Our wish list for Android Key Lime Pie

While mobile fiends were awaiting the release of Android 4.2, rumoured to be the entirely new iteration called Key Lime Pie, Google took them by surprise by unveiling it as an extension to Jelly Bean instead. Jelly Bean 4.2 has some nifty updates, but this could also mean that we can expect Google to be brewing something even cooler with the full fledged Key Lime Pie, assumably Android 5.0 (recently spotted running on Sony LT30i). There are more than a handful of features that we would love to see in the next iteration of Android. Check them out here.

Spruced up voice assistant
After Siri created a stir in the tech terrain, Google managed to craft its own voice assistant almost akin to Siri. While Google voice assistant is quite efficient, the newest iOS updates ensure that Siri can do much more than just search. For instance, Siri is deeply integrated within the iOS and will soon be put behind the steering wheel. Google should spruce up its voice assistant abilities with the Key Lime Pie. It has a strong search engine, so we would expect more than just displaying a list of links to one’s queries, maybe a better filtering method and generating an exact answer to our query. We expect it to go beyond searching streets, restaurants and making calls.

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Nexus showing off the new 4.2 update

Access to third party widgets from the lock screen
The Android 4.2 Jelly Bean update lets us access camera and widgets even with the locked homescreen, which is a commendable improvement. However, the access is limited to select widgets only. It is now convenient to check our Gmail accounts or messages on-the-go directly from the locked screen, but we are sure most users want instant access to some other frequently accessed apps like WhatsApp and Music. Instant access to frequently used apps from the lock screen could be a great add-on.

Refined Swype-type keyboard
The new Jelly Bean 4.2 update also brings us the Swype-kind input ability. So now we can quickly type in words by simply sliding a finger over letters. However, on our wishlist is a much-refined Swype-like experience. For instance, in Key Lime Pie, we would like to see the ability to edit a previous word from the sentence without the need to rewrite the word again, something that is missing in the current update.

Google Notes app
The next on our wishlist for the Android Key Lime Pie is an all-new, efficient notes app. A notes app that is on similar lines to Evernote. Moreover, we wish the notes app is capable of effortlessly syncing with our Gmail accounts. Along with this, we would also like to see Google Now let us make changes in the calander app.

Better camera features
If there is something that most of us would love to change in the Galaxy Nexus, it would be the camera abilities. After relying on some third party photo apps for a long time, the 4.2 update allows adding a handful of effects. However, there is still a lot missing on the photo effects/editing front. We would not only like to see support for an array of nifty effects and scenes for images in Key Lime Pie but also wish for functions like Red-eye reduction, Smile detection and Image stabilization.

Improved camera features, Swype-type keyboard and new facial recognition, touch-free gestures

T-9 dialer and smart dialing
The Contacts section needs some serious tweaking too. Firstly, smart dialling would be a great function, especially for some of us who have a large contacts list and don’t want to run through scores of names to find a contact. Smart dialling will ensure instant and quick calling with just a couple of clicks. Another new feature we would like to see is the T-9 dialler, which will also prove to be handy.

Social network integration
This is a tricky one as Google has been trying to push its own Google+ as the preferred social network. Nevertheless, complete social network integration with popular sites like Facebook and Twitter still stays on our wishlist for Key Lime Pie.

Real-time facial recognition/touch-free gesture recognition 
We have seen Face unlock and Blink with Google’s previous OS versions, and its most recent acquisition of Viewdle means we can definitely expect something more on this front. Maybe a real-time facial recognition feature for images and videos and also some touch-free gesture recognition for games and unlocking the phone.

If it’s not too much to ask, then we would also like to see a dedicated video chat app (like Skype and Facetime), something better than Hangout. Moreover, Google should extend its default support for royalty-free video codecs so that we don’t have to rely on third party apps. We would be glad to see these changes in the next iteration, be it the Android 5.0 Key Lime Pie or yet another update to Jelly Bean.

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