Gadgetory

hey everyone I'm Elmer and you're watching the Android Authority Channel today I'll be comparing the two kinds of jelly bean Android 4.1 and Android 4.2 some love the newer version others find it overhyped and prefer the previous jelly bean what are the differences between the two is one actually much better than the other watch this in paracin and find out let's begin by talking about the interface the very first screen that greets you after booting up your Android phone or tablet is its lockscreen Android 4.1 SLOC screen has a modern and sophisticated look Android 4.2 s lockscreen is essentially the same with some cosmetic changes to the digital clock which now looks slimmer and has moved to the middle the hour is now set in bold and the day time line has turned to all uppercase the lock icon is still down here and it still looks the same as in the earlier jellybean in Android 4.1 you'll slide this lock icon to the icons in the outer ring to either unlock the phone launch Google now or launch the camera in Android 4.2 only the unlock icon is present on the outer ring to unlock the device just slide the lock icon to the outer ring but how do you launch Google now or the camera Google now has its own lockscreen icon in Android 4.2 a dotted circle right here in the center of the navigation bar just slide it upwards to launch Google now it's one of the new things on the Android 4.2 lockscreen as for launching the camera from the lockscreen pull the right screen edge towards the center this is one of the big changes in the Android 4.2 lockscreen in fact the edges of the Android 4.2 lockscreen are now functional the top edge of course is for the status bar and notification shade the bottom edge is for Google now right edge is for camera launching and left edge is for viewing the other lock screen widgets lock screen widgets are also new in Android 4.2 in Android 4.1 you get only one lock screen but in Android 4.2 you get multiple you can place widgets on the lock screen so you can view content such as email SMS calendar events and more without having to unlock your phone also Android 4.2 for tablet supports multiple users these icons here stand for the user profiles available on this tablet before unlocking the tablet you'll need to choose which user profile to load navigation is exactly the same in under 4.1 in Android 4.2 both versions still use the same virtual back home and recent apps buttons the Android 4.2 home screen is practically a carryover from Android 4.1 with only minor differences such as the arrangement of default app shortcuts or folders and a redesigned analog clock on the main home screen the notification shade is still around but in Android 4.2 it has a new partner for quick settings you can now access frequently used settings by simply pulling down the quick settings menu from the status bar the stock keyboard in Android 4.1 is an excellent keyboard it's easy to use and it is a lot of useful features such as voice-to-text multilingual support next word prediction auto correction and more the stock Android keyboard has become more amazing in Android 4.2 especially with the introduction of gesture typing this works like swipe just slide your finger across the keyboard no more tapping Android 4.1 has features that make it a more accessible mobile operating system including talkback text to speech output large text and the light you'll still find these features in Android 4.2 plus a few new accessibility options have been added including magnification gestures which lets you magnify the display explore by touch for touch navigation coupled with voice feedback and accessibility shortcut for quickly toggling the accessibility features with a button and touch combo let's now shift our attention to the communication features in both the jellybean versions both jellybean versions use the people app for managing and organizing contacts not much has changed here save for the app version number similarly both jellybean versions use the same stock Android phone app so you'll still get three tabs here for the dialer call logs and people Android 4.2 however offers a better call logs list because you can now filter your call logs the messaging app handles composition sending receiving and managing SMS and MMS messages Android 4.2 S messaging app works essentially in the same way as Android 4.1 s but the newer Android includes a cell broadcast option which lets you receive important alerts about emergencies and threats to life and property gmail is still the reigning default email client in both Android versions but for those who don't want to use Gmail or Gmail app the stock email app is also available the email app in both Android version supports pop3 IMAP and exchange protocols the app drawer is exactly alike in both versions of jellybean not much has changed here either the app icons are still arranged on a grid and you still get separate tabs for apps and widgets absent widgets management hasn't changed much in Android 4.2 installing and removing apps is still very much like in Android 4.1 the Google Play Store of course is still the primary and preferred source of apps you'll still need to grant permissions to apps that you want to install and of course you can still install apps that you got from other sources other than the Play Store among the changes I noticed is the absence of a latitude app in Android 4.2 however latitude can still be accessed from the maps app like in Android 4.1 the analog clock widget in Android 4.2 also underwent some transformation from Android 4.1 I actually like the new one Android 4.2 also comes with a digital clock widget which Android 4.1 was deprived off and while we're talking about clocks the clock app in Android 4.2 has greatly improved it now includes tabs for a stopwatch and a countdown timer I also noticed some improvement in the app info screen in Android 4.1 although the app info page remains essentially similar to that in Android 4.1 I appreciate the improvement of the list of app permissions I find the new permissions list easier to understand that the one in Android 4.1 for a long time androids default browser had been the stock Android browser but when Google Chrome for Android started appearing we suspected that it would eventually take the stock Android browsers place and it has it is now the default web browser in android 4.2 though the chrome takeover will not come as a big surprise among tablet users chrome has been the default web browser on tablets starting with Android 4.1 it is actually the default browser on the Nexus 7 running Android 4.1 search is handled by Google now by default in both Android 4.1 and 4.2 it brings together into just one app several of Google search services such as voice search Google Goggles web search videos and more launch Google now from the home screen by tapping the google search bar or from anywhere by swiping the home button upwards accessing Google now from the lockscreen however differs in the two androids in Android 4.1 you do it this way in Android 4.2 you swipe the Google now icon upwards like this among the several differences between Android 4.1 and 4.2 but changes in the camera app are among the most observable for one lockscreen access to the camera has changed a lot in Android 4.1 it's like this but in Android 4.2 it's like this the new camera user interface also looks different in fact I find the Android 4.2 camera more appealing and less cluttered as you can see here the viewfinder takes up nearly all the display area and the buttons do not occupy too much screen space and are not obtrusive unlike this one in Android 4.1 the square focus indicator in Android 4.1 has taken on a circular shape in Android 4.2 long tapping on the viewfinder in Android 4.1 does nothing but in Android 4.2 the action brings up the circular settings menu panoramic shooting mode is still available in both androids of course but in Android 4.2 you also get the photosphere feature which lets you capture 360 degree photos of your surrounding the silly faces and background effects in Android 4.1 have been removed in the Android 4.2 video camera time lapse mode though is still available in both versions both jellybeans use the gallery app for storing photos and videos the functions and behavior differ little in both androids photo and video thumbnails are still displayed in grid view by default although you can also switch to filmstrip view by zooming out on the photo in Android 4.2 however you can switch between views through this drop-down list the gallery app also has a built-in photo editor in Android 4.1 you can switch to the photo editor by tapping the menu button and selecting edit here you can adjust the black-and-white and contrast values apply photo effects apply color filters and choose photo transformations in Android 4.2 the photo editor is more accessible just tap on its icon at the corner of the screen the new photo editor offers more features here you can apply new filters and effects custom frames photo transformation options and adjust image color and contrast values the new gallery app in Android 4.2 also includes a built-in video trimmer there's no trimmer in Android 4.1 scalar II app the gallery app is the default photo viewer in both Android versions it is also capable of displaying photos in a slideshow in Android 4.1 it's easier to display album photos in a slideshow just tap this play slideshow button here in Android 4.2 though the slideshow command is tucked away inside the menu here straightforward and simple video playback is handled by the built-in video player in the gallery app in both jelly beans it's a no frills player there's no difference in both players music playback is handled by the Play Music app both in Android 4.1 and 4.2 so you can enjoy features such as the music organizer for your local and online music files sorting your music files according to playlist artist album and so on a 5 band equalizer equalizer presets creating and managing playlists and more the Play Music app can play music in the background even if you navigate to other screens and if that happens music control buttons appear on the notification shade and lock screen as for security the features that we appreciated in Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich are still present in both jelly beans such as different lock screen protection types displaying optional owner info on the lockscreen device encryption SIM card lock for phones and preventing installation of apps not from the Google Play Store in addition to those security features Android 4.2 tightened security further there's a built in app verifier that's supposed to alert you if you're about to install a malicious app the list of Android permissions prior to app installation has also been improved a bit I find the permissions easier to understand in Android 4.2 even the permission list in the app info page in Android 4.2 is better described and easier to read compared to the bulleted list in Android 4.1 each permission and the list is also described if you tap on it like this there are also new or improved features in Android 4.2 that I believe are also important for instance the changes to the developer options menu this menu is present and visible in Android 4.1 settings menu but in Android 4.2 it is hidden and for good reason I believe an average user like me will hardly need to fiddle with developer options doing so just might even cause my device to function below optimum level there are additional developer options in the developer options menu - another new thing in Android 4.2 is support for multiple users this one though is available only on tablets and understandably so the establish are usually shared devices the multi user feature lets you set up several profiles each one with different settings a user profile can be secured with a password - you can select which profile to load at the lock screen Android 4.2 also brings customizable screen savers in the feature called daydream the screen saver activates when your device is charging or when it is placed on its dock you can choose to play a customizable cloth a wallpaper with changing colors trends from Google Currents your photos in a slideshow or a photo table also through Android 4.2 wireless display feature you can wirelessly stream slideshows movies videos or games from your device to a supported HDTV Android 4.2 certainly brought several new features and improvements especially in the camera app support for wireless display multi-user support and tablets tighter security and several changes to the interface while some argue that these changes are not major ones I do find them significant and important I personally don't think Android 4.2 is the biggest wave of change in jellybean which is why I'm looking forward to the next major update key lime pie what about you is Android 4.1 good enough for you or are the changes in Android 4.2 attractive enough for you to want it so bad let us know in the comments get more android news and reviews at android authority comm and from our youtube channel this is Elmer thanks for watching may the light side of the Android force be with you