Android 4.1 Jelly Bean: everything you need to know

In an email from Samsung to The Verge, the company has announced that it's updating its flagship Galaxy S III handset to Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, starting today. Poland is the first market to receive the update, which brings Google Now, Project Butter, and other enhancements, but Samsung says Jelly Bean will "gradually" be introduced to other markets soon; how quickly you get it will "vary by market and wireless carriers' requirements." The update will also bring a few Samsung-specific enhancements, including improved 'Pop up play' functionality, a new 'Easy Mode' that offers easy-to-use widgets for favorites and recently-used applications, and a 'blocking mode' that sounds remarkably similar to Apple's 'Do Not Disturb' function.

Google announced Android 4.1 Jelly Bean back in June and released it for the unlocked GSM Galaxy Nexus a few weeks later, but Verizon's version has remained stuck on Ice Cream Sandwich. However, with very little fanfare, the carrier finally released the latest version of Android to Galaxy Nexus users. This comes just a few weeks after Sprint updated its own Galaxy Nexus and Nexus S hardware to the latest version of Android — Verizon's a little late, but the Galaxy Nexus is still getting Jelly Bean a lot faster than some handsets on the market. Verizon has put up a PDF with all the details on the 146MB update on its site, so check your phones now — the update should be rolling out any time now.

Some time after Android 4.1 Jelly bean came to the unlocked HSPA+ model of Samsung's Galaxy Nexus, Sprint has confirmed that it is rolling out the update to its own version of the phone. The latest update will add Google Now, some performance improvements, and other Jelly Bean features; it will also discontinue support for Adobe Flash Player. As of today, the update should start showing up as an over the air download. The Galaxy Nexus has been updated to Android 4.1 outside the US, but this marks the first time an American carrier has added Jelly Bean to one of its current phones.

According to Sprint's forums, Nexus S 4G owners are also in for a change. A Sprint employee has told users that Jelly Bean updates for the Nexus S will be a "slow roll out," but that the new software should be coming to everyone within about a week. A bug involving garbled text messages will also apparently be fixed. This hasn't yet been reflected on the official update page, so it's a bit less official, but it's still good news for people with the phone.

As promised, Asus looks to be rolling out Android 4.1 Jelly Bean for its Transformer Pad TF300T. According to Android Central, users have started receiving an over the air update to Jelly Bean over the past day. Installing it apparently disables Flash — which was recently discontinued for Android — and also makes Wi-Fi Direct unusable, but it adds support for Google Now and other standard Jelly Bean features. Eventually, the new firmware should show up on the Asus support page, but for now it's OTA-only. In late July, Asus promised timely updates to Android 4.1 for most of its Transformer line, so hopefully the Transformer Prime and Transformer Pad Infinity will see their own updates coming soon as well.

Sony has backed off an earlier claim that some 2011 Xperia phones would not be getting Android 4.1 Jelly Bean. After a UK product manager posted on Facebook that the Xperia Arc S and Mini Pro weren't being upgraded to the newest Android version, a spokesperson posted a correction on the Sony blog:

While this is pretty non-specific, it does suggest that it hasn't yet ruled out Android 4.1 for any of its newer phones. Since no Xperia devices are confirmed for Jelly Bean either, though, it looks like Sony is still just weighing its options. The blog post also mentioned that Sony would be announcing more about Ice Cream Sandwich for the Xperia P and its other 2012 Android phones in the next couple of weeks, making the Xperia Android 4.0 timeline a little more concrete.

Sony UK has confirmed that a couple Xperia handsets will not be receiving Android 4.1 Jelly Bean. John Cooper, UK product manager for Sony Mobile, responded to Facebook questions concerning Sony Mobile and the Xperia line by stating that the Arc S and Mini Pro won't be getting the latest version of the operating system. He also mentioned that Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich has been approved for the entire Xperia S line, but that the company has no announcements regarding a Jelly Bean update. Sony has yet to officially announce that any Xperia devices will get Android 4.1.

The wait for Jelly Bean could be over for Google’s other Nexus device. Some owners of Motorola’s Xoom report having received OTA updates to Android 4.1.1, despite not being part of a Motorola feedback program that gives users early access to the software. There still hasn't been an official announcement from either Google or Motorola, so it’s possible that this is a limited rollout before the update gets pushed to the masses, but the news is encouraging nonetheless. After patiently waiting through OTA updates for the HSPA+ Galaxy Nexus and Nexus S, Xoom owners have to be glad to finally be joining the party.

Thanks, Lettershot!

Google promised back at I/O that Android 4.1 would be coming to the Galaxy Nexus, Nexus S, and Motorola Xoom this month, but while we've seen Jelly Bean updates for both phones the Xoom has so far been left out. That could change soon, though, as Motorola has apparently been trialling an over-the-air Jelly Bean upgrade with Xoom Wi-Fi owners who previously signed up to test the software.

These tests of near-final software updates are common, but Android Central has acquired what it says is the changelog for the most recent one, seeming to confirm that it does indeed include Android 4.1.1. It's no guarantee of an availability date for the regular Xoom-owning masses, and there's no indication of a launch for the 3G or 4G models, but it certainly wouldn't surprise us to see a wider rollout soon.

Asus has just confirmed that it will be upgrading its Transformer Pad line to Jelly bean "in the coming months." The Transformer Pad, Transformer Prime, and Transformer Pad Infinity are all scheduled to receive the update, and Asus says it will "provide further guidance on our expected timeframes for these updates near their release." It did not confirm whether any other products would receive Android 4.1. Asus was obviously first out of the gate with Jelly Bean on its Nexus 7, and it's great to see more updates, even if it's not necessarily upgrading the oldest member of its Transformer line. Hopefully the new firmware will be free of the bugs that plagued Ice Cream Sandwich on the TF101.

Update: Looks like it's the TF300T, not the TF101, that's getting the upgrade.

Some Nexus S owners anticipating the update to Android 4.1 Jelly Bean have something to be happy about — the over-the-air update for the i9023 and i9020T hardware variants is beginning to be pushed out to users. While there doesn’t appear to be an official update for other variants at the present time, Android Police is pointing i9020a owners to a workaround discussed on the XDA Developers forum. If you're the kind of person that can't bear the thought of waiting for OTA notifications, you can also get the update right away from Google’s servers at the source link below.

HTC may be working on an Android 4.1 update for its One XL (the international LTE version of the One X) and One S phones according to Australian carrier Telstra. The carrier's smartphone software updates page currently shows that "HTC is preparing an update" but gives no date for when it will be submitted to Telstra, let alone when it will be rolled out. This is the first we've heard from HTC on Jelly Bean updates for their devices, but it should be noted that this information is coming from a carrier, not directly from HTC. While Telstra is certainly in a position to know such things, the carrier doesn't provide a timetable or any indication of HTC's upgrade plans for other regions.

While this doesn't sound like it should affect other countries, global versions of the GSM Nexus S were updated to Android 4.0 at roughly the same time, and in lieu of any other carrier announcements we have to imagine a worldwide update is at least some way away. It's unusual to see Google's theoretically border-agnostic Nexus programme get held up by local discrepancies, but one thing's for sure — you can't count on a Jelly Bean date for your device until there's an official announcement from either Google or your carrier.

Vodafone Australia has announced that its version of the Nexus S will be getting an over-the-air update to Android 4.1 on July 19th, which may also signal an international rollout for GSM models at the same time. While Google's last Nexus S update saw a concerted international release, some variants received the update after quite a noticeable delay.

Vodafone's blog also says Samsung is "prepping" the Galaxy Nexus Android 4.1 update for submission to the testing process, so the Nexus S might just beat the the Galaxy Nexus to the Jelly Bean finish line on Vodafone's network this time around.

We knew it was just a matter of time, and now Google has announced that Android 4.1 Jelly Bean has begun rolling out to the HSPA+ Galaxy Nexus. For owners of the phone, the new OS will be appearing over the next few days as an over-the-air update, bringing Google Now, an improved keyboard, and several other features we covered in our extensive review of Android's latest iteration. The HSPA+ model won't be the only one getting the update either, with Google confirming that all Galaxy Nexus, Nexus S, and Motorola Xoom devices are on the list for Jelly Bean in the coming weeks and months.

One outstanding question, however, has been whether the Jelly Bean update will include changes to the unified search functionality that has been a point of contention between Apple and Samsung. Google and Samsung had been planning an OTA update to Ice Cream Sandwich that would remove any local search results from the Galaxy Nexus in favor of web-only results. We've reached out to Google for confirmation on any search changes and will update you as more information becomes available.

Google's latest version of the Android operating system is here and will be rolling out to a precious few devices later this month. Unlike the last iteration, Android 4.1 Jelly Bean is more about refinement than revolution, but a new feature called "Google Now" has the potential to finally achieve some of the promises we've all heard from smartphone companies for years now. Beyond that, if you're one of the (sadly small) number of people who have used stock Android 4.0, there's nothing here that will throw you off.

Within that familiar framework, however, are changes both subtle and not-so-subtle that make Jelly Bean feel robust, grown-up, and most of all fast. Android development is beginning to look like Intel's processor development: there's a "tick" with major UI paradigm shifts that re-imagine what an Android device is and then there's a "tock" with refinements that iterate on what was done before.

Face Unlock has been a bit of a novelty ever since Google introduced it in Android 4.0, but any sense of security offered by the feature disappeared once it was revealed that it could be easily tricked by a photograph. For Google's part it has always labeled the option as "low-security" and "experimental," but it has now taken a step to stop photo-equipped thieves with a new "Liveness Check" that requires a user to blink before granting access to the phone. The search company has taken a page out of Samsung's book by rolling out the blink-recognition technology, but don't let the change fool you into trusting face unlock just yet. We've seen the system let in two vaguely similar-looking people through the lock screen before, so you're still safer using a PIN for now.

We've shown you the Google Nexus 7 by Asus and told you about the surprising quality you'll get starting at $199, but the most important part of the tablet is arguably the software that's inside. Android 4.1 Jelly Bean is here at Google I/O, and we've just spent some quality time with the new revision of the OS. As you'd expect from the ".1," it's not a giant leap forward from Ice Cream Sandwich on phones, but it brings some fairly exciting new features, major tweaks, and brings the tablet version of the OS (at least at this Nexus 7's screen size) closer to that of the smartphone.

Google is very good about launching its emulators of the newest versions of Android just as they announce them, and today is no different — Jelly Bean is available now for developers to begin tooling with and testing their apps on. We've taken the opportunity to install the new SDK to spend some extended time with the new operating system, so join us, won't you?

Google is announcing a host of changes to its Play service today. Movie and TV shows are now available to purchase from Google Play, including individual episodes or entire seasons. Magazine support is also coming to Google Play today, allowing users to access their favorite subscriptions. Google announced content partnerships with Disney, ABC, NBC, Universal, Sony Pictures, and Paramount alongside magazines from Conde Nast and Hearst.

Check out our Google I/O 2012 day one keynote live blog for the latest updates!

During the I/O Keynote, Google announced that it's reached 20 billion Android app installs in the Play Store. In total, 600,000 apps and games are available, with free apps in 190 countries and paid ones in 132. In-app purchases are also a large and lucrative part of sales: 50 percent of revenue apparently comes from billing within apps. Google's still trailing Apple in download numbers here: at WWDC, Apple said it had 30 billion app downloads since the launch of its store in 2008. The total number of apps and games, however, is much closer: Apple announced 650,000 earlier this month. The two stores launched only a few months apart, but Apple had a significant head start in iPhone sales, so it's possible Android will keep catching up, especially since the (then) Android Market hit 10 billion downloads only last December.

In addition to providing an SDK for its software developers, Google has just announced that it will release a Platform Development Kit (PDK) for chipset vendors and other hardware developers that will allow them to port Android to their hardware. Google says that the PDK will be available to Android partners between two and three months before major Android updates.

Check out our Google I/O 2012 day one keynote live blog for the latest updates!