Google recently announced the new version of its popular Android operating system would be making its way to the crowd in the coming few weeks. The system is now already available for the developers and we were lucky to get our hands on it to give it a little test.
Unlike the other new versions of Android from Google, Jelly Bean does not take a leap in features or the number it comes with. This version of Android is labeled as Android 4.1 instead of Android 5.0. Google has not revealed why it would release a major update without labeling it as a major release.
Android 4.1 Jelly Bean is here to bring new features that mostly improve upon its predecessor Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. The new version of Android will definitely fix a lot of your performance issues, we set out to tell you what you can expect from the update.
Notifications:
The first major change in the new operating system version is the Notifications area. Google has completely changed the notifications UI with adjustments that will benefit both the developers and users. The first and foremost thing that is noticeable is the color tone and the size of the notifications which have been adjusted to make them look better.
New touchscreen controls have also been added to the notifications panels. Now you can easily use your fingers to collapse and expand rows and by simply touching a notification, a user can now interact with it.
For example, now pressing on the missed call notification, you can directly call back the person with a single call back button on the notifications area.
Home Screen UI:
Another new great thing that Android 4.1 adds to the overall user experience is the new widget control system. For those of you who have been using third party applications to move around widgets on your home screens can now finally do so the same right on the preinstalled version. Android 4.1 allows you to resize and move the widget around to wherever you please.
For music listeners, Android 4.1 Jelly Bean adds a great new function called ‘whats this song’. This function works exactly like Sound Hound and Shazm by searching for a track that is being played in the environment. If the song is found, you will be taken to Google Play to buy it immediately.
Project Butter:
One of the biggest changes to the new version of Android is without any doubt the Project Butter. For those of you who do not know, Google announced Project Butter during the Google IO 2012. The same event when it revealed Android 4.1 and its Nexus branded tablet. The Project Butter is an effort by the developer team behind Android to completely smooth the user experience.
Over the past few releases of the OS, Android has suffered from unresponsiveness and lag. Google has promised that with Project Butter all the lag and unresponsiveness will finally end. We decided to test the claims ourselves.
After using the operating system on the new Nexus, we are convinced and happy that Google was right about whatever it said about the Google Project Butter. Apparently, the smoothness is so obvious and felt that it amazed us.
Project Butter will really attract people to upgrade their phones with the latest Android build because it really does get rid of the lag. According to official Google statement, Project Butter uses a lot of technical stuff in the background to smoother the user experience. For example, using Vsync timing, the team has been able to increase the frame rates of the overall UI and decrease any lag and stutter.
The result of different techniques to give faster response is a much smoother experience than ever before. For those who are on a low end or mid ranged processor, Project Butter will prove to be quite useful. If only Google could implement this system on the rest of its Android Versions.
Conclusion:
Android 4.1 Jelly Bean is an amazing upgrade for anyone who can get it. Unfortunately, the list of phones supporting it yet isn’t quite big, but we believe due to the nature of the new operating system, a lot of manufacturers will definitely upgrade their phones with this operating system. The increase in performance is something no manufacturer would let slip from their hands.
We love the new notifications and definitely like the new preinstalled widget controls. There is however some bits and pieces that Google should concentrate on for its next versions. For example we hope that Google will finally introduce some powerful new security features so that we can carry the phone without any fear of it getting infected with malware or virus.
If you are on one of the phone that supports this new update, you’d be mad not to upgrade it!
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