'DNA' Review: All you need to know about Android 4.1 Jelly Bean

Google pulled the wraps off its latest sugary OS, Jelly Bean (JB), during its annual I/O conference in San Francisco. The version for JB is 4.1 and the update will be pushed out to devices like Motorola XOOM, Galaxy Nexus and the Nexus S somewhere in mid-July. Here’s a quick look at some of the highlights of JB and what awaits you in Android 4.1.

Project Butter - Fastest Android experience yet
This involves delivering a constant frame rate of 60fps throughout the OS as well as native apps. With the help of Triple Buffering, the CPU and GPU work in tandem to match keep the refresh rate at a constant 60fps for a much smoother UI experience. JB also uses something called Touch Input Boost that wakes up the CPU from an idle state a lot quicker. It also uses a new algorithm for touch anticipation which learns your usage patterns and predicts which part of the screen you’ll be touching next.

Google Now
Google Now learns your usage patterns and automatically presents you with information depending on your location and the time of day. You will get updates on your favourite sport teams, get weather and public transport alerts, traffic information and the like.

More intuitive notifications
Notifications are now actionable which means you can reply to a message or share a photo to Facebook from the drop down list itself, without ever having to open the app. You can also expand a notification with a two finger gesture.

Smarter app updates
Another highly useful feature, the new Play Store in JB will feature smarter app updates. This means users will only have to download parts of the app that have changed rather than the entire app. 

Changes to UI
JB brings with it customisable widgets that allow you to adjust the size of the widget to fit on your home screen. The keyboard is also improved. Google will suggest the next possible word even before you’ve typed it. Google has also added 18 new languages to JB by default, including Hindi. The voice search feature has now built into the OS, so it can be used offline.

Tweaked camera app
It’s now easier to get to your gallery after you’ve clicked a photo by simply swiping your finger to the left. You can just as easily delete that photo by swiping upwards or undo it, in case you delete it by mistake.