14 DAY TRIAL // Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich was such a big update over the previous Android 2.x line that people were too excited about it to think about the next version. Considering that it's only in the past couple of months that phone makers have really started updating older models to the latest Android, the question of what's next wasn't a hot one.
What's more, people expected the next Android to be another big update and to take a year to complete, putting its launch sometime this fall.
But that's not the case, rumors have recently started flying that the next Android will be 4.1, codenamed Jelly Bean, and that it's coming very soon.
In fact, Jelly Bean is almost here, it's going be introduced at Google I/O that is about to get underway. The new Android will probably debut in the first keynote speech to kick off the conference, in a few hours.
With the things that have been leaking lately, it was a pretty sure bet that the next Android would rear its head at I/O. But Google just confirmed it, of sorts, by unveiling a new Android statue, like it does on the eve of every new major version launch.
An Android Jelly Bean statue is welcoming Googlers at the Googleplex, its unveiling having gathered quite a crowd. You can check out the whole thing on YouTube as Google has uploaded the video itself.
As for what's in store for Jelly Bean, details are slim. Given that it's going to be 4.1 and not 5.0 and that it landed relatively shortly after 4.0, there shouldn't be any big change. But there should be some new features and definitely a lot of polish, in the performance and the stability departments.
The nice thing about it being a minor update is that it's guaranteed that everyone running 4.0 will get updated to 4.1 and that new phones and tablets should be sporting 4.1 from now on. Speaking of tablets, Google is expected to unveil its very own device, to fight the Kindle Fire, at I/O.
