A Google executive, speaking at the World Mobile Congress in Barcelona, Spain, hinted at the release of Android 5.0 this fall.
Although rumors had the new generation of the smartphone and tablet operating system coming out this summer, remarks by Hiroshi Lockheimer, vice president of engineering for mobile at Google, suggest a later release.
"After Android 4 comes 5, and we haven't announced the timing yet, which we're still sorting out," Lockheimer told Computerworld in Barcelona Monday. "There's a lot of engineering work behind it still, and there's also just the question of how to time it."
"In general, the Android release cadence is one major release a year with some maintenance releases that are substantial still," he said, a statement that suggests a fall 2012 release of Android 5.0 since Android 4.0 was released last November.
Lockheimer declined to identify the dessert name Android 5.0 will bear, following after Ice Cream Sandwich for version 4.0.
Earlier versions of the mobile operating system were called Cup Cake 1.5 , Donut (2.0), Eclair (2.1), Froyo 2.2, Gingerbread (2.3) and Honeycomb (3.0).
With the release of Android 5 a ways off, users are still complaining about the lag in upgrading older Android devices to Ice Cream Sandwich, a frustration that Lockheimer acknowledged.
The Android Upgrade Alliance announced last year was intended to facilitate efforts by phone manufacturers and wireless carriers to provide timely upgrades of devices during their first 18 months on the market, he said.
