| Android Jelly Bean | |
|---|---|
| Version of theAndroid operating system | |
 | |
 Android 4.2 Jelly Bean running on aNexus 4 | |
| Developer | |
| Released to manufacturing | July 9, 2012; 13 years ago (2012-07-09) (as Android 4.1, API 16) October 9, 2012; 13 years ago (2012-10-09) (as Android 4.1.2, API 16)November 13, 2012; 12 years ago (2012-11-13) (as Android 4.2, API 17) July 24, 2013; 12 years ago (2013-07-24) (as Android 4.3, API 18) |
| Final release | 4.3.1_r2 (JLS36I)[1] / October 4, 2013; 12 years ago (2013-10-04)[2] |
| Kernel type | Monolithic (Linux) |
| Preceded by | Android Ice Cream Sandwich (4.0) |
| Succeeded by | Android KitKat (4.4) |
| Official website | www |
| Support status | |
| |
Android Jelly Bean (Android 4.1, 4.2, 4.3) is the codename given to the tenth version of theAndroidmobile operating system developed byGoogle, spanning three majorpoint releases (versions 4.1 through 4.3.1). Among the devices that were launched with Android 4.1 to 4.3 already installed are theNexus 7 (2012),Nexus 4,Nexus 10,Nexus 7 (2013), andHyundai Play X.
The first of these three releases, 4.1, was unveiled at Google's I/O developer conference in May 2012. It focused on performance improvements designed to give the operating system a smoother and more responsive feel, as well as improvements to the notification system that allow for expandable notifications with action buttons, and other internal changes. Two more releases were made under the Jelly Bean name in October 2012 and July 2013, respectively, including 4.2—which included further optimizations, multi-user support for tablets,lock screen widgets, quick settings, and screensavers, and 4.3—which contained further improvements and updates to the underlying Android platform. The first device with Android Jelly Bean was the 2012Nexus 7.
As of January 2025[update], 0.04% of Android devices run Jelly Bean.[4] In July 2021, Google announced thatGoogle Play Services would no longer support Jelly Bean after August of that year.[3][5]
Android 4.1 Jelly Bean was first unveiled at theGoogle I/O developer conference on June 27, 2012, with a focus on "delightful" improvements to the platform's user interface, along with improvements to Google'ssearch experience on the platform (such asKnowledge Graph integration, and the then-new digital assistantGoogle Now), the unveiling of theAsus-producedNexus 7tablet, and the unveiling of theNexus Q media player.[6]
For Jelly Bean, work was made on optimizing the operating system's visual performance and responsiveness through a series of changes referred to as "Project Butter": graphical output is nowtriple buffered,vsync is used across all drawing operations, and the CPU is brought to full power when touch input is detected—preventing the lag associated with inputs made while the processor is in a low-power state. These changes allow the operating system to run at a full 60frames per second on capable hardware.[6][7][8]
Following 4.1, two more Android releases were made under the Jelly Bean codename; both of these releases focused primarily on performance improvements and changes to the Android platform itself, and contained relatively few user-facing changes. Alongside Android 4.1, Google also began to decoupleAPIs for its services on Android into a new system-level component known asGoogle Play Services, serviced throughthe Google Play Store. This allows the addition of certain forms of functionality without having to distribute an upgrade to the operating system itself, addressing the infamous "fragmentation" problems experienced by the Android ecosystem.[9]
Attendees of the Google I/O conference were given Nexus 7 tablets pre-loaded with Android 4.1, andGalaxy Nexus smartphones which could be upgraded to 4.1. Google announced an intent to release 4.1 updates for existing Nexus devices and theMotorola Xoom tablet by mid-July.[10] The Android 4.1 upgrade was released to the general public for GSM Galaxy Nexus models on July 10, 2012.[6][11][12] In late 2012, following the official release of Jelly Bean, a number of third-party AndroidOEMs began to prepare and distribute updates to 4.1 for their existing smartphones and tablets, including devices fromAcer,HTC,LG,Motorola,Samsung,Sony, andToshiba.[13] In August 2012,nightly builds of the aftermarket firmwareCyanogenMod based on 4.1 (branded as CyanogenMod 10) began to be released for selected devices, including some Nexus devices (theNexus S andGalaxy Nexus), theSamsung Galaxy S,Galaxy S II,Galaxy Tab 2 7.0,Motorola Xoom, andAsus Transformer.[14]
On October 29, 2012, Google unveiled Android 4.2, dubbed "a sweeter tasting Jelly Bean", alongside its accompanying launch devices, theNexus 4 andNexus 10.[15][16] Firmware updates for the Nexus 7 and Galaxy Nexus were released in November 2012.[17] Android 4.3 was subsequently released on July 24, 2013, via firmware updates to the Galaxy Nexus, 2012 Nexus 7, Nexus 4, and Nexus 10.[18]
Visually, Jelly Bean's interface reflects a refinement of the Holo appearance introduced byAndroid 4.0.[19] The default home screen of Jelly Bean received new features, such as the ability for other shortcuts and widgets on a home screen page to re-arrange themselves to fit an item being moved or resized. The notification system was also improved with the addition of expandable and actionable notifications; individual notifications can now display additional content or action buttons (such as Call back or Message on a missed call), accessible by dragging open the notification with a two-finger gesture. Notifications can also be disabled individually per app.[20]
Android 4.2 added additional features to the user interface; thelock screen can be swiped to the left to display widget pages, and swiped to the right to go to the camera. A pane of quick settings toggles (a feature often seen in OEM Android skins) was also added to the notification area— accessible by either swiping down with two fingers on phones, swiping down from the top-right edge of the screen on tablets, or pressing a button on the top-right corner of the notifications pane. The previous Browser application was officially deprecated on 4.2 in favor ofGoogle Chrome for Android. 4.2 also adds gesture typing on the keyboard, a redesigned Clock app, and a newscreensaver system known as Daydreams. On tablets, Android 4.2 also supports multiple users.[7][16][19]
To promote consistency between device classes, Android tablets now use an expanded version of the interface layout and home screen used by phones by default, with centered navigation keys and a status bar across the top. These changes took effect for small tablets (such as the Nexus 7) on 4.1, and for larger tablets on 4.2. Small tablets on Android are optimized primarily for use in a portrait (vertical) orientation, giving apps expanded versions of the layouts used by phones. When used in a "landscape" (horizontal) orientation, apps adjust themselves into the widescreen-oriented layouts seen on larger tablets. On large tablets, navigation buttons were previously placed in the bottom-left of a bar along the bottom of the screen, with the clock and notification area in the bottom-right.[21][22][23]
For developers, 4.1 also added new accessibility APIs, expanded language support withbi-directional text support and user-supplied keymaps, support for managing external input devices (such asvideo game controllers), support for multichannel, USB, andgapless audio, a new media routing API, low-level access to hardware and software audio and video codecs, and DNS-based service discovery and pre-associated service discovery for Wi-Fi.Android Beam can now also be used to initiateBluetooth file transfers throughnear-field communication.[23]
Android 4.2 added a rewrittenBluetooth stack, changing from the previousBluez stack (GPL created byQualcomm) to a rewrittenBroadcom open source stack calledBlueDroid.[24][25] The new stack, initially considered "immature"[26] promised several forward-looking benefits,[24] including improved support for multiple displays, support forMiracast, nativeright-to-left support, updated developer tools, further accessibility improvements such as zooming gestures, and several internal security improvements such as always-onVPN support and app verification.[23] A newNFC stack was added at the same time.[24]
Android 4.3 consisted of further low-level changes, includingBluetooth low energy andAVRCP support,SELinux,OpenGL ES 3.0, newdigital rights management (DRM) APIs, the ability for apps to read notifications, aVP8 encoder, and other improvements.[18]
Android 4.3 also included a hidden privacy feature known as "App Ops", which allowed users to individually deny permissions to apps. However, the feature was later removed on Android 4.4.2; a Google spokesperson stated that the feature was experimental and could prevent certain apps from functioning correctly if used in certain ways.[27][28] The concept was revisited as the basis of a redesigned permissions system forAndroid 6.0.[29]
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