Though there’s no Android hardware that’s officially running Ice Cream Sandwich until tomorrow at the very least, one industrious modder has jumped the gun and managed to wrangle the software onto his Samsung Galaxy S II. At least, that’s what it looks  like. A video purporting to be Google’s shiny new operating system hit YouTube last week showing off the new interface and apps expected to be seen at the Samsung/Google event in Hong Kong on Wednesday local time.

Now, hold  your horses, buckaroos – there’s nothing in the admittedly slick video that proves that this Galaxy S II is actually running Ice Cream Sandwich, and at least one important indicator that it isn’t. Imitation Ice Cream Sandwich launchers/homescreens are already out there, and it’s worth noting that only Google Music and the Android Market, two apps whose ICS versions have already been leaked, are shown on video. The absence of a Settings>About Phone money shot leads me to believe that this is an enthusiastic but ultimately unspectacular fake, as do the popular themed aftermarket notification bar icons. The lack of on-screen navigation buttons is a dead giveaway.

See for yourself below (and you might want to turn your speakers down):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JTF5kFlefHU

That isn’t to say that Ice Cream Sandwich won’t make it to existing Android phones. In a few cases like the Nexus S and any high-end phones released this fall it’s almost a certainty, and the Galaxy S II should see some community-driven versions of ICS show up just as soon as Google posts the open-source code, due to its probably similarity to the Galaxy Nexus / Nexus Prime hardware. But for now, we’ll all just have to wait. The uploader, “Eddyx8”, says he’ll be posting a Galaxy S II ROM on XDA-Developers, but I wouldn’t hold my breath. In the meantime, anyone with a hankering for a fresh theme and a few spare hours could look around the Android modding community and come up with a similar experience on just about any late-model phone.

Keep an eye on Android Community this Tuesday night as we cover the Samsung/Google Hong Kong event. SlashGear will be covering the Ice Cream Sandwich and Galaxy Nexus unveiling live in China, beginning at 10AM Wednesday local time. That’s 10PM EST Tuesday evening in the United States.

[device id =1422]

[via Phandroid]

9 COMMENTS

  8. Multi-tasker is definitely fake as the market app says loading when touched instead of just going back to where you were in market.

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