Google announces Android 4.4 KitKat

Android 4.4 KitKat was announced alongside with the Nexus 5. As expected, the new Nexus 5 is the first phone to run this version.

The Android 4.4 KitKat aims to reach the next 1 billion users and it will scale automatically to fit on the devices with as little as 512 MB of RAM.

The Android 4.4 KitKat has brings new design to the UI, which has been polished and it looks better.

The following are some new features and improvements from Android 4.4 KitKat:

Beautiful & Immersive

A more polished design, improved performance, and new features.

Just say “OK Google”

You don’t need to touch the screen to get things done. When on your home screen or in Google Now, just say “OK Google” to launch voice search, send a text, get directions or even play a song.

A work of art

While listening to music on your device, or while projecting movies to Chromecast, you’ll see beautiful full-screen album and movie art when your device is locked. You can play, pause, or seek to a specific moment.

Immerse yourself

The book you're reading, the game you're playing, or the movie you're watching — now all of these take center stage with the new immersive mode, which automatically hides everything except what you really want to see. Just swipe the edge of the screen to bring back your status bar and navigation buttons.

Faster multitasking

Android 4.4 takes system performance to an all-time high by optimizing memory and improving your touchscreen so that it responds faster and more accurately than ever before. This means that you can listen to music while browsing the web, or race down the highway with the latest hit game, all without a hitch.

Smart & Simple

Google smarts improve every corner of the Android experience.

The future is calling

The new phone app automatically prioritizes your contacts based on the people you talk to the most. You can also search for nearby places and businesses, your contacts, or people in your Google Apps domain.

A smarter caller ID

Whenever you get a call from a phone number not in your contacts, your phone will look for matches from businesses with a local listing on Google Maps.

All your messages in the same place

Never miss a message, no matter how your friend sends it. With the new Hangouts app, all of your SMS and MMS messages are together in the same app, alongside your other conversations and video calls. And with the new Hangouts, you can even share your location and send animated GIFs.

Emoji everywhere

Sometimes words can’t express how you feel. For that, there’s Emoji, the colorful Japanese characters, now available on Google Keyboard.

Grab & Go

New features help you get things done while you’re on the move.

Print wherever, whenever

Now you can print photos, documents, and web pages from your phone or tablet. You can print to any printer connected to Google Cloud Print, to HP ePrint printers, and to other printers that have apps in the Google Play Store.

Pick a file, any file

From apps like Quickoffice, you can open and save files on Google Drive, other cloud storage services, or your device. And with quick access to recently used files, it's easier than ever to send the file you were just working on.

Your office, anywhere

Create and edit documents, spreadsheets and presentations from your phone or tablet with the newly redesigned Quickoffice.

Bluetooth MAP support

Android now supports the Message Access Profile (MAP) so Bluetooth-enabled cars can exchange messages with your devices.

Chromecast support

With your Android device and a Chromecast, you can enjoy your favorite online entertainment, from Netflix, YouTube, Hulu Plus, and Google Play on your HDTV.

Chrome web view

Applications that embed web content now use Chrome to render web components accurately and quickly

Closed captioning

Android now supports closed captioning and subtitles. To turn on closed captioning, go to Settings > Accessibility and turn on Captions.

Device management built-in

If you ever lose your device, you can find or wipe it with the Android Device Manager

Downloads app redesign

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.

HDR+ photography

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.

Music and movie-seeking from lock screen

Jump to a specific part of a song or video from your lock screen. Just long press on the play or pause button and then select the point you want.

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.

Touchscreen improvements

Improved software and Nexus 5’s new hardware mean Android responds to your touch faster and more accurately than ever before.

Google has confirmed that the Galaxy Nexus will not receiving the latest Android KitKat update, the update will be available in Nexus 4, Nexus 10, Nexus 7 (2013) and Nexus 7 (2012), while the Nexus 5 will be run out of the box.

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