1.4.6. Android 4.4 (KitKat)

Android 4.4 KitKat, released in October 2013, includes several performance improvements that make it possible to run the operating system on all Android devices, including older, memory-constrained devices, which are particularly popular in developing countries.⁷

7. http://techcrunch.com/2013/10/31/android-4-4-kitkat-google/.

Enabling more users to update to KitKat will reduce the “fragmentation” of Android versions in the market, which has been a challenge for developers who previously had to design apps to run across multiple versions of the operating system, or limit their potential market by targeting their apps to a specific version of the operating system.

Android KitKat also includes security and accessibility enhancements, improved graphics and multimedia capabilities, memory-use analysis tools and more. Figure 1.8 lists some of the key new KitKat features. For a complete list, see

Fig. 1.8 | Some Android KitKat features (http://developer.android.com/about/versions/kitkat.html).