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Android 4.3, the next update to Google’s world-conquering mobile software, will come out on 10 June, according to Android and Me’s Taylor Wimberly.
Wimberly went hands-on with the heavily tipped but so far unannounced white version of the Nexus 4, and whichever unnamed Google-related bod had the snowy blower revealed that 4.3 will start rolling out next month.
That’s all unconfirmed and rumourish of course, so take it with a pinch of salt. Various leaks indicated 4.3 would take a bow at Google’s I/O conference this week, but the show’s keynote speech was so rammed full of announcements and new services that the Big G may well have decided to give the new version of Android its own spotlight.
Indeed, Wimberly says Google insiders told him the Big G wanted to show it could launch significant new stuff without having to update Android’s firmware.
The timing next month may well coincide with Apple’s launching iOS 7 at its own WWDC event that day, with Google hoping to cheekily nab at least some of the iPhone’s limelight.
Android 4.3 isn’t expected to be a massive upgrade — fans have been hoping for the jump up to Key Lime Pie, the next alphabetically named dessert to lend its moniker to a significant update, but test code has pointed to it being another version of Jelly Bean.
That’s at least partly because so many Android phones have yet to catch up to Jelly Bean. Only 28 per cent of devices that access the Google Play store are running the latest version, with 2.3 Gingerbread by far the most popular on 38 per cent, despite being over two years old.
Even among Jelly Bean gadgets, the vast majority use Android 4.1, as opposed to the very latest 4.2. So it might not be a bad idea to wait for updates to catch up a little before launching yet another version, which would just make it harder for developers.
Are you gagging for an update to your phone? What would you like to see added to Android? Is Google right to hold off Key Lime Pie? Dish up your thoughts in the comments below, or over on our delicous Facebook page.
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