FollowGoing by the almost incessant stream of rumors coming our way, what seems a certainty is that it’s Android 4.3 Jelly Bean that is coming our way, and not Android 5.0 Key Pie Lime. However, it is the latter that was being heralded as the next big Android development after Jelly Bean. A formal announcement to this effect was expected to be made at the Google I/O event held a few weeks ago though none of that sort even got mentioned during the conference. Users have been patiently waiting for the next Android version to arrive though with no word from Google, patience slowly gave way to confusion. Another spot, to add to that confusion is that, rather than Android 4.3 there was the Android 5.0 Key Lime Pie which also had the chances of being released. Not to forget, talk about Android 4.2 Jelly Bean coming up before the much sought for fully fledged Android 4.3 Jelly Bean upgrade, has also been a part of the cumulative confusion.
This puts us back to the square thing, a fresh wave of rumors and speculations all eager to point out the next Jelly Bean iteration, .i.e. Android 4.3 is due for release in a short time from now. Apart from a prospective launch schedule, the rumor streams have also provided us with a few ideas as to what its features will be and so on. These will not only be applicable to the Nexus device but other devices compatible with Android 4.3 as well.
Though users are talking a lot about the new upgrade, in reality there is more probability that the changes it will bring will be too minor with little or no visible changes to be experienced. One of the major add-ons users would notice after the upgrade is the Bluetooth Light energy feature that would be available on their device. All these however are unconfirmed information as yet. Among the other features that can be expected on the upgrade include some new notification process as well as some tweaks for the camera operation. Users may see some new font on their devices as well. All in all, the update should not be expected to bring in any drastic changes.
What this means is that it a guessing game is all that can be played on the what and when of the Android 4.3 Jelly Bean.
July the 10th, has some special significance for Google. It is on this day last year that they had launched the Android 4.1 Jelly Bean update. That was followed by the release of their Nexus 7 on the 13th. Tuesday, which is what this month’s 10th day falls on is a day when big companies launch their new products. Motorola is going to come out with three of their latest gadgets, the Droid Ultra, Droid MAXX and Droid Ultra M, and this does not gel with Google also announcing any big news from their side. Launch of the Motorola products is scheduled for the 11th of July. These devices would not be having the Android 4.3 update on them.
With all this logical analysis, the date when Google will be announcing Android 4.3 and the Nexus 7 2 can be speculated to be in the second half of July. The devices that would be immediately affected by the update at its release would be the Nexus 4, Nexus 7 and Nexus 10, as well as the Google Edition models of HTC One and Samsung Galaxy S4.
Other device that can be expected to get the update at a later date is the Samsung Galaxy Nexus. This device though carried the tag of Nexus is not of the blue blood Nexus family. The device is available from Sprint and Verizon and the update too will only be available when the carrier so wishes. This leads to the owners of these devices getting the update much later than others. Sprint subscribers of the Galaxy Nexus edition can expect to get their update before Verizon subscribers get it. Such an assumption can be deduced from previous data where Android 4.1 was available for the Sprint subscribers on September 7th even though the update was released by Google on 9th of July. Similarly the Android 4.2 release occurred on 13th November and Sprint subscribers got it two months later on 21st January.
Two devices that would not figure in the update list are the Motorola Xoom and Nexus S as they did not even get the Android 4.1 Jelly Bean update.
Sprint subscribers can therefore expect the 4.3 update to come to them from their service provider by September, in case Google rolls out the update by end July. Verizon subscribers would get their update shortly thereafter. Verizon had managed to launch the Android 4.1 update within two months like Sprint that is on the 21st September. However, the carrier slipped up to quite some time in case of the release of Android 4.2, which it could make available only on 19th March. Verizon users also faced a number of bugs after their 4.2 update, all of which has not yet been settled. Verizon would be fixing them up before they issue the 4.3 update, which means there is additional delay on the cards for Verizon subscribers. Verizon however would be trying to resolve these issues on a fast track basis so as not to lose out on their customer base.
After the Nexus line of device, the first non-Nexus device to get the update is expected to be the Samsung Galaxy S4. The reasons for this assumption are two. The first being past statistics of updates indicates such a trend. Point in reference is the Galaxy S3 from Samsung that received the Android 4.0 and Android 4.1 updates soon after Verizon Galaxy Nexus users’ received theirs. The second point being, the Galaxy S4 is the only device which is running on the latest update from Google. Samsung has a penchant to work out the update for their devices very fast.
The first non-Nexus device in the running to get the Android 4.3 update is the Asus MeMO Pad Smart tablet. Asus too is known for its ability to provide software updates pretty fast and the two power horses, MeMO Pad and MeMO Pad Smart would surely not be left behind in this race for being current.
As for the device which could be considered as the launch pad for the new Android 4.3 Jelly Bean, chances are that the honor could be bestowed on Samsung Galaxy Note 3. Again, we got to fall back on history to explain the assumption. It was the Galaxy Note 2 that was among the first devices to come pre-loaded with Android 4.1. Now with Samsung planning to release its Galaxy Note 3 in the first half of September, chances are that the device could be the first to come with Android 4.3 Jelly Bean right out of the box.
Moto X from Motorola could also be the device to beat Samsung as the first with Android 4.3. This device is due for launch in September or October
Owners of devices that are carrier-branded would need to wait for some more time after the official release of the update as has been the trend in the past. Such users can expect the Android 4.3 update being rolled out perhaps when its Android 5.0 Key Lime Pie that is getting launched.
