Android 4.1 Jelly Bean review: a look at what's changed in Google's mobile OS

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.


Filed Under Cellphones, Software
Android 4.1 Jelly Bean review: a look at what's changed in Google's mobile OS
By Darren Murph posted Jun 28th 2012 10:00AM
Review

Android 41 Jelly Bean review a look at what's changed in Google's mobile OS

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.
Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean) homescreen gallery

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?

Source:http://www.engadget.com/2012/06/28/android-4-1-jelly-bean-review-a-look-at-whats-changed-in-googl/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+weblogsinc%2Fengadget+%28Engadget%29