At last the release of Android 4.3 Jelly bean is here. It came as little surprise to most because we had already seen several devices leaked with the new firmware running on it. We posted several guides on this even though it did have an element of risk to it. Many were hoping for a 5.0 Key Lime Pie, but it wasn’t to be. Now, though, we can put the speculation to rest with the official release earlier on today by the Mountain View company.
What’s new in this update?
Bluetooth LE receives a built-in support module. This creates a Bluetooth low energy API which was made specifically for a couple of Google Nexus devices, including the likes of the Nexus 7 and the nexus 4 which are soon to be released.
So, what does that mean?
It means when you own one of these devices you will be able to communicate via Bluetooth across to a broad range of peripherals in the Android range. You can check out the video below to learn more about it:
The main thing here is the fact that it’s called low energy, which means it will last longer and be better for the environment. Technology often gets a bad wrap for being very bad for the environment, and whilst that is true, it doesn’t take into account any of the good it does either. For example, if you didn’t use your mobile phone, how would you communicate? Go drive to your friend’s house? Unless we stay as cavemen, it’s only common sense to continue developing technology to become as efficient as possible. Any other type of sustainability has been just not realistic. The point is, we are likely to see lots of developments in the tech world which are focused on being more efficient, such as we are seeing here already implemented in Android 4.3 Jelly bean.
The next main feature which was released in the new build is restricted users or multiple profiles. The main thing here is that Google is aware of people sharing their tablets around the home with family members. Rather than seeing this as bad business, they have kept it as a positive and enhanced the experience making it easier to switch between profiles and embed certain restrictions. A good example of why you might want to do that is if you are a mother or father with a child around who uses your Android tablet. In the past this was possible to do, however, it was somewhat of an annoyance. Now things have been made a whole lot simpler. You can view more on that in the clip below:
If you were expecting major things coming your way you still may need to wait for the rumored to be Key Lime Pie which is the next generation of ROM coming our way. Rather than possessing any amazing new features, efficiency seems to be the key to this update. There is the usual bug fixes and improvements, but on top of that there is AI improvements and an emphasis on performance. This is becoming a really big thing in the tech space. Companies are really trying to produce a better user experience as much as they are trying to bolster out a cool new feature. It’s hard to understand for an average user just how much time and effort goes into a performance as it can be quite complicated.