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View Full Version : Android Jelly Bean not dropping until autumn, hints Google exec



thelostone
28-02-2012, 08:49 PM
Reports that the next major version of Android will drop in late spring or early summer are wide of the mark, comments from a Google mover and shaker suggest.
Earlier this month, Digitimes reported that the search giant harboured plans to make the all-new, 5.0 version of Android, dubbed Jelly Bean, available during the second quarter.

Today, that prospect, which already seemed unlikely, appears even more remote in the wake of comments from Google Vice President of engineering Hiroshi Lockheimer.
In a Q&A with Computerworld, Lockheimer revealed that the hitherto unofficially titled fifth major overhaul of the OS is still very much at a nascent stage of its development and probably shouldn't be expected any time soon.
He said: ?After Android 4 comes 5, and we haven't announced the timing yet, which we're still sorting out.
"There's a lot of engineering work behind it still, and there's also just the question of how to time it."

He added: "In general, the Android release cadence is one major release a year with some maintenance releases that are substantial still."
The current iteration of Android, aka Ice Cream Sandwich, made its debut in October last year.
Assuming Google persists with a 12-monthly refresh cycle for the OS, an autumn release seems the most likely due date for the next version.