Google's next iteration of Android wasn't quite the full-point release jump
that many of you were perhaps anticipating. Rather than using Google
I/O 2012 as the launching pad for Android 5.0, we're being formally
introduced to v4.1 -- a mere 0.1 ahead of where Ice Cream Sandwich
placed us around six months ago. Aside from grabbing a name change, the
minor numerical bump also provides Jelly Bean the opportunity to usher
in a few new features for Nexus owners to enjoy.
If you missed yesterday's keynote,
Google revealed that Android 4.1 would arrive on Nexus devices in
"mid-July," but there's no clear word on when partner companies will
begin pushing it to their products. Moreover, pundits are quick to point
out the legions of Android products that still haven't made the leap
to 4.0, leaving us to wonder if those Froyo and Gingerbread laggards
will simply take the fast track to 4.1 now that it's (almost) available.
Care to see if the latest and greatest will live up to your
expectations once it lands in a few weeks? Head on past the break as we
discuss some of the larger changes that Jelly Bean has to offer.
By and large, Jelly Bean is Ice Cream Sandwich. Just ... nicer.
And smoother. And with a few additions that make it worth yearning for.
Here at I/O, we were provided with a Samsung Galaxy Nexus, preloaded
with v4.1. Outside of the new Android build, it's the same phone we
first saw in Hong Kong last October.
As these things tend to go, the actual UI changes only tell a portion
of the story. It's tough to talk about Jelly Bean's significance without
first talking about Project Butter.
Continuing Google's long obsession with cuisine, the whimsically named
initiative is an appreciated one. Effectively, Google has retooled
Android to be even more responsive, so that it ramps up whatever power
lies within the moment a finger touches the screen. The goal here is to
achieve 60 frames per second across the board on modern hardware; that could
mean bad news for older devices that may or may not get the update, but
phones like the Galaxy Nexus seem to gain horsepower simply due to
coding improvements.
In our testing, an already zippy phone
simply felt perfectly smooth. Buttery, even. Chrome loaded in an
instant. Toggling voice search didn't result in a single pause. Swiping
between photos was shockingly brisk. We could go on, but it's really
simple: Android is finally at a place where it feels completely
buttoned-up from a silkiness standpoint. In the past, you needed
cutting-edge hardware to overcome some irregularities and inefficiencies
in the code. With v4.1, you're actually getting more features, without
feeling there's a speed hit on the other end. In fact, you're gaining
features and perceived speed. And really, who wouldn't be into that?
Without further ado, let's take a look at some of the more significant changes introduced in Jelly Bean.
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