Since Google announced that Android Ice Cream Sandwich is in the works back at the Google I/O conference in May, it’s kept pretty quiet about the update. We know it’ll be the first version of the Android OS to offer a unified interface for tablets and smartphones and have it on good authority that the first Android Ice Cream Sandwich device will be the Nexus Prime.
But now two Android sites have got hold of Android Ice Cream Sandwich screenshots ahead of its official release in Q4 2011. RootzWiki and the Android Police have both published heavily-censored snaps of Android Ice Cream Sandwich running on a Google Nexus S. Read on for a look at the features they’ve uncovered…
The Android Ice Cream Sandwich screenshots clearly show a new application drawer that resembles a smartphone-sized version of the tabbed launcher from Android Honeycomb. The Google search bar is also embedded at the top of the homescreen just like in Honeycomb. The user interface has had a major colour change with Google swapping out the green that graced previous updates with liberal dollops of blue.
The sites also report that the Gmail app has been totally redesigned in Android Ice Cream Sandwich (though neither has a picture of it). They also claim the Google Nexus S will receive the OS as an over-the-air update but that the Google Nexus Prime will be the first to run it. Since the Ice Cream Sandwich overhaul focuses predominantly on UI changes, the sites suggest lots of older Android phones will be able to handle it just fine.
Other tidbits offered up by the Android Ice Cream Sandwich leakers include the suggestion that you’ll be able to stack apps on the homescreen and talk of a new panorama mode added to the camera app.
Oddly a screenshot of the system info screen published by Android Police shows “IceCreamSandwich” instead of an actual version number. That may cast doubt on the veracity of the image but the site claims Google simply hasn’t chosen a version number yet.
You can see all the Android Ice Cream Sandwich screenshots at the links below. Let us know what you make of them and the promised new features. Are you eager to see Ice Cream Sandwich unite tablets and smartphones under a single OS?
Out TBC | £TBC | Google (via Android Police/RootzWiki)
