Google Play Store Confirms Android 4.1 Jelly Bean is Coming “Soon”

A Google Play Store slip-up tells us that Google will unveil Android 4.1 Jelly Bean next week, and it is coming “soon.”

According to Droid Life, the Google Play Store checkout page for the HSPA+ Galaxy Nexus now claims the phone will soon be “the first phone with Android 4.1.” The description cuts off the Jelly Bean moniker, but it’s definitely listed there.

The checkout page for the smartphone also shows a new UI design for the phone. The image is very small, but it shows a new default wallpaper, and a new, glassy Google Search bar. Unfortunately we can’t fully make out the icons from the small image, though we can’t imagine what new apps Google would put the dock.

Saying the Galaxy Nexus will be the first phone with Jelly Bean doesn’t rule out the possibility of a Nexus tablet. In fact, it might even put more force behind the rumors. Google has introduced a new device alongside every major update of Android since 2.0 with the Motorola Droid. If there’s no new phone, it’s definitely another tablet.

Or, the Galaxy Nexus might just receive Jelly Bean before a new Nexus device even ships.

The release of Jelly Bean comes at a very strange time. Samsung’s latest Galaxy S III just launched today, or was scheduled to, and HTC’s One X is only a few months old. The manufacturers will need to work fast to upgrade phones to Jelly Bean, assuming they do it at all. Some companies like Motorola and Sony are still rolling out Ice Cream Sandwich, and many phones probably still won’t have it when Jelly Bean arrives on the Galaxy Nexus.

Unless Jelly Bean is easier to upgrade to, Google is placing a lot of companies in a very awkward and uncomfortable position.