A lot of people are starting to ask what we can expect from Android’s next iteration: 5.0 Jellybean. Right now it’s difficult to really say anything with certainty, but if you’d be satisfied with some quick guess-work then who are we to deny you?
Browsing
Google has been focusing a lot on its Chrome for Android browser of late. We expect Jellybean to bring Chrome for Android in as a replacement for the current default Android browser.
Chrome should bring with it some handy perks, such as a tab-centric interface, faster speeds and more efficient use of your wireless network strength.
A quick side note is that we do not expect Android 5.0 to support Flash. Flash is already on its last legs in the 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich (ICS) version of Android and its developer Adobe has demonstrated a wish to switch from a focus on Flash to HTML5 in future generations of smartphone video players.
Availability
We expect Google to announce Jellybean at its Google IO 2012 event, which sold out in under 20 minutes. Not only that, we have a strong suspicion that Android 5.0 will be the centre of the entire show.
That places the announcement in the later parts of this year, with Jellybean devices possibly even seeing sales before the end of 2012, but don’t hold your breath.
We’re hearing a good number of rumours that all phones released with ICS will be able to support Jellybean, but we’re doubtful that this will hold up. It’s true that ICS was supposed to be the beginning of a new era for Android where devices would henceforth be updated much more quickly, but some ICS devices simply may not have the power to handle Android 5.0.
The Galaxy Nexus will undoubtedly be the first handset to see an update from 4.0 to 5.0. There is no word yet on which manufacturer will be siding with Google to create the next Nexus flagship phone, but we’ll keep our eyes peeled. Current major contenders are Samsung, HTC and possibly Motorola, although LG is looking surprisingly strong in that department too.
Speed and Support
Jellybean should bring with it the standard speed and efficiency improvements that we tend to see with new Android releases. It’s also likely that Google will design the new OS with quad-core handsets in mind, in order to maximise the potential power that a quad-core chip can deliver.
Also expect greater support for larger resolutions and a more limited range of possible resolutions open to manufacturers.
New Stuff
We’re hearing a lot about Google’s answer to Siri, currently just titled “Assistant”. Assistant doesn’t sound like it’s supposed to be a total carbon copy of Siri, but its function appears to be generally the same.
Google searches, messages, appointments etc are said to all be receiving integration with this new Android function.
That’s It
That’s all of it for now. We’ll try to keep you all updated as more info regarding Jellybean comes out, so stay tuned and keep your eyes and ears open.