The upcoming version of Android, dubbed as Ice Cream Sandwich, which is due to be released later this year just got its first ever “photo” leak, and we have to admit, the UI looks quite unique and different from the previous versions of Android.

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The images however got our hopes high for one big reason! its running on a Nexus S, which means that there is very high chance that the said device will get the update later this year.

The photos clearly show off the new UI which Google had originally promised at Google I/O 2011 earlier this year. And without any surprise, the UI resembles Honeycomb a lot! Which is an iteration of Android tailored for tablets only. Check out the images below and drool all over yourself:

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The main objective of Ice Cream Sandwich is to unite tablets and smartphones, or in other words, it’s a version of Android which fits all screen sizes.

Here are a few more details of Ice Cream Sandwich as posted by AndroidPolice:

    • Brand-new launcher and app drawer, with screenshots of both featured exclusively on RootzWiki
    • Camera now has a panorama mode (not pictured)
    • Gmail has been totally re-themed to go with the new OS (not pictured)
    • Nexus S will be receiving ICS via update, but the “Nexus Prime” will be getting it first
    • Mostly UI changes – many older devices (< 1 year old) should be able to run it

Just like what Google did with Gingerbread, the first love was given to the Nexus S and then the Nexus One followed, in Ice Cream Sandwich’s case, the Nexus Prime, which is the rumored next flagship smartphone by Google will have Ice Cream Sandwich on board, and after a short break, the Nexus S will also get update, which is great news for Nexus S users currently.

To be quite honest, Android has to go a long way to get in par with iOS, which is Apple’s mobile operating system for the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. Ice Cream Sandwich seems to be a game changer for Google, but only if they do it right.

At Google I/O, Google said that they will unite Google TV and smartphones with Ice Cream Sandwich, with the speed at which they are increasing screen sizes on smartphones, I’m sure they will achieve that goal (pun intended).

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