Pros & Cons
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- Minimalist.
- Faster, more responsive.
- Major under-the-hood improvements.
- Powerful Google Now features.
- Always listening for "OK Google" command.
- Search savvy calling app.
- Easy homescreen management.
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- Few tent-pole features to get excited about.
- No overarching design philosophy.
- Not available for the vast majority of Android devices
Google Android 4.4 builds on the success of Jelly Bean with KitKat, a powerful mobile operating system that makes up for its lack of candy coating with a solid framework. You can look forward to always listening Google Now, a new dialer that brings the power of search to your phone calls, and tons of tweaks under the hood to make this the slickest version of Android to date. But despite being fast and reliable, there's not much new for users to sink their teeth into with KitKat. Android users waiting for a response to the bold redesign of Apple's iOS 7 will have to wait, because KitKat is pretty much status quo.
View All Setting Up Your KitKat
I've always been impressed with Android's setup process, which walks you through the core features of the OS while you enter your information. Once you've set up your phone to the appropriate language, Wi-Fi network, and so on, a series of transparent overlays point out useful features including Google Now and the improved notification tray. Apple, on the other hand, makes you guess at the new features.
Your phone doesn't require a Google account, but it can't do much without one. I was a bit annoyed that I had to log in twice, once in the OS and again on a Google Web page, to access my two-factor secured account. I expected that a device so closely tied to Google's services would handle security with a little more grace. It also bothered me that the powerful anti-theft tool Android Device Manager was not featured during the setup process. Users should know that the Device Manager is available and encouraged to make use of it. That said, I did like that the service is fully activated on my KitKat phone, an Editors' Choice winning Nexus 5, requiring no additional setup from me.
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Interface
If you're coming from a Samsung phone, as I was, you'll probably notice that KitKat is a far sleeker and more subtle experience than you've seen before. It's also lightning-fast; the OS felt like it was positively leaping at me on the Nexus 5.
The color scheme is traditional gray and light blue, with some colors flipped from the previous version. The biggest aesthetic change is that Google has done away with the ever-present black bar across the top, letting the time and battery level hover above the wallpaper.
A neat extra: Wallpapers move slightly beneath your apps as you swipe left and right, giving you a sense of depth and movement. It's not as whizz-bang as iOS 7's parallax effect, but it feels enjoyably futuristic.
Google pioneered features like the notification tray, where swiping down from the top reveals alerts and also controls for some app functions like music playback in Play Music. There's also a flip-able tile in the notification tray for fast access to settings such as Wi-Fi and Airplane Mode. Apple introduced some of these features into iOS 7, but Android keeps it simple with just a single pane. However, tablet users should note that KitKat retains the annoying twin pulldown menus—one for notifications and the other for settings.
Final Thoughts
Google Android 4.4 KitKat
Google's Android 4.4, or "KitKat," is the latest version of the Android OS and is faster and more responsive than ever, but it lacks direction, defining features, and broad base of users.