At Google I/O 2012, the company is introducing the next version of Android, 4.1 “Jelly Bean” as well as something it calls Project Butter. This release is meant to make Android devices much more silky smooth during use.
Lots of small refinements are present across the board in Jelly Bean and the most notable one is performance. Project Butter aims to make your device run as smooth as, well, butter. Google put up a video comparing two Android handsets, one running Ice Cream Sandwich and the other running Jelly Bean. There’s a clear difference in favor of Jelly Bean in animation frame rates.Triple buffering also boosts the graphics rendering and vsync timing ensures no frames get ahead or behind. Touch responsiveness is improved in Jelly Bean as well.
Jelly Bean also has little features that improve the overall experience like the ability to send a quick message to a caller after rejecting the call or swipe up in a set of photos (similar to HP’s webOS) to remove one or comment and like a Foursquare check-in directly from the notification without having to switch to the app itself — though for the latter, developers will have to implement the functionality first before users can take advantage of it. When you move widgets around on the home screen, they will automatically resize around apps or move apps around so it fits better. Again, all these little things add up.
Stay tuned for more information on Android 4.1 Jelly Bean as Google continues the announcements at Google I/O 2012.