Android Ice Cream Sandwich

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Android Ice Cream Sandwich
Version of the Android operating system
Screenshot
Android 4.0 home screen on Galaxy Nexus
DeveloperGoogle
Released to
manufacturing		October 19, 2011; 12 years ago (2011-10-19)
Final release4.0.4_r2.1 (IMM76L)[1] / June 6, 2012; 11 years ago (2012-06-06)
Kernel typeMonolithic (Linux)
Preceded byAndroid 2.3.7 "Gingerbread" (smartphones)
Android 3.2.6 "Honeycomb" (tablets)
Succeeded byAndroid 4.1 "Jelly Bean"
Official websitedeveloper.android.com/about/versions/android-4.0-highlights.html Edit this at Wikidata
Support status
Unsupported since December 6, 2018, Google Play Services support dropped since February 2019[2]

Android Ice Cream Sandwich (or Android 4.0) is the fourth major version of the

Samsung Galaxy Nexus
.

Android 4.0 was focused on simplifying and modernizing the overall Android experience around a new set of

mobile data
usage, and other internal improvements.

Android 4.0 received positive reviews by critics, who praised the cleaner, revamped appearance of the operating system in comparison to previous versions, along with its improved performance and functionality. However, critics still felt that some of Android 4.0's stock apps were still lacking in quality and functionality in comparison to third-party equivalents, and regarded some of the operating system's new features, particularly the "face unlock" feature, as being gimmicks.

As of October 2022, statistics issued by Google indicate that 0.15% of all Android devices accessing Google Play run Ice Cream Sandwich.[4]

Development

Following the

CTIA trade show in San Diego. However, out of respect for the death of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, Google and Samsung postponed the event to October 19, 2011, in Hong Kong.[8] Android 4.0 and its launch device, the Galaxy Nexus, were officially unveiled on October 19, 2011. Andy Rubin explained that 4.0 was intended to provide a "enticing and intuitive" user experience across both smartphones and tablets.[9]

Metro design language looked too much like "airport lavatory signage", and that both operating systems tried too hard to enforce conformity, "[without] leaving any room for the content to express itself."[10] For Ice Cream Sandwich, his team aimed to provide interface design guidelines which would evoke a modern appearance, while still allowing flexibility for application developers. He characterized the revised look of Ice Cream Sandwich as having "toned down the geeky nerd quotient" in comparison to Honeycomb, which carried a more futuristic appearance that was compared by critics to the aesthetics of Tron.[10]

In January 2012, following the official launch of Ice Cream Sandwich, Duarte and Google launched an Android Design portal, which features human interface guidelines, best practices, and other resources for developers building Android applications designed for Ice Cream Sandwich.[11]

Release

The Galaxy Nexus was the first Android device to ship with Android 4.0.[9] Android 4.0.3 was released on December 16, 2011, providing bug fixes, a new social stream API, and other internal improvements.[12] The same day, Google began a rollout of Ice Cream Sandwich to the predecessor of the Galaxy Nexus, the Nexus S. However, on December 20, 2011, the Nexus S roll-out was "paused" so the company could "monitor feedback" related to the update.[13][14]

On Mar 29, 2012, Android 4.0.4 was released, adding several performance improvements to the camera and screen rotation, and other bug fixes.

better source needed
]

Google Play Services support for 4.0 ended in February 2019.[16]

Features

See also: Android version history § Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich

Visual design

The user interface of Android 4.0 represents an evolution of the design introduced by Honeycomb, although the futuristic aesthetics of Honeycomb were scaled back in favor of

Google Play Store (formerly Android Market) must provide the capability for apps to use the unmodified Holo theme.[17][18][19]

As with Honeycomb, devices can now render navigation buttons—"Back", "Home", and "Recent apps"—on a "system bar" across the bottom of the screen, removing the need for physical equivalents.[17] The "Menu" button that was present on previous generations of Android devices is deprecated, in favor of presenting buttons for actions within apps on "action bars", and menu items which do not fit on the bar in "action overflow" menus, designated by three vertical dots. Hardware "Search" buttons are also deprecated, in favor of search buttons within action bars. On devices without a "Menu" key, a temporary "Menu" key is displayed on-screen while running apps that are not coded to support the new navigation scheme. On devices that use a hardware "Menu" key, action overflow buttons are hidden in apps and are mapped to the "Menu" key.[20][21]

User experience

The default home screen of Ice Cream Sandwich displays a persistent Google Search bar across the top of the screen, a dock across the bottom containing the app drawer button in the middle, and four slots for app shortcuts alongside it. Folders of apps can be made by dragging an app and hovering it over another. The app drawer is split into two tabs; one for apps, and the latter holding

tabs, in which users can navigate between different panes by either tapping their name on a strip, or swiping left and right.[17]

The phone app was updated with a Holo design, the ability to send pre-configured text message responses in response to incoming calls, and

"Face Unlock", includes a shortcut for launching the camera app, and can house playback controls for music players. The keyboard incorporates improved autocomplete algorithms, and improvements to voice input allow for continuous dictation.[17][23][24] The ability to take screenshots by holding down the power and "Volume down" buttons together was also added.[25]

On devices supporting

quota as calculated by the device.[24][23]

Platform

Android 4.0 inherits platform additions from Honeycomb, and also adds support for ambient temperature and humidity sensors,

APIs. For multimedia support, Android 4.0 also adds support for ADTS AAC, Matroska containers for Vorbis and VP8, WebP, streaming of VP8, OpenMAX AL, and HTTP Live Streaming 3.0.[23]

Reception

Android 4.0 was released to positive reception: Ars Technica praised the Holo user interface for having a "sense of identity and visual coherence that were previously lacking" in comparison to previous versions of Android, also believing that the new interface style could help improve the quality of third-party apps. The stock apps of Android 4.0 were also praised for having slightly better functionality in comparison to previous versions. Other features were noted, such as the improvements to text and voice input, along with the data usage controls (especially given the increasing use of metered data plans), and its overall performance improvements in comparison to Gingerbread. However, the Face Unlock feature was panned for being an insecure gimmick, and although providing an improved experience over the previous version, some of its stock applications (such as its email client) were panned for still being inferior to third-party alternatives.[24]

beta feel" to them, noted the lack of Facebook integration with the new People app, and that the operating system was still not as intuitive for new users as its competitors.[25]

PC Magazine acknowledged influence from Windows Phone 7 in the new "People" app and improved benchmark performance on the web browser, but considered both Android Beam and Face Unlock to be gimmicks, and criticized the lack of support for certain apps and Adobe Flash on launch.[26]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Android Source". Google Git. June 6, 2012. Archived from the original on May 11, 2019. Retrieved October 15, 2017.
  2. ^ "Google is ending Play Service support for Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich". 7 December 2018. Archived from the original on 27 August 2022. Retrieved 27 August 2022.
  3. ^ "Android 4.0 Platform and Updated SDK Tools". Archived from the original on 2021-05-19. Retrieved 2021-05-28.
  4. ^ "Dashboards | Android Developers". developer.android.com. Archived from the original on 2018-01-10. Retrieved 2018-07-01.
  5. ^ "Tasty Ice Cream Sandwich details drip out of redacted screenshots". Ars Technica. 11 August 2011. Archived from the original on 22 April 2021. Retrieved 24 July 2014.
  6. ^ "Google announces Android Ice Cream Sandwich will merge phone and tablet OSes". Ars Technica. 10 May 2011. Archived from the original on 29 July 2019. Retrieved 24 July 2014.
  7. ^ "Leaked specs for beastly Google Nexus 4G may win carriers' hearts". Ars Technica. 15 June 2011. Archived from the original on 7 May 2021. Retrieved 24 July 2014.
  8. ^ "Android Ice Cream Sandwich event moved to October 19 in Hong Kong". Ars Technica. 13 October 2011. Archived from the original on 15 April 2021. Retrieved 24 July 2014.
  9. ^ a b Meyer, David (19 October 2011). "Google unveils Ice Cream Sandwich Android 4.0". ZDNet. Archived from the original on 19 September 2019. Retrieved 24 July 2014.
  10. ^ a b c d e f "Exclusive: Matias Duarte on the philosophy of Android, and an in-depth look at Ice Cream Sandwich". The Verge. Vox Media. 18 October 2011. Archived from the original on 12 February 2012. Retrieved November 28, 2011.
  11. ^ "Google launches style guide for Android developers". Ars Technica. 13 January 2012. Archived from the original on 17 November 2016. Retrieved 25 July 2014.
  12. ^ "Android 4.0.3 Platform and Updated SDK tools" Archived 2014-07-19 at the Wayback Machine. Android Developers Blog. December 16, 2011. Retrieved January 4, 2012.
  13. ^ "Nexus S Ice Cream Sandwich update pushed back". TechRadar. Archived from the original on 11 May 2019. Retrieved 25 July 2014.
  14. ^ "Samsung Nexus S updates to Ice Cream Sandwich starting today". CNET. Archived from the original on 11 May 2019. Retrieved 25 July 2014.
  15. ^ "Google announces Android 4.0.4". The Inquirer. March 29, 2012. Retrieved March 31, 2012.
  16. ^ "Google Play services drops support for Android Ice Cream Sandwich". VentureBeat. 2018-12-07. Archived from the original on 2018-12-07. Retrieved 2018-12-08.
  17. ^ a b c d e f g Amadeo, Ron (16 June 2014). "The history of Android: The endless iterations of Google's mobile OS". Ars Technica. Condé Nast. Archived from the original on 5 July 2014. Retrieved 6 July 2014.
  18. ^ "Google requiring default 'Holo' theme in Android 4.0 devices for Android Market access". The Verge. Archived from the original on 27 July 2014. Retrieved 25 July 2014.
  19. ^ "Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich SDK released with new features for developers". The Verge. Archived from the original on 27 July 2014. Retrieved 25 July 2014.
  20. ^ "Say Goodbye to the Menu Button". Android developers blog. Archived from the original on 8 August 2014. Retrieved 25 July 2014.
  21. ^ "Android menu button now on by default on all device with KitKat". PhoneArena.com. December 9, 2013. Archived from the original on December 13, 2013. Retrieved February 9, 2014.
  22. ^ "Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich complete guide". SlashGear. 20 October 2011. Archived from the original on 28 July 2014. Retrieved 25 July 2014.
  23. ^ a b c d "Ice Cream Sandwich". Android developers portal. Archived from the original on 9 May 2016. Retrieved 25 July 2014.
  24. ^ a b c "Unwrapping a new Ice Cream Sandwich: Android 4.0 reviewed". Ars Technica. 19 December 2011. Archived from the original on 17 November 2016. Retrieved 25 July 2014.
  25. ^ a b "Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich review". Engadget. Archived from the original on 11 February 2020. Retrieved 25 July 2014.
  26. ^ "Google Android 4.0 "Ice Cream Sandwich"". PC Magazine. Archived from the original on 21 February 2012. Retrieved 25 July 2014.

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Android_Ice_Cream_Sandwich&oldid=1218823448"