Google Nexus 6 Release Date Nears as Android KitKat 4.4.3 Upgrade to Hit Nexus 5 Soon?
Google could be preparing soon for the Nexus 6 release date as reports surfaced that the Nexus 5 will be getting a surprise update treatment, KitKat 4.4.3 that is, very shortly.
This possibility was revealed in an Android Police report that detailed the windfall of feature enhancements and bug fixes the KitKat update will deliver. However, the same report stopped short in saying when exactly is the new software rollout.
But a screenshot, also from Android Police (and viewable here), seems to suggest that the next Android jump is quite imminent. The image showed the Nexus 5 flashing Android 4.4.3 that was prepped for distribution last March 2014
Without assuming anything, the new KitKat arrival, which is specifically for the LG-built Nexus 5, can be expected anytime this April with the following key improvements (as provided by the supposed KitKat changelog picked up by Android Police):
§ Frequent data connection dropout fixes
§ Camera crash and optimization fixes
§ Camera focus in regular and HDR modes fixes
§ Power Manager display wakelock fix
§ Multiple Bluetooth fixes
§ Random reboot fix
§ App shortcuts sometimes got removed from launcher after update
§ USB debugging security fix
§ App shortcuts security fix
§ Wi-Fi auto-connect fix
§ MMS, Email/Exchange, Calendar, People/Dialer/Contacts, DSP, IPv6, VPN fixes
§ Activation screen crash fix
§ Missed call LED fix
§ Subtitle fixes
§ Data usage graph fix
§ Internet telephony fix
§ FCC compliance fix
Yet outside these welcome bump ups, the more exciting prospect presented by the same report is the likelihood that as soon as the Nexus 5 has chewed the upcoming KitKat build, the next focus for Google is its replacement - the Nexus 6.
This paints a solid scenario of a soon-to-happen release date for the handset, anchored on the speculation that once the task of upgrading KitKat on all Nexus devices is out of the way then preparation for the 2014 batch will be set in motion.
The banner device, of course, among the native Android gadgets is the Nexus 6, which is touted to duke it out with the likes of Galaxy S5, HTC One M8 and the iPhone 6 later in the year.
The soon-to-happen Nexus 6 release date could be between July and August this year, which is in line with an earlier declaration by Google Android division boss Sundar Pichai that unboxing of the smartphone is all mapped out for the second half of 2014.