Android 4.4 — what next?
What flavour will KitKat be?
After the side-step from the rumoured name of Key lime Pie, what other surprises can we expect from Google’s next update to their Android operating system? I think visually, given this is 4.4 and not 5.0, we can safely assume it will build upon and enhance the framework so expertly put in place in Jellybean (4.3) but there are indicators that we may get certain new UI adjustments to whet our appetites as to what Matias Duarte and his team will do next.
The latest clue as to where they may be going is their recent evolution of the iconic Google logo.
This ‘flattened’ and clean style is prevalent amongst most of their recent visual identity. Note: It’s not actually entirely flat as there’s still a subtle but noticeable light gradient from the top left to give the letters a slight but effective tonality. This not-quite-flat effect seems to be used quite a lot over their visual styling as seen in the icons for Google Apps as seen below in the newly updated Google Search bar.
These follow the same styling and use the subtle gradients and hard shadows that have been seen across all of Google’s recent visual assets (a fantastic and insightful explanation of the guidelines the design team use to create these can be found here and here).
The last bastion of the ‘dreaded’ skeuomorphism, now iOS has renounced it’s hold, is the app icons on the Android Launcher screen. Looking at these, it seems that this might be one of the most obvious changes we get for Android 4.4 — a flattening of the homescreen and it’s assets. This simplification allows for subtle gradients and some element of depth but is done, in my opinion, in a much more refined and well thought through manner than the alternating neon gradients of iOS 7. Although many developers apps may not follow suit, I do believe this will add the extra level of coherence that will help to tie the last loose ends of the Android design style.
Two of the major UI/UX patterns which seems to have been gaining a lot of traction across the Google native and Play apps is the Navigation Drawer and the ‘Cards’ pattern. ‘Cards’ I remember seeing first used most effectively in Google Now but it has been implemented in Drive, Play Music, Play Store, Keep and most recently futher used in Gmail. The Navigation Drawer seems to be replacing the Spinner in the Actionbar but could just be a higher level navigation for that to be housed within but it seems to be getting rolled out across their apps. I would be surprised if they didn’t at least bring their native Calendar up-to-speed with these stylings and even perhaps further.
I think one of the other great UX patterns they’ve been using is the circular selection field which are seen beautifully implemented in setting time for events and turning off your alarm. The Facebook ‘ChatHeads’ is another example of this and we could see more developers using this floating ring selector as a prominent pattern.
I look forward to seeing what announcements are (hopefully) made on October 14th and although I’m not expecting to be hugely surprised… look what happened with iOS 7.
