Google Android 4.0 has barely made it onto about 1% of all Android devices that Google may be gearing up to launch the next major version of the mobile OS. Digitimes is reporting that Google could launch Jelly Bean (Android 5.0) sometime in the second quarter (perhaps at Google I/O 2012?). The move could be tied to Microsoft’s upcoming Windows 8 release and the claim that “Android 4.0 has fallen short of original expectations.”
The report adds that Android 5.0 will feature further optimization for tablet devices. The new version could also make it easier for tablets to support both Android 5.0 and Windows 8 and allow customers to switch between the two without rebooting. Could Google be about to once again split Android into smartphone and tablet versions (as it did with Android 3.0 before reunifying them in Android 4.0)?
Given that most people are still waiting for Android 4.0, a new version (especially with the capabilities listed here), such a launch seems premature. It could end up harming the Android ecosystem more than help it.
This one will stay in the wild rumours category until more information comes to light…
Read more: Digitimes
Jelly Bean? The icon for that are going to be rubbish. How are they heading to produce the android thingy look being a jelly bean? And one more thing: This whole thing about Android for phones and android for Pads being the same, do iPhones and iPads run the same iOS/AppStore? I only ask cos I don’t maintain up with Snapple stuff. I mean, you would like apps to your pad to be optimised for that, and you would like your smartphone apps to become optimised for that, ergo why not have 2 several platforms?