Android 5.0 Key Lime Pie: UPDATE

The Android 5.0 Key Lime Pie release date, feature list and other rumors surrounding the software are only presumed at the moment. Google still hasn't confirmed the existence of Android 5.0 Key Lime Pie, but many developers and others invested in the Android community believe that the new operating system could be launched at Google I/O in May 2013. (Photo: developers.google.com / events/io/)

Now that the Samsung Galaxy S4 has been unveiled and discovered to be preloaded with Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean, the biggest Android fans are curious about what might possibly be the next big release for the platform. Though smartphones are always a topic of interest among consumers, fans that are already committed to the platform are more interested in the launch date of next iteration of the Android -- unofficially dubbed Android 5.0 Key Lime Pie.

The Android 5.0 Key Lime Pie release date, feature list and other rumors surrounding the software are only presumed at the moment. Details about Android 5.0 Key Lime Pie are difficult to predict with any certainty. Google still hasn't confirmed the existence of Android 5.0 Key Lime Pie, but many developers and others invested in the Android community believe that the new operating system could be launched at Google I/O in May 2013.

Google I/O is known as a common launching point for many new services that the company launches. In the history of the event, Google I/O has been the release event for the Nexus 7 tablet, Google Glass, Nexus Q, Google+ for tablets, the Android Jelly Bean SDK release and many other technical announcements for the Android operating system.

Google I/O stands for "input and output," and "innovation in the open," two broad-sweeping mantras of the convention. The purpose of the developerconference is essentially promote the creation of building enterprise applications and more with Google platforms such as Android, Chrome, Chrome OS and Google Web Toolkit. Google I/O will take place from May 15-17 at the Moscone Center in San Francisco. Whether or not the Android 5.0 Key Lime Pie release date occurs during Google I/O remains to be seen, but the fact that Android 4.1 Jelly Bean was announced at a recent convention bodes well for fans anxiously awaiting the next iteration of the operating system.

Android 5.0 Key Lime Pie will probably be released with the Motorola X Phone, a smartphone that has been shrouded in secrecy for the last several months. Google hasn't confirmed the Motorola X Phone, either. There isn't much information about the Motorola X Phone available to the public. Still, not everyone has been quiet about the secret project.

"According to [Smarthouse sources], who claim to have spoken with Telstra CTO Hugh Bradlow on the matter, the X Phone will be a 'game changer.' It's supposed to be a 'real breakthrough' that will put pressure on Samsung and Apple, something no one in the smartphone industry has done in a couple of years," reported Kellex of Droid Life, the popular blog dedicated to Android rumors and news.

Though people are interested in the first phone that will run Android 5.0 Key Lime Pie, many more are interested in the features and improvements that Google will unveil during the next iteration of Android OS. There are already many new features that have been added to smartphones, such as gesture-control functions, that may become standardized in the next iteration of Android.

Months ago, Android 5.0 Key Lime was rumored to be the launching pad for aGoogle Now widget. A small snapshot of the Google Now widget appeared briefly on a Google support page before it was taken down. By the time it was taken off of the site, many Android fans grabbed snapshots and other copies of the Google Now widget in order to preserve the evidence. Google inevitably rolled out the Google Now widget on Android 4.2 Jelly Bean.

"...We learned from Android Central that Google is working with the Linux 3.8 kernel, which gives rise to the notion that this kernel might make it into Android 5," reports TechRadar. "One improvement that the 3.8 kernel brings is lowered RAM usage, which would mean a snappier phone with better multitasking."

Android developers have been talking about Android 5.0 Key Lime Pie features in several forums and guessing what features might be included in the next iteration of the operating system. In one of many Android 5.0 feature prediction threads on XDA Developers, user np231 listed the following as his predictions:

1) Profile Management: BB10 has it, Android should offer it too. 
2) Video Calling App: I think we actually need this
3) Text Message Sync: This would be very helpful, I use SMSBackup+, but native functionality would be nice. 

In addition to user np231 from XDA Developers, many other Android fans suspect that Google will address the messaging problem that has existed over the last few generations of Android. Google has several different messaging services -- Google Talk, Google Messenger, Google Voice and Gmail -- that are hardly integrated and make it difficult for users to manage so many inboxes. Reports about Google's new messaging service have already surfaced on several sites..

"Babble continues Google's trend towards organization by conversation. You can share photos in chat windows just like you would in G+ Messenger, start a Hangout with anyone in your contact list, and the conversations are threaded across all the existing services," reports Russell Holly of Geek.com.

"Moving forward, the individual services will all be pushed onto the single platform, and you'll be able to use the same chat window across all of Google's products with the same features available everywhere. It's not so much releasing a new product as it is pulling together all of the existing products under a single branding," he adds.

In addition to new messaging software, Android 5.0 Key Lime Pie is rumored to add extra features to the Samsung Galaxy S4. Rumors of new Samsung software called "Samsung Orb" surfaced online prior to the Galaxy S4 release date, but the software wasn't announced alongside the Galaxy S4. There's a chance that Samsung decided to completely trash the software and not release it on any of its phones, but many Android fans would like to think otherwise.

"Samsung Orb could make its way to the Samsung Galaxy S4, only it may arrive with Android 5.0 Key Lime Pie rather than in an incremental update or a later update," reports Gotta Be Mobile. "This is not confirmed and it could be that the feature is left off the device altogether in favor of Photo Sphere but until Android 5.0 Key Lime Pie rolls out, we won't know."

Android 5.0 Key Lime Pie features that are rumored also included the introduction of performance profiles. Many Android owners complain about the battery life of their devices, and some believe that if consumers were given a better way to manage their battery consumption, they might have a better experience with Android device. Although better power management controls would be a welcome addition to many users, there's a strong chance that users might not want to manage such features and would prefer to keep things automated.

Other Android 5.0 Rumors include a video chatting app that will likely compete with iMessage and small revisions made to existing Google products. Some of the apps that users want revised include Google Calendars, Gmail and the Contacts app in Android. It's still unclear whether Android 5.0 Key Lime Pie will keep the same major design elements included in Android 4.2 Jelly Bean. If it does, there probably won't be many major design changes to Google serviceapps.

The Android 5.0 Key Lime Pie release date, features list and rumors circulating the web are difficult to sift through at this point, and that's mainly because reports are mostly wild speculation. Whether or not Android 5.0 Key Lime Pie is released at Google I/O remains to be seen, but we can't think of a better location. As for the Android 5.0 Key Lime Pie features, anything is possible at this point. We'll keep you posted as more information becomes available.