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As iOS 7 looms, Google reportedly delays Android 5.0 in favour of Jelly Bean update

No OS overhaul at I/O conference

As iOS 7 looms, Google reportedly delays Android 5.0 in favour of Jelly Bean update
Despite speculation that Google was planning to reveal version 5.0 of Android at its I/O conference next month, the company is actually working on an update to Jelly Bean.

That's according to a report on Android Police, which has examined server log data to conclude that Android 4.3 Jelly Bean is currently being tested by Google engineers, and traced the log's IP range back to Google employees.

So while Apple is promising to put "new versions of iOS and OS X into [developers'] hands" at WWDC, it seems as though Google's 2013 I/O will not feature a major OS update.

Extra helpings

At Google I/O last year, Google released the Jelly Bean SDK, as well as unveiling the Nexus 7 tablet and the Nexus Q streaming media player.

The 2013 I/O conference seems like the perfect venue to unveil the next version of Android, then, but rumour has it that Google has intentionally delayed its latest OS overhaul in order to give OEMs more time to update their existing devices to Android 4.0.


Jelly Bean running on a Nexus 4

Such a move would help in the ongoing battle against Android fragmentation.

Google's made significant strides in this area in the last 12 months, and as of April 2013, 54.3 percent of Android devices are on version 4.0 and above, while 25 percent use Jelly Bean.

[source: Android Police]
Staff Writer

PocketGamer.biz's news editor 2012-2013