aks about the upcoming Android 4.3 release don’t seem to bother , given that one of its employees just sold a Nexus 4 phone with the unreleased operating system installed.
San Francisco Bay Area resident ff , who supposedly bought the phone from a r on Craigslist, was kind enough to share the system files with the world. It seems like a sign that an official release of Android 4.3 is imminent, especially with a event scheduled for next week.
at do we actually know about Android 4.3? Not much, at least in terms of major features. Going only by what we’ve seen, Android 4.3 looks like a minor update focused on under-the-hood improvements subtle interface tweaks. Here’s a rundown of what the leaks shown so far:
cation-based battery improvements: As Android lice has noted, Android 4.3 may contain new power settings that keep -Fi scanning turned on at all times, even when -Fi is off. ile this sounds like a potential battery killer, it could help save power for location-based apps, because they’ll be able to rely on -Fi triangulation instead of the more power-hungry G to figure out where you are. This could be a big part of ’s plan to offer more power-efficient location tools to app developers.
Bluetooth AVRC1.3: Bluetooth w Energy is a way for phones to connect with other devices, such as fitness bs smartwatches, without sapping lots of power. though some Android phones support Bluetooth already, support in stock Android will be important for ’s Nexus devices—especially if plans to build its own smartwatch. As for AVRC1.3, it’s a way for connected audio devices, such as car speakers, to display song information when connected via Bluetooth.
Improved camera app: The ay ition HTC One Samsung Galaxy S4 both include a new camera app, with controls that are closer to the bottom of the screen instead of dead-center in the focus area. It’s a minor tweak, but one that should help people who snap photos with just one h. The photo editor includes some new filters as well. It’s no surprise that this improved camera app is on the way to Android 4.3.
Android lice
Notification mystery features: Another bit of detective work by Android lice turned up signs of new notification features in Android 4.3. You might be able to view your entire notification history from within third-party apps, or you could potentially customize the notification bar in the same way you can install a custom home screen in Android. At the moment, however, this is all just speculation.
Minor tweaks: Right now, the hackers at XDA-Developers are digging through the leak in a hunt for other changes. The stuff they’ve discovered so far includes nature-themed emojis, auto-complete in the dialer (a feature already found on many non-stock Android phones), lots of bug fixes. There’s talk of new widgets a modified Roboto font, but no specifics.
l in all, these are small changes, but they still make for an important update that will help Android become a cleaner operating system. And there’s always a chance has more in store. ’ll probably find out all the details on ly 24, when is expected to announce a new Nexus 7 tablet.
