Gimme a break: The features we won’t see in Android Kit Kat

BY GreenBot Staff

Published 30 Oct 2013

In light of the blah-fest that will surely be Android 4.4 Kit Kat, we’re already looking forward to next year’s version of the OS with all the patience of a child on tmas Eve. ’re due for a major version update, we want it to be something that makes everyone sit up take notice.

’ve taken the time to gather a list of shortcomings that we believe could better address in the next version of Android. There’s no guarantee will tackle any of these issues within the next 12 months, but we hope that at least some of them are on the company’s short list.

Now with attitude

‘at’s the weather like, Morgan Freeman?’

No matter how you feel about Apple’s Siri, you have to admit that its attitude is part of what makes it so endearing—even as it mispronounces your name or fails to answer your question. The voice-search component in Now is already magnitudes better than Apple’s offering, but can crank things up a notch by giving its voice assistant some much-needed personality. Heck, while is at it, how about letting us download different voice packs so we can choose who talks back to us? would definitely pay extra to have Morgan Freeman tell us how to get to our destination.

swear these aren’t live tiles

ctured: Obviously not live tiles.

does a great job of presenting information so you get what you need at a glance. dgets follow that line of thinking, but they are awkwardly shaped often take up too much valuable space on your home screen.

One solution would be to replace the stard app widgets with cards like the ones you get on Now. Not only would Android look better, but also you wouldn’t have to dig through your apps to find out the weather or see if any interesting places are nearby. You know, exactly like the live tiles on ndows one…except without the ndows one part.

Android with special offers

t’s face it: Android devices can be pricey. Even if you buy your phone on contract, usually you’re still paying $200 to $300 for a top-of-the-line hset locked into a two- or even three-year agreement. Android tablets also suffer from hefty price tags, often retailing for $500 or $600. could help mitigate the costs by providing a “special offers” version of Android, much as Amazon does with its Kindle devices.

ones tablets running this version of Android would cost less, but would serve ads to offset the reduced price. If you wanted to remove the ads, you’d be able to do so by paying a modest fee just as you can on Amazon’s Kindles. is no stranger to aggressively priced hardware, offering even more budget-friendly devices would help exp the company’s reach to people who normally wouldn’t be able to afford a smartphone or tablet.

A true Android experience

Bloatware manufacturer modifications are the bane of Android. Millions of people will never get to experience Android the way wants them to, because—save for a select few devices—most Android tablets phones have some sort of overlay running atop the OS.

Not only are these unwanted extras annoying, but they also contribute to Android’s fragmentation problems typically aren’t all that beneficial. will probably offer up some sort launcher to make the home page app drawer look like a “pure” Nexus device, but that’s a half-measure.

The real answer would be a Nexus toggle in the options menu. Something that doesn’t just hide all that bloatware beneath a clean coat of paint, but excises it to a separate partition. This Android Experience toggle would reboot your phone, not load any of the background processe, apps, launchers, skins foisted upon you by your manufacturer. Of course, you may give up some fancy functions in the process, but you could always flip the switch reboot back to the l of bred overlays bundled apps.

can’t imagine ‘s hardware partners, the carriers that insist on preloading apps (we’re looking at you, Verizon), would take kindly to this sort of thing, so it will probalby never happen. But we can dream, can’t we?

Multiwindow multitasking

Say what you will about Samsung, but the company’s multiwindow approach to multitasking is phenomenal on tablets other large-screened devices. Being able to run two or more apps side by side is a real boon to productivity, so why shouldn’t adopt the functionality for the next version of Android?

Having two apps running side by side can have its benefits.

Now instead of just being on Twitter while watching TV, you can also look up an actor’s IMDb page shop on Amazon without having to jump in out of apps. Obviously your mileage would vary depending on how new your device is, you wouldn’t be able to run all apps side by side, but your tablet would finally feel more like a replacement for your than a pure entertainment machine.

can even keep things “in the family” by saying it stole the idea from Samsung, though the feature has been stard on ndows 8 tablets for over a year.

So what do you want in the next version of Android? ave your suggestions in the comments below. You never know—maybe is paying attention.