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Verizon Galaxy Nexus Android 4.2 Update Last, Isn’t Surprising

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Back in October, when Google first announced Android 4.2 Jelly Bean, it said that the update would be coming to the Nexus 7 and the Galaxy Nexus at some point down the road. Just a few short weeks after Google made its proclamation, it made good on its promise to Nexus 7 owners. And soon after that, it rolled out Android 4.2 to specific Galaxy Nexus devices. Then, earlier this week, Google made the long-awaited update available to Sprint Galaxy Nexus owners. That has left the Verizon Galaxy Nexus as the only Nexus device in the US, slated to get the update, without the update. Surprise, surprise.

Read: Sprint Galaxy Nexus Android 4.2 Update Now Available.

Since November, I’ve been using Android 4.2 Jelly Bean on my Nexus 7. Despite its issues, the update is a fantastic addition to the Jelly Bean family and one that I have long been waiting for for my Verizon Galaxy Nexus. Mainly, because of the Photo Sphere, which isn’t available for tablets, and also because of the new gesture keyboard and the new additions to Google Now which I now use on a regular basis.

As I said way back in December, Android 4.2 Jelly Bean might be an incremental update between Android 4.1 and Android 5.0 Key Lime Pie, which is rumored for a May debut at Google I/O, but it still packs a considerable punch.

So for the past two months, I’ve wondered about when the Verizon Galaxy Nexus update might arrive. So I wondered, and predicted, that is, until earlier this week when history decided to repeat itself.

Laughable

Earlier this week, the Sprint Galaxy Nexus unsurprisingly beat the Verizon Galaxy Nexus to Android 4.2. It’s something that I and many other Verizon Galaxy Nexus owners expected to happen. We expected to be last. It’s what the history of this device has told us. We were last to Jelly Bean, we will be last to this update. It’s nothing new and at this point, I can only laugh.

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The packaging may say Nexus, but this isn’t a Nexus.

Laugh at the fact that it took five months to roll out a bug fix update. Laugh at Andy Rubin’s acknowledgement that this phone wasn’t a good Nexus experience. And of course laugh at the thought of me waltzing into a Verizon store in December of 2011 to buy this phone.

So When Will Android 4.2 Roll Out?

At this point, who knows, though I suspect that since the Sprint OTA is likely close, it will likely light a fire under Verizon to get this update done. We saw it roll out the Android 4.1 Jelly Bean update shortly after Sprint so it could be that we’re only a matter of days from seeing the update.

Unfortunately, Samsung and Verizon will never publicly say so the update will likely just appear out of thin air and roll out in phases to owners over a couple of days.

What’s Next?

There’s no doubt in my mind that the Verizon Galaxy Nexus will get an upgrade to Android 5.0 Key Lime Pie when it arrives at some point this year. Google I/O in May is a possibility though there is no telling if May will be its release month. That said, don’t expect the Verizon Galaxy Nexus to get its Android 5.0 update at around the same time devices like the Nexus 4, Nexus 10 and Nexus 7 get their updates.

android-key-lime-pie-evolution-of-android-640x128-575x1151

The Verizon Galaxy Nexus will be last to Android 5.0, don’t worry.

And don’t expect it to get it before the other Galaxy Nexus devices get their updates either. Instead, resign yourself to the fact that the Verizon Galaxy Nexus will be last to every single upcoming Android update it has coming to it.

That way, you can laugh instead of pout when the smoke clears like it did this week.

10 Comments

10 Comments

  1. Quasi Caustic (@QUASI_CAUSTIC)

    01/18/2013 at 11:25 am

    Thanks for staying on top of this. Much appreciated.

  2. Joel McLaughlin (@gorkon)

    01/18/2013 at 12:18 pm

    Tired of reading about it. Tired of complaining about it. My phone is just fine now. Do I want the new features? Sure. Should Verizon be better? Yeah. However it’s not worth complaining as it’s falling on deaf ears.

  3. jeffrey

    01/18/2013 at 5:00 pm

    so I am confused why is verizon slow doing this?

    • eyore

      01/19/2013 at 12:03 pm

      there are 3 reasons… 1 to get your money, 2 to get your money, 3 to get your money. oh yes and make you get rid of your pure Android nexus device by making you switch to 1 of their bloatware loaded droid branded models.

  4. Odeon

    01/20/2013 at 12:24 am

    Verizon is always the last provider to get updates out to their phones as far as I can tell. I had a Galaxy S that took forever to get the official Froyo update and never got an official Gingerbread update. It started with Eclair and I eventually went with CM7 to get GB on it.

    I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised if I had to go get another CyanogenMod to install on my Nexus just to not be left in the dust.

    • Odeon

      01/20/2013 at 12:26 am

      By the way, I only got my GN last month as a cheap upgrade (the same way I got the GS) but at least it was already pre-loaded with 4.1.1. As of this moment there are no updates available, so now I have to wonder how long it’ll be until I see the official 4.2 update.

  5. Dennis

    01/21/2013 at 11:03 am

    All this has taught me about Verizon, is to leave Verizon when my contract expires next year.

  6. JohnF

    01/25/2013 at 7:40 pm

    And now Verizon has announced that the Galaxy Nexus is EOL. So who knows whether there will be any further software updates.

  7. Dirt-Kid

    01/31/2013 at 3:55 pm

    Would be better if it wasnt sold by verizon,maybe then google would be allowed to post the updates on the factory images page for us?

  8. Tim

    02/07/2013 at 2:32 pm

    When I read the headline, “Verizon Galaxy Nexus Android 4.2 Update Last, Isn’t Surprising”, I thought it meant “no more updates will be coming”. Which I also wouldn’t find surprising.

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