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3/17/2014 What' s Really New In Android 4.4.1 And 4.4.

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Have issues with the Nexus 5 or Android 4.4 KitKat (we know you do)?
Well, Google has iterated its way out of many of those issues while
also polishing a few other things, rolling out Android 4.4.2 recently. We
had actually been working on What's Really New in Android 4.4.1, but
with the update to 4.4.2 close on its heels, we'll be discussing changes from both updates.
The hallmark of the 4.4.1 update, as described by Google, is camera enhancement for the Nexus 5.
One of the things reviewers consistently harped on when looking at the Nexus 5 was subpar camera
performance. Much of this was not hardware related - after all, the Nexus 5 has an alright sensor
and OIS built in. The largest issues were with software and processing - the app took too long to
open, focusing was slow and inconsistent, and once you did capture a photo it simply wasn't as
excellent as Google's admittedly well-produced ads would lead you to believe. But 4.4.1 made that
better.
Camera improvements weren't the only thing present in 4.4.1 (and subsequently 4.4.2), though.
We've dug around the updates a bit and have collected some of the other notable changes and
enhancements within. We'll start with the camera, and then move on to everything else. For the
purposes of this post, we've narrowed it down to some of the more interesting yet less-discussed
features, but you can find a full developer's changelog (listing each and every commit for 4.4.1) at
the link here.
The Camera (Nexus 5)
The headline feature of the 4.4.1 update (for the Nexus 5 anyway) was camera enhancement. In
many reviews of Google's latest Nexus, the camera was one of the device's primary downfalls.
Besides the camera app's idiosyncrasies, long startup time, and less-than-stellar interface, many
complained of slow focus speed, and image quality that just wasn't as good as they'd hoped.
Expectations were high for the camera after Vic Gundotra's famous "insanely great" comment, and it
looks like Google's begun the process of healing the Nexus camera experience, though the
unreleased Camera API is still a work in progress.
In an interview with the Verge announcing the update, Director of Engineering for Android David
Burke explained that the Nexus 5 with its OIS camera made a trade-off, opting for slower shutters
and reduced gain to obtain a better image, rather than opting for speed and efficiency.
Besides behind-the-scenes tweaks to image capture, camera startup (which was reduced by "about
250ms"), and image quality, there's a user-facing change: when shooting images in HDR+, users will
13
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What's Really New In
Android 4.4.1 And 4.4.2
Posted by Liam Spradlin in Android OS, Development, News
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The Camera (Nexus
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Squashed Bugs and UI
Fixes
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Final Thoughts
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see progress indicators everywhere. This is helpful, since the previous behavior (a two-step
process with the initial screen-flash capture animation followed by a second sound) was unclear,
and made the process seem slower than it actually is.

One last thing - 4.4.1 also seems to have added new camera resolution options. Added to the list
are 2MP (16:9), 1MP, and 720x480px.

Squashed Bugs and UI Fixes
As you might expect, 4.4.1 also came with plenty of fixes for bugs, and even some of the UI/UX
errors we recently pointed out in Stock Android Isn't Perfect.
Bug: Hijacked Sharing
3/17/2014 What' s Really New In Android 4.4.1 And 4.4.2
http://www.androidpolice.com/2013/12/13/whats-really-new-in-android-4-4-2/ 3/13
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TOPICS & FEEDS
In the initial release build of KitKat, there was a strange bug that emulated the "always" app picker
behavior, even in certain cases where the user had not chosen a default app. We discussed this in
a recent Bug Watch, and it looks like it's been fixed. Commit 34d41e9 explains the now fixed
behavior for highlighting preferred apps and skipping directly to their send intent only when the
"always" button has been selected in the past.
Bug: Exchange Mail
As we discussed in another Bug Watch entry, many 4.4 users were plagued by Exchange mail
problems, from not being able to set up a connection to constant sync errors.
There are tons of tweaks to Exchange in the 4.4.1 update, fixing legacy problems, performance
issues, and according to many exchange users fixing woes from 4.4. You can see all the changes
here.
Bug: SMS DOS
A particularly unnerving SMS vulnerability, by which Nexus phones could be rebooted or denied
cellular connectivity, was squashed with the 4.4.2 update. The bug, which Cody detailed here is
essentially a denial-of-service vulnerability by which flash messages (messages that display
immediately on screen, typically used for emergency notifications) pile up and cause some unsavory
side-effects. Over a year since it was first reported to the Android Security team by Bogdan Alecu,
the bug is finally fixed, as confirmed by JR Raphael.
Bug: Seeking On the Lock Screen
In 4.4 KitKat, long-pressing the pause button on the lock screen's music widget (or other media
widgets that support this gesture) brought up a seek bar. The only issue was that attempting to
manipulate the bar yielded no results, and letting go would fling your selection of lock screen
widgets to the right, severely disrupting your experience. Thankfully this bug has been squashed.
Dialer
In KitKat's new dialer, if the user called up the dial pad, the only options for getting rid of it were to
either hit the back button or perform another action like placing a call or hitting a card. In 4.4.1
however, a piece of code was committed to let the user simply tap in an empty area to dismiss the
dial pad with a slick animation. This is a small touch, but one that polishes the dialer's UI just that
much more.
Transparent System Bars on the Lock Screen
Users of the "Google Experience Launcher" on the Nexus 4 (and Nexus 7) finally have transparent
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3/17/2014 What' s Really New In Android 4.4.1 And 4.4.2
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bars on the lock screen with the 4.4.1 update. This is thanks to a commit that turns the bars on for
the lock screen by default (though Nexus 10 users will still go without). While the launcher still isn't
available for all devices (or officially available for even the Nexus family), it's clear that Google's
working on making it compatible with the Nexus devices, and users can finally enjoy the transparent
dcor just like Nexus 5 owners.
Status Bar Icons
In Stock Android Isn't Perfect, we pointed out that KitKat's status bar icons didn't quite line up. The
apparent baseline for icons was often a couple of pixels below where the icon actually rested, and
the clock wasn't vertically aligned with other icons. The clock still isn't quite aligned, but for the
most part, status bar icons now line up.
More "Background Protection" In Recent Apps
Speaking of the status bar, it got more "background protection" when viewing recent apps in the
update to 4.4. Essentially this means the translucent gradient behind the bar is now darker. You
can see the contrast between the appearance of the status bar on the home screen and in recent
apps below.
Settings Icon
In the Quick Settings panel, each quick setting gets its own icon, an abbreviated visual reminder of
the functionality that lies behind the tile. In 4.4.1, the Settings app got a new, gear-shaped icon,
and with that came the simplistic version of the icon for the QS panel. With 4.4.1, the icon got
refreshed again, adding a ring to the simple white gear. Whether it over-complicates the icon
visually is neither here nor there, but it's different.
Matching Translucent Dcor for Dessert Case
This isn't a huge tweak, but the way Android handles system bars for the immersive view of Dessert
Case (and presumably views like it) has been made consistent. In 4.4, you'd get a solid nav bar,
and a translucent status bar by swiping, but now both are transparent.
3/17/2014 What' s Really New In Android 4.4.1 And 4.4.2
http://www.androidpolice.com/2013/12/13/whats-really-new-in-android-4-4-2/ 5/13

Other Stuff
Cast Screen
Nexus users with 4.4.1 (or 4.4.2) may have noticed that the Wireless Display option in settings
has been changed to Cast Screen. Along with that tweak, there have been changes to the casting
interface, cast management, and casting permissions. Here are a few relevant commits.
4e54c2a - This commit tidies up the display route selection UI, making the experience for users
consistent throughout System UI, Settings, and applications that use the media router, so users will
be able to see when (and to where) their screen is casting.
cef34fc - "Update cast screen strings." This commit updates wording to reflect the renaming of
Wireless Display to Cast Screen, making it consistent across the settings UI.
75af171 - This one deals with the revised "cast settings screen," adjusting WiFi display scan
intervals, simplifying logic for adding and removing display routes, exposing WiFi display device
addresses, and a couple of other tweaks.
While these changes by themselves dont necessarily point to big moves in Androids screen casting
ability, a commit explicitly disallowing third party apps from initiating screen casts is of interest. The
commit adds permission for System UI to control casting through the Quick Settings pane, while
Settings presumably already had the permission. Either way, Software Engineer Jeff Brown explained
the commit's intention in its description:
Brown explained this point on Google+, indicating that the permissions for the casting interface are
"mainly about protecting the user," going on to specify that the system "is designed to require
explicit action by the user to connect to the remote display via Quick Settings and the remote
display provider is responsible for notifying the user about the status of an ongoing connection via a
persistent notification which provides an option to disconnect."
Essentially, permission to act as a remote display provider and cast content is reserved as a matter
of trust. Users should be informed about what's happening, and starting/stopping/controlling the
feature should be clear.
Brown says that Google may make "some of this functionality" accessible to third party apps,
perhaps by requiring users to explicitly activate such services on a per-app basis, but striking a
balance between trust, user control, and convenience is "not an easy problem."
Despite all this, Koushik Dutta has confirmed that screen casting (and AirPlay mirroring) is possible
on a stock device without root, in a similar implementation to Helium. You'll need to be tethered to
Commit af57418
Disallow applications from initiating cast screen.Only allow the system ui and
settings to connect to a remote display. To do this, we essentially hide the
remote displays from applicationsby using the ROUTE_TYPE_REMOTE_DISPLAY
then add permission checksaround the operations that connect to them.
As a bonus, this may actually save power on devices since applications that use
MediaRouter will not longer be performing discover onremote display routes at all.
3/17/2014 What' s Really New In Android 4.4.1 And 4.4.2
http://www.androidpolice.com/2013/12/13/whats-really-new-in-android-4-4-2/ 6/13
a PC, though, so the experience is far from perfect yet.
App Ops Update
Since the 4.4 update, App Ops has progressively gotten harder to reach. In fact, when we wrote
GTKA, we didn't think App Ops was even accessible. Back in November, Dianne Hackborn, an
engineer at Google who's generally ready with helpful explanations of topics like these, clarified
again that App Ops wasn't exactly meant to be a user-facing UI.
She explained that the feature was there mainly for development purposes (like fine-tuning per-app
notification control), as the framework on which it's based is used for "a growing number of things"
within Android.
More recently, Artem asked why Google specifically crafted a UI around the functionality, and
Hackborn explained the tool (and its UI) is used by platform engineers, and whether the UI would
ever make it into users hands she "couldn't really speculate," but for now, it will blend into the
background.
Gallery and Photos
One other notable change to the camera interface is what happens when you swipe to the left.
Instead of reaching the gallery app's filmstrip view, you'll be dumped into what looks like the Photos
app in filmstrip view. Since the release of KitKat, users have questioned why Photos and Gallery still
existed concurrently. After all, having two separate apps for managing photos is kind of a confusing
decision.
What makes this more confusing is that swiping left gives you a Photos icon for the upward
navigation and the typical share options and pencil icon for editing, but if you hit the edit icon,
you'll be asked what app should edit the photo - Photos or Gallery (or other apps you may have
installed). If you hit the upward button, you'll reach the Photos app's main screen, which itself is
hooked into G+ via the sliding navigation drawer.
Basically Photos handles pass-through from the camera, while Gallery is responsible for in-depth
editing, other on-device photos, and for surfacing a limited feature set for Google+ photos (still
considered Picasa albums).
These are all symptoms of Gallery's impending demise. In early leaks of KitKat, it was clear that
Gallery was absent, with Photos fulfilling its role. AP Alumnus Ron Amadeo pointed out on Google+
that the two share code, and that the Gallery didn't get a new icon in KitKat. More recently, he
confirmed the new Google Play Edition devices don't have Gallery at all, so Photos' usurpation of
Gallery is just about complete. Until a future update removes the app from Nexus devices, users on
4.4.2 will still have a somewhat confusing experience.
Power Widget
The power widget, which used to simply turn location on or off, will now toggle between on, off,
and power-saving modes. Strangely however (as commenters confirm), one has to go into the
actual settings menu to fully disable location.
Speaking of the Power Widget, the whole widget is actually shorter (vertically) than in 4.4, and
while the Bluetooth icon in 4.4 would turn into a dull gray version of itself when Bluetooth was
toggled. In 4.4.1/2, it becomes an empty outline.

Keyboard Changes
With 4.4.1, some changes came to the keyboard as well, primarily dealing with keyboard sounds on
the Nexus 7 (2012) and Nexus 10. Commit 34262cdf indicates a new, "softer" audio package, which
brings the two devices more in line with the audio package found in the Nexus 5. Some users have
also reported a sharper or more precise haptic feedback vibration on the Nexus 5, but no specific
commit appears to confirm that.
Bluetooth Absolute Volume
Android 4.4 (finally) introduced a unified volume control for connected Bluetooth devices, in an
effort to eliminate duplicate audio controls. Commit 7850a93 indicates that going forward, devices
would be specifically whitelisted for access to the absolute volume control, meaning other devices
3/17/2014 What' s Really New In Android 4.4.1 And 4.4.2
http://www.androidpolice.com/2013/12/13/whats-really-new-in-android-4-4-2/ 7/13
would automatically be "blacklisted." This reverses a previous commit (a7ae4a1) that established a
blacklist for devices that "do not handle absolute volume well." According to the "whitelist" commit,
the specific whitelisting and broad blacklisting of devices is a temporary fix for bugs encountered
with devices that advertise absolute volume but don't actually play nice with the feature in
practice.
Bluetooth LE Connections
Prior to 4.4.1, the number of devices that could be simultaneously connected to an Android device
topped out at four. With a commit put in before the 4.4.1 update, that limit is bumped up to seven.
Mobile Plan Removed From Settings
In Getting to Know Android, we pointed out a new setting in KitKat - Mobile Plan management. The
option directed users to their carrier's provisioning website, if the carrier had a known provisioning
site. In 4.4.1 it appears that (at least on the Nexus 5) this option has been removed.
Final Thoughts
As I mentioned before - and as I'll reiterate with any post of this type - this isn't everything that's
new. If you want a full rundown from 4.4 to 4.4.1, check out Funky Android's excellent
comprehensive list here. If there's anything significant you've noticed or want us to look into, feel
free to discuss it in the comments below.
Tags: 4.4.1 4.4.2 Android update what's really new
Liam Spradlin
Liam loves Android, design, user experience, and travel. He doesn't love
ill-proportioned letter forms, advertisements made entirely of stock
photography, and writing biographical snippets.
Follow @LiamSpradlin 651 f ollowers
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3/17/2014 What' s Really New In Android 4.4.1 And 4.4.2
http://www.androidpolice.com/2013/12/13/whats-really-new-in-android-4-4-2/ 8/13
New Nexus 5
KitKat Leak
Shows
Transparent Nav
And Status Bars,
New App Drawer
And Wallpaper,
Possible Always-
On Listenin
[APK Teardown]
BBC iPlayer Gains
Casting Ability,
Likely Timed For
Chromecast
Launch On March
19
Motorola
Releases Updated
Gallery App In
The Play Store
For Moto X, Moto
G, And 2013
DROID Devices
Google Adds
Probable Android
4.4 Screenshot
To Keyboard
Update, Shows
New Status Bar
With Gray Icons
And KLP Debug
Icon
115 Comments Android Police Login
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Join the discussion
Reply
Michael Schaap 3 months ago
Two things I still really, really hate about the Nexus 5 camera, even in 4.4.2:
1) The viewfinder is cropped. Your photo will not have the same composition that the
viewfinder had. Unacceptable, IMO.
2) No hi-res wide screen pictures (preferably in the proper 3:2 ratio).
The first point can be solved by using a third-party app. The second one unfortunately not - the
camera HAL doesn't support these resolutions.
(My previous phone, the Galaxy Nexus, had a 5 MP 4:3 resolution, but the HAL also supported
the same resolution cropped to 3:2 and to 16:9. Third-party camera apps could be configured
to use those.)

57
Reply
Nick 3 months ago Michael Schaap
Don't forget the unusable video recording in any light conditions other than "surface of
the sun".

16
Reply
Adam Truelove 3 months ago Nick
Use the light/flash maybe?

1
Reply
blahmoomoo 3 months ago Michael Schaap
While I'm not entirely sure about this, in my experience it seems that the first problem
existed in the stock Nexus 4 camera app too, at least in 4.3 and prior (haven't used the
camera recently, so don't know about 4.4). It seemed that the camera viewfinder was
cutting things off where the soft buttons are.

3
Reply
Michael Schaap 3 months ago blahmoomoo
No, that's not what I meant: the viewfinder zooms in onto the 4:3 camera image
until it fills the 16:9 screen (minus the buttons, perhaps), and thus over 10% of
the top and bottom of the picture are cut off.
And yes, this happens in the stock camera ever since Jelly Bean (4.1). :(

2
blahmoomoo 3 months ago Michael Schaap
Ah, I didn't realize the Nexus 5 camera was 4:3. I believe the Nexus 4
camera is 16:9. It's still cut off a bit because the screen minus the
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3/17/2014 What' s Really New In Android 4.4.1 And 4.4.2
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Reply
camera is 16:9. It's still cut off a bit because the screen minus the
notification bar and soft buttons is a bit less wide than 16:9, but the
amount cut off is much less than what it would be with 4:3. That's...
pretty bad.

1
Reply
DeePo 3 months ago

blahmoomoo
A sensor that shoot in 16:9 like on the HTC One, is not that good, in fact
it stirs massively the image on the edges, with a deformation that can
be seen as soon as you leave the very center of the picture.


Reply
TY 3 months ago DeePo
I thought the "stir" is a side effect of OIS? Lumia 920 has it too, but on
the One it's less noticable.


Reply
DeePo 2 months ago TY
No, it's the frame format, the Nexus 5 has OIS but a 4:3 frame, thus you
got no stir effect at all. The One has a 16:9 frame, instead of cropping
images up and down to use 16:9 resolutions, it crops them left and right
to get 4:3 resolutions when required. Thus on the One is the effect is
very pronounced, having both phones I can guarantee you the N5 is a
better camera 9 times out of 10


Reply
pobautista 3 months ago Michael Schaap
1) Many digital cameras, and many film cameras, both LCD-type and viewfinder-type,
have been doing this for years, and decades. The jury is still out which UX {cropped or
not} is better.

6
Reply
blahmoomoo 3 months ago pobautista
If you have some experience with photography and are interested in taking
pictures that look good (but not necessarily perfect), you know that proper
framing/composition is one of the more important things to have. So no
cropping would be best, because you know exactly how the subjects will be
positioned in the final photo. And since I assume some people who don't care
about proper framing might think letterboxing looks ugly, providing an option to
not crop the preview shouldn't be hard to implement.
I haven't seen a digital camera (one dedicated to taking pictures and/or video)
with an LCD that shows a cropped preview, partly because the preview screen
has the same aspect ratio as the picture being taken. Even my camera that
allows you to take pictures in multiple aspect ratios letterboxes the 3:2 and 16:9
previews.
Non-digital viewfinders can't show the exact framing of the picture being shot
unless the camera is an SLR since it is not in the same position as the lens, so
the best it could do is approximate the view. SLR viewfinders can show exact
framing since you are looking through the camera's lens.

11
Reply
ltredbeard 3 months ago blahmoomoo
Even some SLRs or DSLRs have a cropped viewfinder. The Nikon
D5100 is only 95%.

3
Reply
blahmoomoo 3 months ago ltredbeard
Eh, all right. At least they make a best effort there; 95% is far better
than, say, 75%.

2
Reply
Jsilvermist 3 months ago Michael Schaap
Wait, I'm confused, wouldn't 16:9 be supported now since they have the 2MP option at
16:9?

1
Jays2Kings 3 months ago
I also noticed that the holo dark buttons look different, at least I think the buttons didn't look like
this in 4.4
http://puu.sh/5LMcp.png : 4.4 & below
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3/17/2014 What' s Really New In Android 4.4.1 And 4.4.2
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Reply
http://puu.sh/5LMfU.png : 4.4.1+
Edited with better comparison. Side note this shows up in all apps with dark ui, for example
Titanium Backup.

14
Reply
Liam Spradlin 3 months ago AP Staff Jays2Kings
I actually mentioned this briefly in GTKA: http://www.androidpolice.com/2... (near the
end). Thanks for the comparison though. I think the darker buttons are much more
appealing.

9
Reply
Jays2Kings 3 months ago Liam Spradlin
Oh I see, also I'm pretty sure when I was checking for an update to 4.4.2 on my
stock 4.4 nexus 7, it was the old color. Regardless I agree too.


Reply
Dan, From The Internet 3 months ago
Two fixes I've found with the Nexus 7 2012: when playing music on the lockscreen in 4.4,
holding down the play/pause button to seek would cause the lockscreen widgets to act up.
This is fixed now. Also, the Gallery app would never show up in multitasking. That's fixed too.

10
Reply
Liam Spradlin 3 months ago AP Staff Dan, From The Internet
Thanks for pointing those out. The gallery does show up in recents for me on 4.4, but
the other bug was definitely irritating.

3
Reply
Michael Oghia (Ogie) 3 months ago Liam Spradlin
Thanks for the post Liam!


Reply
Gandalf_Teh_Gray 3 months ago Dan, From The Internet
I didn't even know about that. Probably skimmed over it when it was released since I
usually use Widgetlocker but haven't so far since the full screen albums look good.

1
Reply
Simon Belmont 3 months ago
Great write-up. I've been waiting for this for a while and it turned out great.
Now if only Google would fix this issue with the stock email app that is STILL present in
Android 4.4.2 on both my Nexus 5 and 2012 Nexus 7: http://code.google.com/p/andro... .
Please, Google. I just want to be able to download my damned attachments.

7
Reply
Switching to another OS soon 3 months ago Simon Belmont
Too bad so many media outlets are proclaiming that it's been fixed even though it still
persists. Hopefully one will pick up /that/ story so it continues getting the attention it
needs. HINT HINT Androidpolice

4
Reply
Simon Belmont 3 months ago Switching to another OS soon
I really hope so, man. It's been the one black mark (that and the stupid 5 MB
attachment limitation) on an otherwise fantastic experience with my day-one
Nexus 5.
I'm hoping that now that Android 4.4+ is filtering out to more devices, that more
people begin to complain about it. From the link I posted above, it looks like
that's what is happening. If Google is going to bring the stock email client to the
Google Play Store, like AP thinks it might, then at least there's an easier outlet
for fixing the darned thing. Cheers.

1
Mark Bailey 3 months ago
If you disable Google+ (although why would you?) Photos is gone.
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3/17/2014 What' s Really New In Android 4.4.1 And 4.4.2
http://www.androidpolice.com/2013/12/13/whats-really-new-in-android-4-4-2/ 11/13
Reply
Go into camera. Swipe to photos. Hit the up button to go to Photos (disabled) it kicks you out
to the home screen ... AND DELETES the last photo. Really odd. (Tested on stock Nexus 4
4.4.2)

6
Reply
Darshan-Josiah Barber 3 months ago
You've misunderstood the 250 ms change for the camera. That commit exclusively deals with
swiping to the camera from the lockscreen, where there is an intentional delay (now 400 ms;
previously 650 ms) before launching the camera in order to give the user an opportunity to
swipe back to the lockscreen if they don't actually want the camera.
The camera app itself is much speedier, launching more quickly whether from the launch
screen or otherwise.

6
Reply
Darshan-Josiah Barber 3 months ago Darshan-Josiah Barber
I meant "lock screen" in my last sentence, not "launch screen," and I can't edit my
post.


Reply
BrahManty 3 months ago
Just got 4.4.2 on my N10 and it drastically reduced the grid size for the home screens in the
google experience launcher. I used to fit 8 icons in the dock, now only six. Home screens
themselves now use a 5x5 grid. Kind of odd. Still no transparent bars or "OK Google"
activation :(

5
Reply
Robin Frick 3 months ago BrahManty
That has happened with the latest Google search update, not 4.4.2, I think. It was all
well for the first few days on 4.4.2 for me, but the Google search update then removed
our icons. The one update that Android news blogs praise for "improving" the tablet
experience (what they mean is landscape support for 7" tablets).

4
Reply
mjku 3 months ago Robin Frick
Ugh, yes, the new grid layout is atrocious. The vertical spacing (when held
landscape) is very narrow, while the horizontal spacing is insane. I have a
larger screen here, so why am I not allowed to use it to its full potential?


Reply
Edup Music Prodigy 3 months ago BrahManty
Download DPI changer app don't remember the name


Reply
GarySFBCN 3 months ago
Overall, I'm very happy with the N5. It's the best phone I've owned. But the camera UI still
needs work. And with so much screen real estate available, why a separate tap to get
settings? Why not reveal everything at once?

5
Reply
Cole 3 months ago
I have the "Mobile plan" button on my stock Nexus 4, running 4.4.2.

5
Reply
Liam Spradlin 3 months ago AP Staff Cole
I believe the change was only for the Nexus 5. I could probably be more clear about
that in the post.

3
Reply
Cole 3 months ago Liam Spradlin
Strange that they would remove it only for one device, though. Looks like a
mistake to me.

4
Reply
Liam Spradlin 3 months ago AP Staff Cole
Here's the relevant commit: https://android.googlesource.c... I'll add a
link in the post.

2
Reply
grimoald 3 months ago
Fun thing: with google+ disabled when you hit the "upward to photos" button after swiping left
in the camera app, the currently shown photo gets deleted and you're being send to the home
screen... (N4 4.2.2)

4
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3/17/2014 What' s Really New In Android 4.4.1 And 4.4.2
http://www.androidpolice.com/2013/12/13/whats-really-new-in-android-4-4-2/ 12/13
Reply
TheLastAngel 3 months ago grimoald
Oh no! I already deleted 5 photos by accident.
This is what you get for deactivating Google+ (to hell with it).


Reply
Simon Belmont 3 months ago grimoald
You mean N4 4.4.2, but yeah, you're right. It happens on the Nexus 5, too.
I just tested it. I'll be sure NOT to go through that sequence until a fix is put out.


Reply
niknetniko 3 months ago
Another UI fix: the AOSP launcher now has been de-blued. The screen with apps now has
white lines!

4
Reply
abobobilly 3 months ago
Android Police ... what would i do without you.
Nailed it once again.

4
Reply
Adi 3 months ago
When the Gallery ery app is finally killed, will we lose the new and improved Editor, or will that
jump over to Photos well?

4
Reply
Roh_Mish 3 months ago Adi
I actually like gallery more than the photos app.

13
Reply
Anonymous 3 months ago
They fixed the status bar being partially opaque if you locked the nexus 5 while notification
shade was pulled down.

4
Reply
Javier 3 months ago
Some change was made to the camcorder in 4.4.2 because when you try to record a video in
dim light you cant really see nothing in the viewfinder and the video turns way dark.

4
Reply
TheLastAngel 3 months ago Javier
Yep, another screwup. Can confirm that.

1
Reply
PhineasJW 3 months ago
I'm still having Exchange sync issues, unfortunately.
Just yesterday my N5 was warm to the touch and doing the rapid-sync thing, constantly
flashing the sync icon. Maybe it's just our lousy email setup at work. :(

2
Reply
Simon Belmont 3 months ago PhineasJW
Don't worry. I still have email woes, too. Though, not exchange related. Just with my
POP3 setup.
I can't download ANY attachments (the download fails, and on the off RARE chance
that it works, it still won't actually download it and let me access it later). It's been a big
problem since I got my Nexus 5 (and now my Nexus 7 does it, too, since KitKat). Lets
hope Google puts the stock email app in the Google Play Store soon. Then maybe it
can get rapid fire updates to quell these problems.

1
Reply
TheLastAngel 3 months ago PhineasJW
I also gave the Email app another try and Exchange is still broken for me. I only get to
see Emails from the current month and can't send or receive new mails. Our company
uses the Exchange solution by Novell which is rather obscure. But non of the
Samsung devices in our company with Touchwiz mail have any issues at all. So I
guess the problem is with Googles Email app in 4.3 and 4.4.
In 4.2 everything worked flawlessly.


Jorge 3 months ago
There's an annoying bug on the Nexus 7 2012. If I rotate the screen multiple times, "dead"
pixels start to appear. Google should fix this quickly, but so far... Nothing.
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3/17/2014 What' s Really New In Android 4.4.1 And 4.4.2
http://www.androidpolice.com/2013/12/13/whats-really-new-in-android-4-4-2/ 13/13

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pixels start to appear. Google should fix this quickly, but so far... Nothing.

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