Boost/Virgin Mobile Smartphones Being Updated to Jelly Bean

Within the past week, select Virgin Mobile smartphones have been receiving updates to Android Jelly Bean, with the LG Venice, Samsung Galaxy Reverb and Rush all being updated to the 4.1.2 version of the still-current platform. The LG Venice update is being pushed over-the-air and the Reverb and Rush updates are also being pushed in the same manner, marking an exception from Samsung’s typical update program, which is usually handled over the wire via Kies or other similar desktop programs.

Boost Mobile customer care also indirectly confirmed the above updates when answering a query sent by a customer inquiring about future updates:

On May 16th – May 23rd there are planned over-the-air Android Jelly Bean software release for Samsung Galaxy Rush and other phones. Customers using these phones will be receiving Software Update.

Android 4.1.2 features the following features:

Smoother user interface:

• Vsync timing across all drawing and animation done by the Android framework, including application rendering, touch events, screen composition and display refresh
  Triple buffering in the graphics pipeline
• Enhanced accessibility
  Bi-directional text and other language support
  User-installable keyboard maps

• Expandable notifications
  Ability to turn off notifications on an app specific basis

• Shortcuts and widgets can automatically be re-arranged or re-sized to allow new items to fit on home screens

• Bluetooth data transfer for Android Beam

• Offline voice dictation

• Tablets with smaller screens now use an expanded version of the interface layout and home screen used by phones.

• Improved voice search

• Improved camera app

• High-resolution Google+ contact photos

• Google Now search application

• Multichannel audio

• USB audio (for external sound DACs)

• Audio chaining (also known as gapless playback)

• Ability for other launchers to add widgets from the app drawer without requiring root access

• One-finger gestures to expand/collapse notifications

• New “Select All” button glyph on Swype keyboard

• Bug fixes and performance enhancements