Google has inadvertently confirmed that its next software update will be called Android 4.1 Jelly Bean and be coming to the Galaxy Nexus smartphone shortly.  

While that ties-in with previous rumours, many believed that Jelly Bean would be used for Android 5.0 rather than the 4.1 increment now seemingly confirmed by engineers in Mountain View. 

Discovered by shoppers in the US on the company's Google Nexus site, the Jelly Bean reference has already been removed by Google, but not before the user who found the Android 4.1 listing posted the information to the XDA developer forum

The listing for the Galaxy Nexus HSPA+ model stated: "The latest smartphone from Google, soon the first phone with Android 4.1 Jell…"

Users have also found an image of the Galaxy Nexus running the new OS, although at only 300px wide it is only just clear enough to see a new transparent Google Search Bar - that, incidentally, also appeared in screen shots promoting the new Goole I/O app released earlier in the week. We've blown it up in the picture above to save you squinting. 

Google is expected to announce Android 4.1 at the company's developers conference in San Francisco next week. We will be bringing you all the latest news as it happens.