As the Google I/O Conference is
fast approaching, the rumors surrounding the next major iteration of Android
likely the Android 5.0 are pouring in heavily. After the plethora of leaks
suggesting new feature additions and enhancements to the existing services, Google
has revealed that the upcoming build of Android will add a kill switch security
feature to the devices that are based on it.
The concept of kill switch is not
new to the Android devices as it is already included in the Galaxy S5 and LGG3, but it is called reactivation lock or anti factory reset protection and it
blocks any attempt that is made to factory restore the device or reactive it. This
feature makes the stolen smartphone useless until the user knows the password
making it impossible to resell the phone.
While the specifics of the
Android kill switch are not clearly known, it remains unknown if this
feature will be a part of the Android Device Manager, which allows users to track or
wipe the data in their lost smartphone.
Besides the inclusion of the kill
switch in the Android 5.0 (say for now), the platform will also make the Android Runtime
(ART) the default runtime. The runtime is responsible for the execution of the
applications and program. The ART was introduced with the Android 4.4 KitKat
and it is has been involved in testing since then. This software is believed to
make Android devices faster and enhance the battery life, but it has to be
noted that the applications will take more time for the initial installation
and they occupy relatively more disk space, up to 10-20% more space.
Expect to hear more about these features next week at Google I/O 2014 event.
Source 1, 2 | Via
Expect to hear more about these features next week at Google I/O 2014 event.
Source 1, 2 | Via