Android 4.2 brought with it neither a new "sweet name" nor significant changes. She stayed Jelly Bean . Google continued to improve its mobile platform and 4.2 was the fruit of its efforts in this direction. Android movement to domination. This time, the specialists made sure that people with poor eyesight could also use smartphones based on the most popular mobile platform of the planet.
Android 4.2 was released six months after 4.1. The focus was on enhancing performance. The animation was improved, and the design became more uniform. In Android 4.2, a new control panel has appeared, which is accessed through notifications through a not-too-sensible gesture with two fingers. Or in a more obvious way: using the button. The new firmware has access to widgets and the camera directly from the lock screen.
One of the major innovations of version 4.2 of the “android” mobile platform was support for Miracast. This allows you to wirelessly stream video or audio content from a mobile device to a TV or display. This is a sort of answer from the search giant on Apple AirPlay. Miracast began to be seen as the industry standard, and some set-top boxes support it. Unfortunately, since the fall of 2012, when version 4.2 was released, Miracast’s support has not improved too much. And there are not so many smartphones on the market that can take advantage of the advantages offered by Miracast. We are talking about those devices whose firmware has been updated to version 4.2.
Android 4.2 became the basis for the so-called Google Play edition phones. We are talking about popular devices from Samsung and HTC, in which the standard Android software was replaced by another software. For those who are interested in the Android 4.2 version, but do not like the Nexus a lot, the Google Play edition smartphones were the best choice.
The set of new features of Android 4.2 is not limited to the above. On some of the innovations of the system should be a little more to say:
New design of watches and watch widgets. If we talk about visual changes, it became the most significant in version 4.2. In the new application, the clock is displayed in bold type than minutes. The clock application gives quick access to the timer, stopwatch and world time. In addition, in addition to the new application, Google has offered users new analog and digital widgets for the home screen.
Support multiple user profiles. Android 4.2 adds the ability to support multiple user profiles or accounts on one tablet. The goal of this solution was to ensure the sharing of one device with the whole family. Profiles work in much the same way as user accounts in Windows and OS X. I must say that it is this feature that the legendary iPad still lacks.
Photospheres. Android 4.2 brought with it a unique feature of Photospheres. She allowed to create 360-degree panoramic shots. Unfortunately, sharing such pictures is not easy. The only real way: to show them to your friends on the “Google” social network Google+. Therefore, this feature is not very much in demand by most users.
Daydream screensavers. The influence of the main designer of the "android" platform Mathias Duarte on the appearance of Android and the impression produced by the operating system is enormous. The Daydream feature in Android 4.2 is one of the clearest examples of this influence. Daydream is essentially similar to the Exhibition mode in webOS 2.0. Recall that before his arrival at Google, Duart headed the work on webOS design at Palm. This screensaver is capable of displaying pictures, images, information or widgets.
Display and I / O information. In Android 4.2, there have been some improvements in the display and input / output of information. Including the possibility of increasing the entire screen with a triple tap, zooming with two fingers. In addition, there was a data output by voice and Gesture Mode navigation mode for visually impaired users.
In the process of familiarization with the history of leading mobile platforms, you can discover interesting things. The history of iOS is the way of accomplishments and breakthroughs. New features of the "Apple" mobile platform appeared, accompanied by applause of the public, and sometimes even streams of criticism, as happened with iOS 7. It can be compared with the rise of the brave on the crest of the ocean wave. The history of Android is completely different. This is a gradual, steadfast ascent of the steps.
Read sequel: 4.3: Modular Philosophy
The contents of the cycle "History of Android":
[1] T-Mobile G1 Autumn Debut: 1.0
[2] 1.x: Sweet Names
[3] 2.0 and 2.1: Digital cake
[4] 2.x: Many small things
[5] 3.x: Honeycomb conquers tablets
[6] 4.0: Ice cream is learning the language
[7] Android history. 4.1: First in the Jelly Bean family
[8] 4.2: Care for the visually impaired
[9] 4.3: Modular Philosophy
Based on TheVerge.com
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