Google has shipped version 4.4 of its Android operating system; it refers to it as KitKat. (Google names Android versions after sweets, in alphabetical order.) There’s lots of discussion about what, exactly, this means for wearables.
One stated goal of KitKat is to reduce the size of the OS so it will run on older Android devices. Fragmentation has become a big problem for the Android world. Apple’s ability to drive its users to the most recent version of iOS lets its developers program to a single platform, which makes their lives easier and unifies the user experience. Android programmers find themselves having to program for three (and now) four significantly different OSes: Gingerbread (which most low-end phones use), Ice Cream Sandwich, Jelly Bean, and now KitKat.
But with a small footprint of only 512K, KitKat may now fit onto low-memory devices like wristbands, eyewear, and other wearable devices. Also, there’s some talk that KitKat enhances NFC functionality, which would be useful in moving data between Android devices and from Android to larger systems. Besides, Apple doesn’t use NFC…