared blaster API
  • Expanded accessibility APIs and system-level closed captioning settings
  • Android Runtime (ART) introduced as a new experimental application runtime environment, not enabled by default, as a replacement for the Dalvik virtual machine

Hardware

  • Wireless printing capability
  • Bluetooth Message Access Profile (MAP) support
  • NFC host card emulation, enabling a device to replace smart cards
  • Audio tunneling, audio monitoring and loudness enhancer
  • Disabled access to battery statistics by third-party applications

Other

  • Expanded functionality for notification listener services

Minor releases

4.4.1 December 5, 2013

  • Improvements to auto-focus, white balance and HDR+ for the Nexus 5 camera
  • Camera application now loads Google+ Photos instead of Gallery when swiping away from the camera view
  • Better application compatibility for the experimental Android Runtime (ART)
  • Miscellaneous improvements and bugfixes

4.4.2 December 9, 2013

  • Further security enhancements and bugfixes
  • Removal of the “App Ops” application permissions control system, introduced in Android 4.3

4.4.3 June 2, 2014

  • Refreshed Dialer app interface
  • Updated the Chromium-based WebView to version 33 (screencasting to DevTools, HTML5 Canvas hardware acceleration performance improvements, vibration API, HTML5 form validation, HTML5 datalist)
  • Miscellaneous improvements and bugfixes

4.4.4 June 19, 2014

  • CVE-2014-0224 fixed, eliminating an OpenSSL man-in-the-middle vulnerability.

Wearable extensions

Google also released a version of KitKat designed for smartwatches and other wearables named Android Wear; Android Wear was announced on March 18, 2014, along with the release of a developer preview. Android 4.4W, 4.4W.1 and 4.4W.2 are Android Wear platforms for smartwatches similar to Android KitKat for phones and tablets, but with wearable extensions added.

4.4W June 25, 2014

Initial release of Android Wear platform for smartwatches: the same as Android 4.4 “KitKat”, but with wearable extensions added

4.4W.1 September 6, 2014

UI updates for Google Maps navigation and alarms

4.4W.2 October 21, 2014

Offline music playback GPS support

Development
Android logo
Releases
Derivatives
Nexus devices
Google Play edition
Forks and distributions
Applications
APIs
Alternative
user interfaces
Other
Related topics

References

  1. ^ “Android Google Source”. Google Git. Retrieved August 19, 2014.