Android 4.2 Jelly Bean OS is a new mobile OS platform from Google that is currently powering up millions of Android devices, and it marks several improvements over the older 4.1 OS version.

Google has indeed left no stones unturned in revamping the new 4.2 version in each and every aspect, especially because the 4.1 version needed several tweaks such as camera UI, clock app,lock screen with widgets, and security.

New features of 4.2 Jelly Bean

So, now let’s take a look at the various upgrades in the new Jelly Bean OS.

Camera

Camera is the most commonly used feature in the modern smartphones, and the Android 4.1 OS had lot of glitches in this department. Personally, I had been extremely frustrated with my camera controls getting hanged every now on then on my Galaxy Note, but thankfully Google has updated the new camera interface built with radial menu in the new Jelly Bean 4.2 version.

Now, it allows you to fine-tune theexposure, flash usage, and white balance as well. You can switch between cameras in extremely conveniently, that too with a single finger.

The second noticeable update is the Photo Sphere.This particular technology is similar to that of Photosynth from Microsoft.

It is quick and works well in all kinds of situations, and now thecamera controls in the new Jelly bean version feel snappier in case of single shots.

Lock Screen Widgets

Android 4.2 Jelly Bean offers you the widget to lock screen. HTC and Samsung were trying to fix the issues related to static lock screen, but Google has finally offered a helping hand at last.

Lockscreen widgets don’t require any password; even if the device is password protected, you can see widgets without using any kind of password.

If you have Gmail lock widget, people who accidentally get hold of your phone will be able to access emails on widget. However, it is not a bug, but rather a feature, which I personally don’t really like a lot.

People love the lockscreen widgets, since you can check basic things such as weather and time without unlocking the device.
But, another annoying thing is that you cannot have 2 widgets on same screen.
Quick Settings

Another new update on the new OS version is the addition ofQuick Setting. You can also see two additions here -displaying things such as battery percentage, and secondly, it allows you to set the brightness levels in a jiffy too.

Updated Gmail

Gmail for Android has been updated again, with new features such as “auto-fit messages.”Instead of zoomed-in version emails, you can see messages aligningvertically, so you can scroll up and down more conveniently. This is something you can see in iOS, and personally I have loved it in iPhone. However, you don’t see any auto-fit enabled automatically, and you need to go to thesettings and enable the same.

You can pinch to check out inside messages, and to archive them, you can simply swipe, which is a great way for clearing your mailbox.

New Clock app

The new Android4.2 jelly bean introduces new Clock app, which brings count-down timer and native stopwatch, with opportune number pad for setting the timer quickly.

So, with all the new updates, and several bug fixes, Jelly Bean OS indeed looks lot more promising than the Ice Cream sandwich and other previous Android versions.