It's that time again! at to expect in Kit Kat, 's imminent Android release

Every day is a tease: ll launch Kit Kat today? s that really the Nexus 5 we saw floating around in that one video? Is this real life?

The Android scene is never short on rumors speculation, so distinguishing between what’s hearsay what’s legit can be difficult. though we can certainly conjure up a list of wild features that we hope will announce in the 4.4 version of Android (if only for shock value), brazen speculation can take us only so far.

th that in mind, it’s time to distill everything that is actually relevant informative among all the Kit Kat rumormongering, to pick out what we might plausibly expect to see in the next version of Android.

Even more cloud living

Android is already heavily cloud-centric, so it sts to reason that will fold more native integration of cloud services into the next Android version. Take Cloud int, which lets you print from an Android device to a Cloud int–connected printer. It was released earlier this year as a st-alone application in the ay Store, but judging from a leaked screenshot (below) of an early build of Kit Kat, will likely roll the feature into Android rather than offer it as a separate download.

might also integrate llet directly into the OS, giving new energy to its ‘Tap to y’ feature, which allows you to pay for small, sundry items (Starbucks coffee, McDonalds swiches) with your phone. The same leaked screenshots that suggest cloud printing is on deck also reveal a yments section in the Settings menu (see below), lending credence to the notion that you’ll no longer have to navigate through to the ay Store to enter or edit your payment information. That convenience alone could get more people to use ’s llet platform.

The direct integration of llet might also quell the proliferation of competing payment apps, not to mention the Isis alliance that pits AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon against llet. A new, baked-in llet could include functionality similar to AirDrop in iOS, too, letting you “beam” money (instead of files) to friends. You may never have to carry cash again.

A ‘ Experience’

It sounds a bit more farfetched than some of the other rumors making the rounds, but Android 4.4 Kit Kat might launch alongside a Experience option that lets you, well, “purify” your phone’s interface. A log-file leak suggests evidence of an upcoming app called Home that acts as a launcher essentially overlays the stock environment on top of whatever custom interface your device is running.

Similar to the Developer itions of Android hardware, the launcher would be released in the ay Store as a coding tool, making it cheaper easier for developers to emulate the stock Android environment on any phone that runs Android 4.4. There’s definitely precedent for this type of utility, as released “pure” Android editions of the HTC One Samsung Galaxy S 4 earlier this year in part to give developers more hardware to work with than just the Nexus devices. Releasing an app to serve developer needs certainly makes sense, but obviously we don’t know how the tool might roll out to the general public.

ile Android enthusiasts would certainly welcome a purification toggle, the device manufacturers wouldn’t be so keen on it. HTC Samsung wouldn’t be able to force their Sense Touchz UIs on users, that would rob them of bring opportunities, as well as the extension of their own app ecosystems. That said, the hardware companies might be able to reach a compromise: If Experience takes the form of a launcher, then all applications—including bloatware apps introduced by the hardware companies, carriers, third-party app stores—would remain intact.

An interface makeover

en we talked to app developers during the lead-up to Android’s five-year anniversary, several of them posited that will not only introduce an updated Holo aesthetic but also make its new design parameters more malleable. Now, some ostensible Kit Kat leaks show evidence of elements such as a transparent status bar with new icons a “flatter” look that matches what Apple Microsoft are sporting with their mobile operating systems.

You can see what Android 4.4. Kit Kat might look like in the mockup images that Android lice published earlier this month, one of which is below.

Meanwhile, an Italian Android site called TuttoAndroid posted several blurry screenshots of a puported new app drawer lock screen. Check it out below.

’re also expecting to push the navigation drawer stard already implemented in its Gmail app across the OS itself. In short: Android interface elements related apps will be updated with navigational menus that slide in from the left. Using this design stard consistently throughout the Android environment could help mitigate the design confusion caused by device manufacturers that use their own custom hardware soft-button configurations.

Indeed, unlike iOS, Android always looks different from one phone to the next, so tightening up the design parameters can only help to deliver a more consistent user experience. Navigation drawers are already live in the latest ay 4.4 update, which began rolling out late last week. If you haven’t seen the update on your phone yet, don’t worry—neither have we. If you’re aching to take advantage of the new drawer, Android Central has some helpful tips on trying to force the update.

Messages done away with altogether

A recent post on the Android Developers Blog states that users will be able to choose their default messaging application in Kit Kat. ’re hoping that also means a new Messages platform, which Android lice has “all but confirmed.”

’ve already seen roll Talk into Hangouts, unifying the two applications, announced during its “A Morning with +” livestream that SMS will be possible through Hangouts. If that proves to be the case, may eliminate the Messages app entirely roll its features into Hangouts. It may also take a page out of the Apple BlackBerry messaging-app playbooks by allowing users to send texts over -Fi, finally enabling better group texting. Maybe Android’s version of emoji symbols won’t be so hard to use, either.

l the necessary patches

Every new version of Android usually comes with its own performance fixes bug patches. Android 4.2.2 introduced a built-in malware checker a few other added security features, while Android 4.3 lly Bean brought with it better memory management. expect that Kit Kat will do the same.