Google officially unveiled Android 4.3, the company's latest major version of Android. The update adds a few new features, will ship pre-installed on the new Nexus 7 and has been released for select Nexus devices.
At Google's San Francisco press event the company announced its next-generation Nexus 7 tablet, which is the first device to ship with the company's latest version of its Android operating system. Android 4.3 Jelly Bean isn't a huge advancement over Android 4.2, but it does bring some new features that users and developers will enjoy. One of those features is called Restricted Profiles, which, as the name suggests, allows users to create specific profiles that limit what other users of the device can access. This function can also change the behavior of certain apps depending on who is logged in, for instance turning off in-app purchasing for children using an Android 4.3 device.
Android 4.3 now supports Bluetooth Smart, which is Bluetooth LE (low energy). This will allow Android tablets and smartphones to use many different Bluetooth LE accessories such as smartwatches, fitness trackers and health monitors. Google showed a demo of a user pairing a heart rate monitor and an Android 4.3 smartphone. The user performed jumping jacks and his heart rate was updated on the smartphone in real time. This feature was rumored to be built into Android 4.3 for use with Google's rumored smartwatch.
Game developers, meanwhile, will appreciate the addition of OpenGL ES 3.0 support. This will allow them to create more advanced games with stunning graphics for Android devices. The Notification System received an update that allows users to interact with notification from the drop-down Android status bar and also allows apps to display notifications or view them on a Bluetooth connected device. Users with stock Android smartphones will now be able to use T9 in the phone app to autocomplete names and phone numbers right from the dialer.
Android 4.3 Jelly Bean is an incremental update and is expected to be the last major 4.x release. Android 5.0 Key Lime Pie is rumored to ship before the end of the year and is expected to bring significant new features and a possibly updated UI. Google has released Android 4.3 as an OTA update for the Nexus 4, first-generation Nexus 7, Nexus 10, and the GSM Galaxy Nexus.
