Android to get native screenshots with Ice Cream Sandwich?

While it’s not exactly a flagship feature, lack of native screenshot support on Android has been an annoyance for some (especially those who don’t use select Sammy and HTC devices that build the feature in).

The guys over Android Police are reporting two binaries, “Screenshot” and “Screencap”, provide hints that screenshot functionality will be baked into Android natively. The feature is enabled by pressing “VolDn+Power” and returns the “Sreenshot saved to Gallery” prompt seen below. They note that the feature could be easily stripped out before a public release, but if not it would allow all Android users running ICS or above to snap screenshots without third-party apps, root, or carrier specific implementations.

This morning we started hearing reports that the Nexus Prime, which Google and Samsung are expected to unveil at 10PM EST tonight (10AM tomorrow local Hong Kong time), will be landing on UK carriers sometime before the end of the year and Japanese carrier NTT DoCoMo gives us a “November” release window. We will most likely get an in-depth look at Ice Cream Sandwich tonight and more than likely a mention of this native screenshot support.