Google announced KitKat as Android version 4.4, internally known as Project Svelte. The release had long been expected to be numbered 5.0 and called 'Key Lime Pie'. Android KitKat debuted on Google's Nexus 5, and has been optimized to run on a greater range of devices, having 512MB of RAM as a recommended minimum.
KitKat introduces refreshed interface with white elements and the ability to trigger translucency in the navigation and status bars. It gives apps the ability to use "immersive mode" to keep the navigation and status bars hidden while maintaining user interaction white better optimized for performance than previous versions. It also adds wireless printing capability and NFC host car emulation as some of its new features.
Minimum requirements have been upgraded over time, with the new Android versions releases. Original minimums were 32MB of RAM, 32MB of Flash memory, and a 200MHz ARM architecture (ARMv5) processor. As of October 2011 and version 4.0, a graphics processing unit (GPU) that supports OpenGL ES 2.0 hardware acceleration is mandatory.
As of November 2013 and KitKat, Android requires at least 512MB of RAM and an ARMv7 processor. MIPS and x86 architectures are also supported. OpenGL ES 2.0 hardware acceleration is still mandatory, while OpenGL ES 3.0 is supported.