I'm sorry to say that the latest version of Android is not Key Lime Pie. Version 4.2 is staying with the Jellybean name, most likely because it is a smaller update that adds only a few new features. Speaking of features. Let's take a look at the upcoming features that you can expect in the new version.
Multiple user accounts
In this new version, users can make multiple log in accounts for children, a spouse, or anyone else they would like. Each user can customize their home screens, apps, and email addresses. Changing accounts is easy, it is done from the lock screen very similar to a Windows log in screen. This will allow parents to control what apps the child has access to and keeps contacts, emails and other important information away from them. As a parent this is a huge feature. My son has bought apps on more than one occasion, but those issues are a thing of the past.
Google Now updated
Google Now is a virtual assistant that can give you reminders of appointments, weather conditions, traffic, and many other things. It is by far a much better solution than Apple's Siri virtual assistant. However, it isn't perfect. It's getting closer with the new updates in the form of more cards. Now you will receive flight reminders, dinner reservations, local events, movie times and locations, and you can track your shipments all in one place. I personally loved Google Now before the update (it is my favorite thing about Android by far) and now it's just gotten even sweeter.
New camera app
The camera app has been stripped of all the confusing menus opting for another confusing, ring style menu. Just hold the viewfinder to bring up a circle of options and drag your finger over an option to select it. That's not the only thing that has changed, though. A new feature called PhotoSphere has been added. It's like a panoramic photo on steroids. It allows you to take a full 360 degree photo of your surroundings as well as taking vertical panoramic shots. It's a pretty cool feature, but I personally have had access to panoramic photos and I almost never use them.
New keyboard with gesture typing
It seems like Google is never happy with the stock keyboard because every minor update seems to modify it in some way. This is a major update to the keyboard as it adds gesture typing natively. My favorite alternative keyboard is Swype. I use it all the time and I find it much faster and more accurate than the stock keyboard. However, Swype seems to crash...A LOT. It's nice to have the same style of typing integrated into the stock keyboard experience. One improvement over Swype and other gesture based keyboards is that a word bubble pops up showing you what word the keyboard is predicting that you want to type. Neat, but you'll be too busy typing quickly to really make good use of it.
New screen saver
This feature is called Daydream and is totally pointless on a phone, almost pointless on a tablet. Daydream is an old school style, desktop screen saver for your device. It will cycle through random pictures in your camera roll. I have an iPad which has a similar feature but I barely ever use it. Now imagine putting that on a small 4.5" display that is meant to be in your pocket when you aren't using it. Sound very useful? I don't think so.
Miracast, aka Airplay for Android
I don't care what people say, copying Apple is almost always a good thing. Google's latest Xerox is called Miracast. It operates almost the exact same way as Airplay for iOS. It will mirror what is on your display wirelessly to your HDTV, assuming your HDTV is compatible. This makes gaming and sharing photos and videos much more enjoyable on your phone or tablet.
So those are most of the features you can expect in the next release of Android. No news on when it will be released for specific devices but you can expect to wait about a year or so. It is heading to the Nexus 10 and 7 tablets, as well as the Nexus 4 on November 13, 2012. Current Nexus 7 owners should expect the update around the same time. No news yet on Galaxy Nexus or any other Nexus phones receiving the update just yet. As soon as I hear about specific device updates I will let you know.
In this new version, users can make multiple log in accounts for children, a spouse, or anyone else they would like. Each user can customize their home screens, apps, and email addresses. Changing accounts is easy, it is done from the lock screen very similar to a Windows log in screen. This will allow parents to control what apps the child has access to and keeps contacts, emails and other important information away from them. As a parent this is a huge feature. My son has bought apps on more than one occasion, but those issues are a thing of the past.
Google Now updated
Google Now is a virtual assistant that can give you reminders of appointments, weather conditions, traffic, and many other things. It is by far a much better solution than Apple's Siri virtual assistant. However, it isn't perfect. It's getting closer with the new updates in the form of more cards. Now you will receive flight reminders, dinner reservations, local events, movie times and locations, and you can track your shipments all in one place. I personally loved Google Now before the update (it is my favorite thing about Android by far) and now it's just gotten even sweeter.
New camera app
The camera app has been stripped of all the confusing menus opting for another confusing, ring style menu. Just hold the viewfinder to bring up a circle of options and drag your finger over an option to select it. That's not the only thing that has changed, though. A new feature called PhotoSphere has been added. It's like a panoramic photo on steroids. It allows you to take a full 360 degree photo of your surroundings as well as taking vertical panoramic shots. It's a pretty cool feature, but I personally have had access to panoramic photos and I almost never use them.
New keyboard with gesture typing
It seems like Google is never happy with the stock keyboard because every minor update seems to modify it in some way. This is a major update to the keyboard as it adds gesture typing natively. My favorite alternative keyboard is Swype. I use it all the time and I find it much faster and more accurate than the stock keyboard. However, Swype seems to crash...A LOT. It's nice to have the same style of typing integrated into the stock keyboard experience. One improvement over Swype and other gesture based keyboards is that a word bubble pops up showing you what word the keyboard is predicting that you want to type. Neat, but you'll be too busy typing quickly to really make good use of it.
New screen saver
This feature is called Daydream and is totally pointless on a phone, almost pointless on a tablet. Daydream is an old school style, desktop screen saver for your device. It will cycle through random pictures in your camera roll. I have an iPad which has a similar feature but I barely ever use it. Now imagine putting that on a small 4.5" display that is meant to be in your pocket when you aren't using it. Sound very useful? I don't think so.
Miracast, aka Airplay for Android
I don't care what people say, copying Apple is almost always a good thing. Google's latest Xerox is called Miracast. It operates almost the exact same way as Airplay for iOS. It will mirror what is on your display wirelessly to your HDTV, assuming your HDTV is compatible. This makes gaming and sharing photos and videos much more enjoyable on your phone or tablet.
So those are most of the features you can expect in the next release of Android. No news on when it will be released for specific devices but you can expect to wait about a year or so. It is heading to the Nexus 10 and 7 tablets, as well as the Nexus 4 on November 13, 2012. Current Nexus 7 owners should expect the update around the same time. No news yet on Galaxy Nexus or any other Nexus phones receiving the update just yet. As soon as I hear about specific device updates I will let you know.
