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How Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, now 10 years old, changed your phone for the better
One name across two years and three versions, with countless benefits and an impactful legacy
I’m clearly a big fan of Android, but even I can admit that the platform took a while to hit its stride. It wasn’t until Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich that Android arguably started to feel feature-complete in the face of its (dwindling) competitors. But it was the various Android 4.X Jelly Bean versions that truly made Android start to feel like home for me. It was the era of Holo’s UI refinement and declining jank, the rise of Play Services, and the golden age of Android ROMs. And ten years ago today, Android 4.1 Jelly Bean descended on the world.
It's a miracle your Jelly Bean phone still works, but Google's gonna change that
The end of Play Services updates is the last nail in the coffin for Android 4.1-4.3
If you're still using an Android phone from the first half of the last decade, it might be time to upgrade. If not for all the many already-obvious reasons, then for one more today: Google has just discontinued Play Services updates for all phones running Android 4.1-4.3 Jelly Bean after August 2021. As part of the news, Google has also revealed that Jelly Bean phones now account for less than 1% of active devices as of July 2021.
Android Jelly Bean debuted nearly six years ago in November 2012, and it's currently the oldest version of Android still getting Chrome updates. That looks to be changing soon, though, according to a new commit spotted by XDA Developers.
An update to the Duo app is making its way out, but this appears to be a small-ish service update, at least for now. There's no specific sign that this version will re-launch the screen sharing feature after it rolled out in a malfunctioning state with v34, but it's possible that the implementation has been fixed and the feature will be turned on later. Instead, this update marks the end of Jelly Bean support. A teardown also shows that official tablet support is almost here.
Version 3.14 of Google Photos just started rolling out a little earlier today. This one doesn't appear to have any new features or major changes, but it might possibly be leaving behind some older versions of Android. This update could also be preparing to launch the Favorites feature spotted in a previous teardown. Looking further into the APK's resources, there are also signs of more options related to Shared Libraries. And finally, Austin's Mysteryer feature takes yet another turn.
Google is currently re-tooling Google Glass, but that other Android-powered face computer is finally shipping pre-orders that were placed back in 2013. The Recon Jet is expected to leave the warehouse on March 30th. To make up for the delay, the company is including a free spare battery and clear lenses in addition to the standard gray ones.
You might have noticed a number of recent stories (like this one) claiming Google was abandoning some huge portion of Android users rather than fixing WebView security holes. It's exactly the kind of thing that makes good clickbait. Google has now issued a statement on the security issues in Android 4.3 and earlier, basically pointing out it's not feasible to update old code forever and offering tips for avoiding potential exploits.
Huawei took a lot of heat when it told North American customers a few weeks ago that the Ascend Mate2 would not be getting the promised KitKat update. The original post was removed after the comments got ugly, and now Huawei is backtracking. After "reassessing" the decision to cancel KitKat on the Mate2, Huawei will go all the way to Lollipop, but not until some time in the first half of 2015.
It's that time again! Google has updated the developer dashboard with new platform distribution numbers, showing the current state of Android version distribution among devices that have recently checked in to the Play Store.
Blackberry may be having a rough time of it with flagging sales performance and complications with a certain carrier partner, but that hasn't stopped the company from courting app developers. In an effort to bring in more talent from the much larger and flourishing Android ecosystem, the Blackberry 10.3 SDK has bumped the Android runtime support up from API Level 17 to API level 18 (a.k.a. Android 4.3 Jelly Bean). The update will also brings some additional features and enhance integration with the operating system.
If you happen to own an Atrix HD from AT&T, get ready for something you haven't seen in a very long time: a firmware update. Unfortunately, this is only a "security enhancement" and not an upgrade to the Android operating system. Motorola hasn't specified exactly what this update is supposed to fix, but it's almost certainly a patch for the Heartbleed bug that was widely reported last month.
Good news, the long-awaited Android 4.3 update for the Galaxy S III is now rolling out to Verizon customers. Sure, it comes after peers received the goodies first on AT&T, T-Mobile, and Sprint, but that's just the way the wind blows sometimes. Oftentimes, actually. This is Verizon we're talking about. But here it is, build number I535VRUCML1, complete with the last Jelly Bean release and Galaxy Gear compatibility.
Not to be left behind by the larger carriers, US Cellular is also distributing the Android 4.3 update to the Galaxy S IIIs running on its network. In addition to the goodies that come with the latest version of Jelly Bean, this release gives Samsung's 2012 flagship the ability to pair with Galaxy Gear smartwatches, a privilege that until recently was exclusively provided to the Galaxy Note 3.
An Android 4.3 OTA update has already rolled out to Galaxy S IIIs on T-Mobile and AT&T. Now the update is coming to Sprint devices. This release not only gives Galaxy S IIIs the latest version of Jelly Bean, it introduces the ability to pair the devices with Galaxy Gear smartwatches and brings in Samsung KONX compatibility. Many of those pre-installed apps will also see improvements as well.
KitKat is tasty, for sure, but it's not the only Android flavor that gets users excited. Many users are still waiting for the latest version of Jelly Bean to arrive on their devices. Considering just how many Galaxy SIIIs Samsung managed to sell, that's a good number of customers who will be happy to know that their wait for Android 4.3 will soon come to an end. If you have a Galaxy S III running on T-Mobile, an Android 4.3 update may now be available for you to install.
When the latest version of Android starts rolling out, it's well-known that the vast majority of devices out there will never get updated. It's not the best situation, but it's one that at this point in time, many of us go into knowingly. So you LG Intuition owners out there, you already know you're not going to see KitKat come to your device, but at least you will finally now be able to leave Ice Cream Sandwich behind. The latest OTA update will bump your handset up to Jelly Bean - the first one, as in Android 4.1.
As we're still basking in the afterglow of a big Android announcement, Google is back to the same old stuff. The developer dashboard has been updated with the freshest Android distribution numbers. This time Jelly Bean has hit a milestone just as it became the "old" version of Android.
Android 4.3 first rolled out to American HTC Ones on the Sprint network, and it arrived for those on AT&T not long after. Well, the next rollout may surprise you. No, it's not T-Mobile or Verizon - it's C Spire Wireless, the eighth largest carrier in the US. HTC One owners throughout the Deep South (the area served by C Spire Wireless) should have received or will soon receive an OTA bumping their handset up to the latest version of Android.
Samsung really crossed the streams when it announced the Galaxy NX Android camera back in June – mashing up a high-end mirrorless camera with Android. It's a rather bizarre idea, but actually looks like an interesting device. Samsung neglected to announce a price, though. Well, now it has, and you're not going to like it. The Galaxy NX will cost $1,599 for the body with no lens, or $1,699 for the body and a standard 18-55mm zoom lens.
Sony has announced that a previously promised maintenance update for the Xperia S, Xperia SL, and Xperia Acro S is hitting the internet tubes now. These devices received an Android 4.1 update a while back, but now the OEM is tying up some loose ends with a new Jelly Bean build. It should reach all users soon.