Android 4.4 KitKat’s Project Svelte: what it is and why you should care

Earlier this week Google revealed the driving force behind the Android 4.4 Kitkat release and its name is ‘Project Svelte’. We take a look at what this curiously named initiative is, how it was developed and whether – as some are claiming – it could lead to the end of fragmentation on Android. 

What is Project Svelte?

The key is in the name. Svelte is Google’s attempt to cut the fat from Android allowing it to run faster and more smoothly on lower range handsets. It comes after Google’s admission that initiatives like ‘Project Butter’ (introduced in Android 4.1) made the operating system a silky user experience, but at the expense of upping the hardware requirements significantly. 

"The first thing that I was working on was Project Butter to make the system smoother," explained Google Head of Engineering Dave Burke in an interview with ReadWrite. "The thing is, butter puts on weight. So then I did Project Svelte to lose weight. So now my contribution to Android is basically zero."



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