[Android new features] improved apparent Android 4.4 system new feature parsing

Android 4.3 released six months later, Android 4.4 with a new generation of NEXUS5 in front of the user, named after the Jelly Bean (jelly Bean) replaced with KitKat (Kit Kat). How does this new system improve, is it worth the upgrade, and here's a new feature for Android 4.4.

KitKat is not the savior of the old phone.
As is known to all, the Android model has been difficult to upgrade the problem. The new version of Android system to the requirements of more and more high, especially memory, 1GB demand, let the old model feel powerless. Also makes many cheap handset manufacturers tend to adopt the old version of the Android system. Android systems on the market have been fragmented, and as of October 2013, the Android 2.3 system released in 2010 also had 29% of Android Market share.
Believing that Google is aware of the seriousness of the problem, the Android 4.4 is optimized for older Android devices, a major feature that was not available in previous versions. Android 4.4 simplifies every important part of the system to reduce the need for memory capacity in Android, with the result that the device can run the Android 4.4 system smoothly with just 512MB of memory. In addition, Google provides developers with memory usage analysis tools to help developers better monitor their applications and reduce RAM usage.
"512MB of Memory enough" such a message is really ecstatic, but we also do not be happy too early, after all, pretending not to be loaded with the use of not good is a different thing. Google says 512MB of memory is enough, just for the operating system itself. In fact, from Android 2.3 to Android 4.4, if you do not install third-party software, the single-core processor +512MB memory basically can ensure the smooth operation of the system, but after installing the app, everything changed. And even Android 4.4 can guarantee the low-end model to open more apps without cards. To know that the official upgrade decision is made by OEMs or operators, handset manufacturers are not intended to upgrade the old device, but choose to sell more new equipment. Even Google said that the Galaxy nexus of this dual-core 1GB memory model because the processor model is too old to upgrade Android 4.4, those single-core 512MB memory models can still count on it?


New Taste of Interface design
By convention, every time the Android system upgrades, the interface design will also change, the Android 4.4 is no exception. In the new Android 4.4, the system interface becomes more neutral. In the previous Android 4.0~4.3, the system color is very conspicuous blue, touch feedback, etc. are also this high contrast blue. In many cases, such high contrast blue will have a strong conflict with the personalized color used in the app icon. In Android 4.4, the system's color is less conspicuous, but more neutral, gray color to avoid conflicts with the applied color. For example, you will find that when the system comes with a button touch, it indicates that the highlight has changed from the original highlighted blue color to a 10% black matte, which does not conflict with the icon color. With this change, developers can be more daring to use rich colors in their applications. Google in the new system Android 4.4 also adjusted some of the interface design, redesigned white status bar icon, clock, dial-up interface, the system's internal interface lines are replaced with white. Both the lock screen and the navigation and status bar on the home screen are transparent, and developers can use the translucent UI style since the app was adjusted.


New color scheme for Android 4.4


Android 4.4 Color Change


The navigation and status bar are applied to the transparency effect, and the visible area is larger.


In this Android 4.4, the immersive experience has been re-hardened to provide a "full-screen mode" (Full-screen Immersive mode). The full-screen mode is divided into two kinds, one called the Retreat (Lean back), the other is called immersion (Immersive). The retreat has been used extensively in previous systems-when you watch videos in the Youku app, your fingers don't touch the screen most of the time. In this case, the virtual keys and the status bar will be automatically hidden, but they will appear when you touch the screen. And the new immersion is not the same, in the immersive full-screen state, the operation of the screen will not call out the system bar. To call out the system bar, you must enter the screen from the top/bottom edge of the screen. Immersive full-screen status is more suitable for gaming and reading applications. The system prompts you for the first time you enter an immersive full-screen state of an app. So, where did the previous low-profile model go? Google's recommendation is to use a full-screen mode on the new system, using a low-key mode in the previous system.


Immersive full-screen status


Preparing for wearable devices
Since the launch of Google Glass, Google has been preparing for the emergence of wearable computing devices, Android 4.4 This feature update also proves this trend. Android 4.4 has added support for three sensor categories: geomagnetic rotation vectors, footstep detectors and pedometer, which are likely to be Android smart watches, Google glasses and non-Google factory devices, Android 4.4 built-in pedometer and other fitness applications. With more manufacturers adding motion sensors to their products, Android mobile apps that track people's movements will also benefit from this new feature.
The new system also includes two new Bluetooth profiles, with lower power consumption and more supported devices, including swapping maps with Bluetooth devices in the car. At the same time, the new Infrared remote control interface can support more devices, including TVs, switches and so on.


More user-friendly dialer and message transmitters
Android 4.4 offers a new dialer that helps users get phone numbers more easily with search capabilities. When a user enters a company name, the dialer can also get the corresponding phone number from the Google Maps database, even if the company's phone number is not known or the phone number is not stored in the Address book. The new pager also incorporates local data and can query the search history. This also allows the phone to provide information about the caller, and the unsaved call is automatically flagged to GoogleMaps.
Android has been missing apps like imessage in iOS, which finally made up for this regret in Android 4.4, integrating text, video and multimedia information experiences through Hangouts. Hangouts is especially useful for users who are moving from the BlackBerry platform to Android. With hangouts, users can not only add photos from their local media library but also include photos from cloud storage services such as Google Drive and box when they send messages. However, Google Hangouts does not force users to make them the default app, and users can choose a third-party app that has both "send" and "receive" SMS messages as the default.


Dialer for Android 4.4


Written at the end:
These are some of the more important improvements in Android 4.4. Of course, Android 4.4 also has a lot of interesting features and gameplay, such as Bluetooth enhancement, NFC, wireless printing and other functions have yet to be experienced and development. However, compared to the previous system "0.1" series of updates, Android 4.4 will focus on the optimization of the system and functional improvements, which makes people bright. After all, Google also needs to stop and look at the needs of the user experience, rather than peremptorily in the direction of new features.


Read more: Google's cooperation with Nestlé
Named after the name of the food system is Google's tradition, this time why Google to the new version of the Android system named KitKat it? Google's Android Engineering director, Hiros Lockheimer, is said to be a big fan of KitKat, who set up his Gmail avatar as a KitKat icon a few years ago. In 2010, the Android team even stuffed his office with KitKat.
In November 2012, the Android global co-director, John Lagrin, called Nestlé to work on the KitKat name until the February 2013 World Mobile Conference in Barcelona, two companies finally reached a cooperation agreement. The company's cooperation with Nestlé did not involve money trading, and while Google was getting the name of the new system, Nestlé would sell a pack of 50 million commemorative versions of the Android robot logo on its packaging, with the total number of KitKat, and buyers of these KitKat had a chance to win the Nexus 7 tablets and Google Play App Store gift cards.
Prior to the release of Android 4.4, both parties had consciously kept the cooperation secret in order to achieve explosive publicity. Google has been using key Lime PIE's development code, even Google's employees and partners are not aware of this. Nestlé, however, has specially crafted 500 Android robot-shaped KitKat to commemorate the partnership, claiming that the KitKat was "weeks" in "a secret location in Europe".


Pack the KitKat with Android robot pattern