With Mobile World Congress pretty much done and dusted, there are only a few events left up to the run up to Google I/O in the Summer. Of course, we have the Galaxy S IV launch event and maybe something else along the way but, for Android fans it’s all about Google I/O from here on out. One thing that looks certain is that Google are going to announce their next major version of Android at this year’s developer conference. We saw the release of Jelly Bean last year and Android 4.2 was added to the Jelly Bean family last Fall. This time around we’re all hoping for Key Lime Pie and while the jury’s still out on whether or not it’s going to be version 5.0, Google will want to deliver something pretty awesome for us all to get excited about.
Say what you will about the bugs that seem to appear in Android but, one thing Google has gotten pretty good at over the years is maintaining recent versions of the Linux kernel to be used with their builds of Android. Phoronix are reporting that Google have started experimental work on a 3.8 version of the Linux Kernel for Android, under the experimental/android-3.8 directory. Right now, Google currently maintain a number of Kernel versions for Android, 3.0, 3.3 and 3.4 for Jelly Bean devices. The Nexus 7 running Android 4.2.2 is running on a Linux 3.1 Kernel. More and more of Android is moving to the mainline kernel now, which should help manufacturers keep devices up-to-date but, we all know that skins and marketing get in the way of Android updates more than anything else does.
Google have only just opened this new Kernel branch and it might be too early for them to release Key Lime Pie on a 3.8 Kernel but, knowing Google they’re probably going to have a good go at it. There were a number of highlights in the 3.8 release of the Linux kernel, including “Exynos DRM Improvements”, an open-source Nvidia Tegra driver integrated into the kernel and overall refinements when it comes to RAM usage.
It’s good to see Google continue to build upon the Linux Kernel for upcoming versions of Android and I wonder if battery improvement will be another focus, after all, Larry page is forever lamenting on having to recharge devices all the time. What do you want to see in Key Lime Pie?