Android 4.5 Update for Nexus 4, Nexus 5, Nexus 7, and Nexus 10: What to expect

Everybody is anticipating Google to release the Android 4.5 update for Nexus 4, Nexus 5, Nexus 7, Nexus 10, and other supported devices in the next couple of months, but what do we really know about the next Android iteration? Well, not much but Google’s previous releases can teach us a lot about what we should expect from Android 4.5.

First of all, we are sure that Google will roll out the Android 4.5 update for Nexus 4, Nexus 5, Nexus 7 (2012 and 2013), Nexus 10, and all the members of the Google Play Experience family. When? Most likely late July.

Even though we’ve heard a lot of voices saying that Android 4.5 will be released later this month at Google I/O, we strongly believe that the Android 4.5 announcement will come about a month after the company’s developers conference. I/O 2014 will be mostly focused on new services from Google (the rumor mill talks about a competitor against Apple’s Health app) and on Android Wear-powered smartwatches.

Android 4.5 could arrive about a month after Google I/O 2014, synchronized with the debut of a new Nexus device. Rumor has it that Google has teamed-up with HTC and that they’re planning an 8-inch tablet called Nexus 8.

Among others, Android 4.5 is expected to replace Dalvik virtual machine with ART (stands for Android Runtime). Unlike Dalvik, ART pre-compiles bytecode when the app is installed, and, according to Google, it cuts down the app launch time in half.

The new Android iteration is also expected to arrive with minor design changes meant to make the Google experience constant across all platforms, deeper Google Now integration, and other such changes.

Android 4.5 will most likely be seen as a minor update (think Android 4.3 or Android 4.4) which aims to prepare the OEMs to make an easier jump to the next big Android update: Android 5.0.

What are your expectations for Android 4.5? Would you like to see any particular functionality? Please let us know in comments.