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Android 5.0 Jelly Bean Could Launch As Early As This Summer [Rumor]

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While some of you are still waiting around (possibly indefinitely) for Ice Cream Sandwich to land on your Android device, “inside sources” are reporting that Google could be ramping up development of the next version of Android 5.0 Jelly Bean, with a release sometime during the 2nd quarter of this year. According to Digitimes, Google is looking to beat Microsoft’s tablet friendly Windows 8 out of the gate, with Jelly Bean bringing a renewed focus on the tablet experience.

Google’s coup de grace will be Jelly Bean’s unique ability to dual-boot into Chrome OS, without having to reboot or shutdown the tablet. I know that sounds a little strange, so, we’re going to assume they meant a better integration of Chrome within the Android OS. Of course, this is all speculation and rumor, but with Google I/O fast approaching, I’m sure it wont be long before Google announces something on Jelly Bean.

Oh, and until then — here’s a music video made entirely out of jelly beans. You know, if you’re in the mood.

Chris Chavez
I've been obsessed with consumer technology for about as long as I can remember, be it video games, photography, or mobile devices. If you can plug it in, I have to own it. Preparing for the day when Android finally becomes self-aware and I get to welcome our new robot overlords.

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98 Comments

  1. About time. ICS is old news.

    1. Just Cause You Don’t Have It xP

      1. nah, still old news.   In the IT sector, 6 months for anything is past it’s prime… 
        Sooo Your Thought Was Null And Invalid..

        1. Except the release of ICS has not hit 6months yet.  It still has 1 or two before if should be out dated.

      2. I have a gnex :P  I was half sarcastic with that comment.

  2. Google I/O is summer so it’s a very logical assumption, with or without a source saying so. I just wish Google would get it’s act together and put more force on the manufacturers to update quickly! Motorola, which will be owned by Google soon, is reporting that a lot of devices are going to have to wait until Q3 to get ICS. The next version of Android could be announced/out by then!

    1. Yeah, but Digitimes is saying LAUNCHING in the summer which sounds ridiculous. I’m guessing something got lost in the translation and it’s announcing in summer with a strong emphasis on Chrome OS integration or something…

      1.  Well if it’s ready enough by then, all they have to do is push the code to AOSP. I could see it happening. 8 months between ICS and jellybean? Although it could be another 4-6months before manufactures put it in place.

      2. I agree with this. Jelly Bean dropping in the summer sounds like it is way too soon. They talked about ICS last year at I/O but it didn’t drop until October. 

  3. Wow, so Moto won’t get ICS to it’s blur devices until Q3 but Google is releasing JB in Q2.

    Glad I bought a Nexus and a Touchpad :)

    1. It’s like the word rumor means nothing any more…

      1. If you know Google then, they will show it in the summer (I/O) but it won’t be released until the fourth Nexus or a Nexus-like tablet.

  4. Galaxy S 3 to debut Jelly Bean? Haha

    1. BGR headline: BREAKING – Galaxy S 3 To Debut Jelly Bean (Still Not As Good As The iPhone 4)

      1. are you fucking retarded? =)) first 2.3 Gingerbread phone Samsung Nexus S si better then 4S :)

        1. But siri makes forever alone people feel loved!

          1. yeah siri with its canned results.  lonely people can just buy a parrot.

          2. But an iPhone doesn’t need food, water, and it’s cage doesn’t need to be cleaned.

            On the other hand… it DOES need to be upgraded every 6 months to stay behind the curve…

        2. Whooooooooooooooosh

          That’s the sound of you missing the joke.

        3. Air traffic control, I can’t find the runway! Not enough lights…

      2. if comments are still turned off on BGR I doubt anyone read the headline, and if they did, they didn’t read the article.

        not that anyone read the articles before, they just went straight to the comments, but I guess I’m just saying no one clicked the article.

    2. That will never happen.  The first device to get Jelly Bean would be a Nexus tablet, followed closely by the Galaxy Nexus and the Nexus S. Then 6 to 8 months later all other devices will get it just in time for Android 6.0 to hit the Nexus devices.

      1. No, I think you mean 6 months later the final gingerbread updates will be pushed,  ICS will be out on most devices just in time for them to be EOL’d and obsolete when 6.0 hits.  

  5. At this rate ICS will finally be the most used version in about 2015.  Who really cares when they release these OSes if they can’t upgrade their own devices (aka Nexus S).

    1. The GSM (AKA Google’s Own Device) Nexus S Got ICS… Sooo Your Thought Was Null And Invalid..

      1. I see what you did there, capitalizing every word!

    2. Unfortunately the Nexus S sold by U.S carriers are updated by the carriers and not Google. The GSM Nexus S got ICS.

  6. booting into another OS without rebooting isn’t that strange. Look up always innovating’s Smart Book. Similar concept. Also, Android and Chrome OS run off a Linux kernel, so as long as they sync both versions up to the same base kernel, they could theoretically launch Chrome OS and Android simulatenously at boot, then allow the user to switch. However, I’m not really sure what someone would gain from using Chrome OS on an Android tablet that they can’t get from Chrome for Android. Could be interesting.

  7. I guess google is going back to one os for the smartphones and one os for the tablets. I thought ICS was supposed to fix that and make it universal 

    1. I’m sure that’s not the case. It would be silly to split them again.

    2. You got all that from a rumor?

  8. That’s pretty fast considering Microsoft is developing Win 8 for now 3 years, I am not sure how good this OS will be compared, but then again Google rarely fails to impress.

    1. Win 8 encompasses a wider range of hardware and software right out of the box.   What a horrible comparison.  

  9. I call B/S! Not a single source is cited,sounds like a headline from
    WORLD WEEKLY NEWS.

  10. sgn still havent got the 4.0.4 and the rumor for 5.0 surface haha 

    1. There is no official 4.0.4 yet. There was a leaked version that rom developers are using.

      1. I know, but I never trust those leak.

  11. Seriously? I just got my Galaxy Nexus yesterday. There’s no cited sources though, so I’m not putting much stock into this. It would be cool though. I love seeing new stuff.

    1. if you look at Chrome, they’ve accelerated their dev speeds dramatically over the past 2 years.   It is possible for Google to pump out faster updates to Android, but the handset makers need to be committed in keeping up, or be forced to.

  12. really? you messed up honeycomb because you rushed it out to keep apple from getting to much of a hold on the market, and ended up with a poor product,so you respond by rushing out another tablet os in order to try to beat another company?

    how does this make any sense at all?

    1.  Yeah, I don’t see Google making a move like that after the care they obviously took when developing ICS.

    2. My guess is that jelly bean will be the same as ICS (with a few added fixes/tweaks) PLUS the ability to dual boot. So really, all Google needs to do is work on the dual boot capability, and then JB would be ready

      1. i hope there’s something here im missing, because after the disappointment that was honeycomb, i’m really running out of patience with android tablets.

        1. That’s because you haven’t tasted Ice Cream Sandwich. My Transformer Prime loves his Ice Cream Sandwich. 

  13. Don’t believe it.  That would be the first time they went 4.0.x -> 5.0.

    I could see them show off Jelly Bean 4.1 as a mostly maintenance/polish release for ICS.

    1. 3.0 (Honeycomb) > 3.1 (Honeycomb, released at Google I/O) > 3.2 (Honeycomb)
      4.0 (ICS, announced at Google I/O ’11, released October/November ’11) > 4.1 (ICS, released at Google I/O ’12) > 4.2 (ICS, released July/August ’12)
      5.0 (Jelly Bean, released October November ’12)

      That timeline makes sense.

      1. You got the right idea, but your numbering is a little off. It’s 4.0,4.01,4.02, for the ICS release builds.  And it is more likely that JB will be Android 4.1, not 5.0, since it’s building off of the new ICS framework.  Similar to how Eclair was 2.0/2.1, Froyo was 2.2, and GB was 2.3.

      2. What about:
        1.5 (Cupcake) > 1.6 (Donut) >
        2.0 (Eclair) > 2.1 (Eclair) > 2.2 (Froyo) > 2.3 (Gingerbread)

        Just b/c it has a new name doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a +1.0 version jump. Yes, they stuck with Honeycomb for the 3.x series, but that seems to be more the exception than the rule.

        1. they probably realized that at this rate they were going to run out of letters in a few years.

          I mean, we’re 4 letters away from the middle of the alphabet and 3 years into android.

  14. I am a major phAndroid but updates aren’t all that useful if they don’t get pushed out quicker… the fact that my whole family of Droid X’s won’t get ics4.0 pisses me off, mom and sis might want iphone, i made them get X’s but if they don’t get ICS i may not be able to stop the ipone, which effing pisses me off… updates need to get pushed out!

    1. Android has been around long enough that everyone should know what to expect with the update situation. You need to vote with your wallet. I for one will never buy another phone unless it’s a nexus phone or even recommend an android phone unless its a nexus. I would recommend my family to buy an iphone before I told them to buy a non-nexus phone.

      I really don’t care that updates are slow to get out to other android phones cus I don’t have one and don’t recommend them. A phone would have to have some type of amazing hardware/software for me to buy a non-nexus phone, and honestly everything over 1 ghz dual core and 720p screen is over kill with the apps we run on our phones. It’s not like a computer system where even the most top of the line computer might not run some games well. Android developers develop for all different phones so a phone with just mediocre specs will run most apps. Therefore the only thing to worry about is the OS which is why I buy nexus. 

  15. ICS was previewed at Google I/O last year. I would expect the same kind of thing this year with JB.Google decided a couple of years ago that they’d have one major version  a year, so this tracks exactly with that. ICS was last year, JB is this year.
    A timetable is a timetable. Google have one, Apple have one. Everyone runs around making up news about them but in reality, they’re all just overhyped rumours. iPad 3 will be launched in a couple of months. How do we know? Because they launched iPad 2 that time last year and iPad 1 that time the year before…

  16. Fuck Chrome OS

    Jelly Bean should replace Chrome OS and then focus on powerful universals applications.  

    1. I’ve been screaming this since Chrome OS was introduced. It’s pointless. 

      1. Android——> Gingerbread + Honeycomb —(merge)–> ICS——->JellyBean + Chrome OS —(merge)—> K-flavoured dessert

        1. Potassium flavored dessert?

          1. Yes you are 100 thousand % right. you also won 5 interwebz and a trip to farmville

            Collect your price at the nearest black hole

            :P

      2. I have a CR-48.  It’s far from pointless.  

  17. If they don’t make it flash compatible, I’ll hold off on this update until html 5 is widely used.

    1. Flash is dying.   Thanks to everyone and their mother thinking they need to create an app for iOS, Flash is becoming less and less a player now.   I’m hardcore android, but app and website devs are making it known they support Apple first and all else later.  This means the shift away from Flash will happen sooner than later. 

  18. i wouldn’t mind a chrombook  if it ran a full version of android and if it could run ms office

    1. Then it wouldn’t be a chromebook, would it?

  19. just as your first sentence said ”
    While some of you are still waiting around (possibly indefinitely) for Ice Cream Sandwich to land on your Android device, ” this is the worst thing about android ! we have to wait too long even till the next release is out, actually some devices has just been updated to gingerbread !!!! and at the same time its the most awesome thing about apple’s toys they update when their os is released! and this part of the game Microsoft is trying to get along with when thinking about windows phone trying to avoid manufacturer customizations and unify the os experience for all devices but they still cannot update all devices at the same time as different hardware specs can always slow down the release of an os that works for all, they have to modify it for each phone even if the ui is the same. someday smartphones are gonna be smart enough to run what you need ! maybe cloud based operating systems has a view esp that connection to the internet is getting faster everyday and most networks are gonna support 4G or maybe 5G but till then i hope every company works on developing new methods of power supply, batteries are not good enough anymore 

    1. All I heard is “blah blah blah, I should have an iPhone.”

      1. Ios might work as soon as it’s released on the older iphones, but apple is at least a year behind on what android has to offer. I’m still on gingerbread and have more functionality than the latest ios.

      2. Heard the same thing. And Honestly, I dont care at all that Im still on Froyo! Froyo still kicks the crap outta iOS. Im up for a new phone soon, and I’ll get ICS then, but two years on froyo has still been a great android experience

        1. right, and 2 years from now, ios is still just going to be an app drawer with a phone, a clipboard and an alarm.

    2. So let me tell you a story.

      Last week I had a N1 and a TF101 (nexus 1 and asus transformer). the N1 was at GB, the TF was at HC. They both provided the same functionality. not a HUGE leap from GB to HC, just a few niceties, but nothing really compellingly different. Well, aside from the fact that the N1 has 512 of onboard storage, and the phone is showing its age when comparing opening apps on it, vs a friends phone, etc. not to mention the iphone sized screen is just damn paltry.

      this week I decided to upgrade to the gnex. storage size is great, screen size is terrific, phone is very speedy and snappy and OMG the screen looks brilliant.

      ICS though? It’s not why I bought the phone. I could have rooted the N1 and loaded a rom on it and been done. between donut and eclair, yeah, HUGE changes, but these days, it’s little things that really don’t make or break the experience for the experienced user, you (hopefully) know how to navigate the OS, I mean, I can get into settings through the taskbar, I can have a full email widget with a preview of emails, lots of nice little things. but I can tell you that if the hardware of the N1 was still contemporary, I wouldn’t care.

      Maybe it’s a big deal for you though to have the latest and greatest, in which case, get the vanilla nexus for faster updates, I get the nexus cause I hate the overlays the manufacturers put on the phones. or go buy the next iphone, you’ll be happy cause it updates immediately, even if the OS itself is just a launcher with a bunch of icons.

  20. IF this were true, I’d have to start looking at other options than Android.  And I have stuck with them since the G1…

  21. Anyone else think this is the biggest troll since well, the Galaxy Nexus launch date fiasco? I mean, 4.0.2 came out a little bit ago, were expecting 4.0.3, most likely .0.4 now, and 4.0.5 is also rumored now. Also, I feel it would be very un google to go 2 minor os updates, then do a huge jump to 5.0. I’m betting on 4.1… 

  22. I think google should provide to carriers and require carriers to upgrade all nexus devices that support the new os to roll out the new os to all nexus phones.  Nexus S ICS is coming soon, it would be a lot cooler if nexus S owners got the ICS love the same day galaxy nexus owners did.  It would create even more desire for people to want a nexus device and be happy keeping it for a long period of time.  I would love to know my galaxy nexus is going to get 5.0 the same time the next flagship phone launches debuting this OS.  I realize nexus S will pry be one of, if not thee first device other than galaxy nexus to get ics, but same day would be cool. It would make the pure google experience phones even more awesome when compared to other androids which would promote googles goal of total world domination.  

  23. Of course this is nothing but a rumor, Jelly Bean is a registered trademark for a name of a candy.  I’d be surprised if they actually did name it Jelly Bean.

    1. jelly bean is also term for a particular type of candy prior to a company trademarking the name.  It’s the same as Apple.   Apple can’t sue apple growers, although I bet they wish they could.   Jelly Bean corp can’t sue Google over the use of the word because of it’s prior use as a generic term for candy, as well as the fact that Jelly Bean does N O T H I N G in the tech world. 

      Sorry but there is a standard lack of common sense in that argument.


      1. Apple can’t sue apple growers, although I bet they wish they could.” – you can bet some upstart legal assistant at Apple has mulled the idea…LOL

    2. As long as Google stats out of the baby-carrier business, there is absolutely no conflict.

      http://textiles.zibb.com/trademark/jelly+bean/30360264

  24. The Digitimes link said it boots into Windows 8, not Chrome OS, so I highly doubt this, but if it’s true..where the heel is ICS on Thunderbolt?

  25. Too many devices being released and not enough devices being updated in a timely fashion. At this point, the system of a couple of devices getting upgraded here n there every few months blows butt boogers. We need a system where the underlying OS can be updated, custom skins need to be downloadable. When will they learn.

    1. Totally Agree with Paul

      1. I’m just here for the butt boogers.

  26. grait, we wait to make cool and this version..

  27. Fix ICS first. People are having problems with the update including me.

  28. Awesome, so glad I bought a galaxy nexus – it should be first right…right? Anyone? :-)

  29. I read the site every day so I am not sure if you guys are just reaching here to get impressions or what.  It’s a Rumor I think that you want to start. Google doesn’t even have ICS all worked out I honestly wouldn’t expect anything JB related from Google for a while yet.  A few facts though please I don’t want to see this site turn into some of the other crap that is out there.  How about only reporting something with sources instead.

  30. Assuming Google eventually allows Moto to get all the Nexus exclusives, having 
    faster OS releases is a great business model. It would give Moto a 6 or more month head start on every OS release. Allowing them to sell a boat load of hardware.

  31. I doubt this will happen. Google showed that they can make an excellent product that shows a lot of attention to detail, the little things that make the user experience better. They’re not going to mess that up by rushing out Jellybean half a year later. 

  32. Okay, I just like most on this site am always excited about new android releases, however I think Google needs to focus on the promise of quicker updates. They need to force the hands of carriers to get updates to devices sooner.

    As an owner of a Gnex and a Xoom, I purchased these items with the understanding that Google supports them better. But if they can get everyone on board with updates we should stop hearing about how fragmented android is.

    Notice Gnex (lte vz) still has not updated to 4.0.4 ota and the lte Xoom still has yet to receive ICS, which from my understanding was supposed to bridge the gap between phone and tablet. Now we are talking Jelly Beans and I would love to just get an official Ice cream sandwhich ota on my xoom……at least then after a week or two I would be bored with it and ready to discuss jelly bean!

  33. I don’t buy it. If Google wants to improve the tablet experience, they don’t need a new Android release to do it. They should be focusing on apps. There are a number of Google apps — notably Google+ — that don’t do tablet-appropriate layouts. And they should be doing everything they can to get popular third party apps to be tablet-friendlier. And by everything they can, I mean offering Android developers as teachers and mentors.

  34. I hope Google doesn’t merge Chrome OS into Android.  Kill Chrome OS….long live Android

  35. Finally some information on Jelly Bean! Ever since ICS was released, very little information was known about JB. It seems the world of Android is finally slowing down……….

  36. I have always loved me some Kina Grannis

  37. Guys keep in mind that it can be android 4.1 just like android 2.2 was froyo and android 2.3 was gingerbread…they just add performance tweaks a little bit of new feature but not a whole different os like 2.x to 4.x

  38. That’s just horrible. I don’t even have ICS yet.

    1. Progress is horrible? Get a Nexus if you want fast updates. Android updates twice a year. ICS came out in November, so this summer wouldn’t be too fast for Jelly Bean. 

  39. I thought Ice Cream Sandwich was supposed to be the universal OS, available to tablets and phones.  Why would they release another OS targeted at tablets?

  40. Aka .. they will include Chrome Browser duhhh

  41. new nexus phone too?

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