4.2 Impressions

[T-BoneX]

First impressions: not so great. My N7 is 10 days old, and I pushed the update myself using adb. I had occasional lock-ups where the screen refused to rotate for minutes (I had auto rotate set to on). I was tempted to return it for a new 4.1.1 version and then not update it until the bugs were worked out of 4.2. But instead, I performed a factory reset.

So far, so good in terms of performance. Not sluggish, screen rotates about as quickly as 4.1.2 (but a sit slower, actually), etc. Been a few hours so far since the reset.

I hate that Amazon streaming no longer with flash and firefox beta, but oh well.

-T

 

[natehoy]

LOVE:
New fonts - subtle, but a tad clearer and just tidier than the old ones.
Dual-side pulldowns (though it took me a minute to figure out swiping down the left meant notifications and right meant settings, but given the location of the indication icons up top it just makes sense).
Multiuser, though I admit I have little use for it yet.

LIKE:
New keyboard. Gesture/swipe is very nice. Only thing that has driven me ape-poop crazy a couple of times is pressing the "backspace" button three times seems to be code for "DELETE THE HELL OUT OF EVERYTHING". If I mess up a three-letter word and want to back it out, I often find myself saying a four-letter word because whole paragraphs go "poof" never to be seen again.

MEH:
Photosphere is not supported on the Nexus 7, and multiple photos is the only way that crappy little camera is ever going to be worth anything.
MX Player, Firefox (now fixed), and a handful of apps all have incompatibilities with 4.2, but that's the risk of having a Nexus device - we get the OS first, and that means some developers don't see it until well after we've upgraded. You live on the bleeding edge, sometimes you get a boo boo.

BAD: Other than the backspace issue, which might be enough to send me back to Swype despite the concentrated awesomeness that is the rest of the native keyboard, can't think of a thing.

 

[Coldar]

Am I the only one with a flawless version? Had 4.2 for a few hours now with no bug reports so far.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Android Central Forums

Same here. I've been on the N7 for hours and finding all works satisfactory. Only thing was Nova Launcher wouldn't work but once I updated the app, it has worked fine. Overall the revamped cosmetic issues are minor and can live with them and most all else are a plus. Anyway, no real complaints here.

 

[cdf3]

After seeing that they updated the font, I decided to go ahead with the update. I like the new font so far. My biggest gripe before was the text not being dark enough, and difficult to read at times. They seemed to have fixed this issue.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2

 

[jjhoneck]

Spent a whole day on JB 4.2 and I have to say this update is no bueno. Audio bluetooth is even worse than before as it now skips even when the tablet isn't even a foot away from my device.

I've been streaming audio via Bluetooth all night from 25+ feet away without a burp -- just like before 4.2.

Sounds like you've got a problem on the receiver-end. My Logitech BT receivers (connected to three stereo systems) all work flawlessly, from distances over 30 feet, and through walls.

Sent from my Nexus 7

 

[anon(847090)]

4.2 is still jellybean but it seems like a huge upgrade.

cant wait to try it in Nexus 4. lock screen widget daydream

 

[severinj]

there are more negatives than positives as far as I'm concerned

 

[anon(847090)]

there are more negatives than positives as far as I'm concerned

like?

 

[severinj]

well as far as the nexus 7 goes it's inconvenient to have to swipe the notification bar down in different areas to get different results.it doesn't work like the phone, you can't drag with two fingers or drag it down twice. the lock screen looks much more amateur and every single time you wake up the tablet it highlights the ability to add more widgets to it. without unlocking the tablet you can add the widget for gmail which is just ridiculous.

i can't get over how ridiculous the lock screen widgets look or how they're handled. there doesn't seem to be any way to "lock" the lock screen, which other 3rd party apps have had for years.

 

[rmeigs]

Am I the only one with a flawless version? Had 4.2 for a few hours now with no bug reports so far.

I'm running just fine with no issues.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Android Central Forums

 

[B. Diddy]

Lock screen widgets
Anyone find a way to delete the option or not allow it to create more? I don't mind the clock on the lock screen but the others are bit much. it seems like it can create widgets for calendar and gmail without unlocking so anyone can check my email or see my calendar just by adding the widgets on the lock screen.

You can keep your lockscreen secure by setting up some kind of password or pattern unlock, and not adding Gmail or Calendar as a widget. If you have a password or pattern unlock set, then if anyone tries to add a lock screen widget, the tablet will prompt the user to enter the password or pattern FIRST. If the user doesn't, then no widgets can be added.

Keep in mind that 3rd party devs will start making cool lock screen widgets soon, so we won't just be stuck with the boring stock widgets.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Android Central Forums

 

[ninjakarl]

30 minutes in with 4.2..

The swipe keyboard is pretty sweet, if you only use the English layout. I'm originally from Sweden and I write messages to friends and family back home so I switch between languages fairly often. In the Swedish layout I can't use swipe and the auto spelling is not as good as with the English layout. They need to start supporting other languages fully so I can use the swipe function all the time. For now I'll just stick with Swiftkey, which is an excellent app for typing in different languages.

Where is the lock screen widget for the music players? In 4.1.2 it showed the track and album cover and I could change track, pause and play with both Spotify and Google music. Hopefully they fix this soon.

To me it seems that every time I change a setting it slows down the N7 and it gets laggy for a short time afterwards, only to go back to its speedy self after about 5-10 minutes.

 

[stillborn86]

I'm kind of jealous of all the people having issues... Especially major ones. I've been running 4.2 for over 24 (near continuous) hours without so much as a burp. Battery is great, responsiveness is great, features are great, and everything looks good. The only complaint I have is that I'm not a fan of the rubber band effect the notification bar menus have. But that's just something I have to get used to from the old style. But the rest of the system looks flawless.

Maybe it has something to do with the fact that I got it OTA and didn't push it via ADB? The OTA seemed to have no issues with my custom recovery or the fact that I was still rooted.

Who knows? I'm enjoying the update.

 

[gpdaddy95]

Mine runs great too. No problems. Although I have to say the Nexus 7 book that came with my unit is now out of date. Where's THAT update?

 

[T-BoneX]

A good test is to turn on auto rotate, and rotate the Nexus 90 degrees to see how fast this display changes . With 4.1 .2, the screen rotated in about 1 second. After the update, it can take as long as 6 seconds. So the factory reset I did last night, did not really work that well over time.

I noticed that if I rotate the screen back and forth multiple times with the same screen displayed, then it will eventually rotate in about a 1 second period... Like caching.

I am interested to know if anyone else having this lag In the auto rotate screen.

-T


Sent from my Desire HD using Android Central Forums

 

[Jaysus]

I am interested to know if anyone else having this lag In the auto rotate screen.

I am not

 

[undertothenight]

I'm just getting a taste of 4.2 on my Verizon gnex thanks to Alien droid ROM but I'm guessing Verizon will push the update by the time the next Verizon nexus comes out..... I'm loving the gesture keyboard although not as accurate as swype yet. Over all I'm very impressed.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

 

[tabletnovice]

1. MX Player does not work.
2. Dice Player does not work

Any solution for this? I can no longer use TV portal.

 

[almost.green.guy]

I have the same lag issue on screen rotation.

But the new keyboard is crazy good!!!!!!

 

[JustinMueller8810]

Any solution for this? I can no longer use TV portal.

No MX Player?!? Shiiiiiiiiiiit :thumbdown: