There’s a new version of Android out that will allow your phone or tablet to do some cool new tricks — assuming you can get the update.
Officially called Android 4.4 ,but nicknamed “Kit Kat,” the update, which Google unveiled late last month, helps make the mobile operating system more useful and easier to use. It adds both long-needed features, such as printing support, as well as novel ones, such as the ability to search for the phone numbers of local businesses from within the phone app. It also offers a refreshed, cleaner look.
Perhaps the coolest new feature in Kit Kat is the integration of Google’s voice search into Android’s primary home screen. When on that screen, you simply say, “OK, Google” to initiate a voice search.
But the feature does much more than that. It has essentially become Google’s version of Apple’s Siri. You can use it to launch applications, check the weather, get stock quotes and find out sports scores. It works well, but is more limited than Siri because you can access the feature only from the home screen of Google’s search app. Unlike Siri, you can’t access it from the lock screen or from another app.
Another neat thing about Kit Kat is its updated phone app, which has a search bar that allows users to search not only their list of contacts but also a virtual yellow pages for nearby businesses. The app automatically creates a list of “favorite” contacts, based on who you call most frequently.
Both features are welcome improvements. On other types of phones, you generally have to use another app to search for local businesses and you typically have to create a list of favorite contacts manually.
The app also has some new caller ID abilities. If a local business that’s not in your address book calls you, Google will attempt to match the business’s number with its database of local companies to let you know who is on the phone.
More controversially, the company plans to do the same thing for individuals, identifying callers to strangers based on phone numbers users have linked to their Google accounts. The company will allow users to opt out of the feature when it takes effect next year, but at least right now, it’s not easy to find or understand how to do that.
One novel feature in Kit Kat is the integration of cloud services into the software’s file browser. If you are sending an email, for example, you can now attach documents or photos that are stored not just on the phone itself, but also on services such as Google’s Drive and Dropbox.
Other new things in Kit Kat are “catch-up” features rather than novel ones, because they already are available on Apple’s rival iOS software or on other mobile devices. One is the ability to control movies or songs — pausing, fast forwarding and rewinding them — from a device’s lock screen. Another is native support within the operating system for printing documents.
Other catch-up features include a built-in keyboard with emoji, the cartoonlike icons frequently used in text messages to convey emotions, and a new “immersive” mode, which hides the notification bar and other on-screen controls when users are watching movies or reading books.
Similarly, Google has transformed its Hangouts chat app so that it is now similar to Apple’s iMessage. Like Apple’s app, Hangouts allows users to send free messages within the service, but also allows users to send text and multimedia messages to those outside the service.
You might also notice that Kit Kat offers a slightly new look to Android. The notification bar atop the screen and the task bar near the bottom of the home screens are now transparent, so instead of seeing a white or black bar at the top or bottom of your screen, you see the wallpaper underneath.
The big drawback with Kit Kat, as with all Android updates, is that it’s not clear which devices will be eligible for the new software, or when. You’ll have to check with your phone or tablet’s manufacturer for more definitive word.
Google’s policy is that Android updates should be made available to devices that were released no more than 18 months earlier. That means its own Nexus devices won’t be able to get the Kit Kat update if they were released before June of last year. So, if you have a Galaxy Nexus smartphone, which was released in late 2011, you can’t update it.
Apple generally offers the newest version of its mobile operating software to devices that debuted up to three years before the release of the software, although older devices generally don’t get the latest features.
It’s too bad that Google doesn’t have a similar policy with Kit Kat, because it’s a tasty treat that many Android users would likely enjoy.
What: Android 4.4 operating system
Likes: Google’s Siri-like voice search and command feature added to home screen; new phone app automatically creates list of favorite contacts and allows users to search for nearby businesses; file browser allows users to attach or open files stored in the cloud; new keyboard with emoji characters; native printing support.
Dislikes: Voice search isn’t available from other apps or the lock screen; new caller ID feature in phone app presents privacy concerns; uncertain availability of update for particular devices.
Price: Free
