To the disappointment of the Nexus 4 and Nexus 7 (2012) owners, Google only released the Android L developer preview for the Nexus 5 and Nexus 7 (2013).
However, with the source code and the SDK being released by Google, it was just a matter of time before some developers managed to bring a partially working port of Android L to these devices.
Early last week, Google started rolling out the Android 4.4.3 update for its Nexus as well as the Google Play edition line-up of devices. Being an OTA roll-out, the update will be gradually made available to all Nexus owners over the next couple of weeks.
However, for the impatient folks like us out there, a manual method to sideload the OTA update exist as well. Follow the steps below if you own a Nexus 4 or a Nexus 7 (2012/2013). If you own a Nexus 5, head over to this article for all the steps.
Earlier today, Google started rolling out the Android 4.4.2 update for all the AOSP supported Nexus device. The update came as a surprise to many since it was only last week that Google rolled out the 4.4.1 update that greatly improved the Nexus 5’s camera performance.
There’s a term in the technology space called “Dog Fooding” which is defined as using the products and services you create in order to make them better. It makes sense when you think about it, why would Google want their employees using Microsoft’s Outlook program to handle their email when they should instead be using Gmail? According to Dave Burke, the Head of Engineering for Android, this was the attitude used to make Android 4.4 KitKat run on low end devices.
Google has started rolling out a bug-fixing KitKat OTA update for all the previous generation of Nexus devices, including the Nexus 4. The 3-5MB OTA update bumps the Android build to KRT16S vs. the initial KitKat KRT16O update that it released last week.
Couple of days after Google started rolling out the KitKat OTA update for the Nexus 7 (2012/2013) and the Nexus 10, the company has released the factory images for the devices as well.
An AOSP based Android 4.4 KitKat ROM is already up for download for the 2013 and 2012 edition of Nexus 7. Joining them now is the Google’s last year flagship handset – the Nexus 4.
Ready for yet another rumor about the next Nexus phone from Google? According to Android Geeks, who I actually owe an apology to since they got the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 release date weeks in advance and I made fun of them for that, they say Google will price the 16 GB Nexus 5 at $399 and the 32 GB model at $449. Remember, the 32 GB model will also allegedly have a larger battery, hence the added cost.
