A long way down the line after the successful launch of Android Ice Cream Sandwich back in October 2011, Google has now decided to make some adjustments in the usage of the OS on their devices.
The company has brought in the Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich’s native theme, dubbed Holo for smartphones and tablets. And, by doing this, Google makes it mandatory to have Holo on any Android device if the users are to access apps, particularly those at the large Android Market.
Earlier, a native UI theme for Ice Cream Sandwich was being talked about, but one that will be specially designed for accessing the Android Market might come as a surprise to everyone.
Google’s
default Holo theme is packed with a set of UI widgets and design elements that will help apps developers. This hints that Ice Cream Sandwich OS is now open for third-party developers in such a way as to help in designing widgets and apps that suit the native theme. This does not mean that the company is fully forcing the usage of Holo on anyone, especially the manufacturers.
The native theme will be default for the entire apps, which doesn’t request specifically the device’s default skin. This means that the look and feel of third-party Android skins like the Samsung’s TouchWiz, HTC’s Sense UI, and others will not enter deep into third-party apps unless the developers’ design them that way.
The new move is considered as a clear step by Google to bring about user interface and thematic consistency across the Android devices.
What do you think of Google’s native theme for the Android Ice Cream Sandwich OS?