This post was published 10 years, 4 months ago. Due to the rapidly evolving world of technology, some material it contains may no longer be applicable.
With Google I/0 a day away now everyone is getting very excited and has an eye out for teasers and leaks on upcoming ‘Googley’ stuff, particularly about Android. So when a screenshot happens to pop up on the Chromium Issues Tracker showing something that could well be the next release of Android it’s a pretty big deal!
In the screenshot above you’ll noticed a few things. Firstly, that new Chrome UI. Sure, on it own that could just be indicative of a Chrome app update and nothing more but it falls inline with the rumoured changes to the design guideline for the next version of Android. We’ve already seen the Google+ app adopt a very similar design language so we are pretty sure this is legit.
Next, notice that “L” logo in the left of the statusbar. It’s possible that’s an icon for a lesser known app we’ve never seen but it also seems probable its the temporary USB-debugging icon for the upcoming Android “L” release (probably 5.0). This would make sense given that KitKat had a “K” as the USB-debugging icon until the dessert/treat was chosen and it was given its Key Lime Pie icon (which was later replaced by a KitKat bar after the branding change prior to the final release).
Finally, we noticed one more thing. Check out the mute icon. That’s different from what we have on any Android device right now and appears to match the outline design of the Google+ notification bell (aka Mr Jingles) that has gradually been adopted on almost all Google’s web services.
Given the rumours and leaks suggesting that Google is giving emphasis to increasing unity between their product design language across platforms, this makes a lot of sense. It certainly adds further weight to the possibility of this being a screenshot from the next Android release. It could also hint at an early release at I/O rather than later in the year as has been expected by many.
What do you guys think? Do you anticipate Google announcing the next version of Android at I/O or will they save everything for the debut of a new Nexus or perhaps one of the oft-rumoured Android Silver devices?
