Android Ice Cream Sandwich Photos Leak On Nexus S
Several screenshots have been leaked to a set of Android-specific fan sites that appear to show a Samsung Nexus S device hosting the newest still unreleased version of Android, that being Ice Cream Sandwich, a version which is said to tie together the smartphone and the tablet worlds, each of them now running their own versions of Android, Gingerbread for handsets and Honeycomb for tablets. A set of factoids appears to have been delivered with these photos from a source who very well may be delivering a legitimate Beta version of this operating system to the public.
The images in these photos we would give an educated guess at saying are certainly the Samsung Nexus S Android handset but whether or not this is actually an Ice Cream Sandwich Beta build or not is up for debate. What we're seeing here is a suspiciously cyan-looking layout where apps are crowned by a set of tabs that show Apps and Widgets separate with an Android Marketplace link in the upper right. Icons appear to be, on the whole, the same as we've seen in the basic vanilla build of Gingerbread on the Nexus S and the dock for app shortcuts at the bottom of the main homescreen set is semitransparent, having a circle depressed around the fourth app in the set, this possibly showing a drawer of apps working for multi-tasking much in the same way Honeycomb does now.
The following set of specs and features are written up by RootzWiki based on their sources:
Some features of ICS that we know (from our source and speculation):
• Blue Themed – Like our site (Change theme on bottom)
• Camera has built in panorama mode
• Will launch with Google Shopper and NFC Enabled devices will be able to utilize those features
• Gmail is all rethemed
• Will be available for the Nexus S
• Nexus Prime gets it first (expected) then other devices will follow after
• Not too many changes, just UI things, don't think requirements are set too high for year old devices to run it
• The little icon in the bottom right, looks like a tray with multiple apps in it
• Google search bar embedded on very top like Honeycomb
• Apps/Widgets launcher a lot like Honeycomb
• This release is still very early, notice the theming of the power tray
This set of photos also shows some settings in an exitable (with a big x) window with T-Mobile at the top and options for Pulse and AudioManager Console below it – this is very likely the notifications drawer we've been pulling down from the top of the screen for some time now – whether or not it'll be pulled down, up, or popped out from some place is yet unknown for certain. Then there's an image of some information on the Android version (with reads IceCreamSandwich without spaces or version number), along with a Build number of soju-userdebug IceCreamSandwich IRK36B.
The next set of details comes from Android Police who had the other set of leaked photos:
Our source has revealed the following:
• Brand-new launcher and app drawer, with screenshots of both featured exclusively on RootzWiki
• Camera now has a panorama mode (not pictured)
• Gmail has been totally re-themed to go with the new OS (not pictured)
• Nexus S will be receiving ICS via update, but the "Nexus Prime" will be getting it first
• Mostly UI changes – many older devices (< 1 year old) should be able to run it
What do you think? Seem like a realistic set of specifications from all different directions? Have a look at our Sandwich archive or head to the last rumor: Samsung roadmap leak tips 720p I9250 Android ICS phone, more or head back to the original official announcement for the REAL release from Google at the spring developer event: Android Ice Cream Sandwich Officially Announced at Google I/O.
Coming quick we hope!