Even though they are out of sight when 4.3 hits your device, it still brings tangible and user facing benefits. With better APIs, users get better programs to download from the Play store. Users also enjoy better battery life and performance while using those programs. And new possibilities like a lost and found Bluetooth 4.0 tag are possible.

It's a shame some of this new stuff is tied to 4.3, though it makes sense. The Bluetooth 4.0 part for example requires hardware support too. A newer phone is much more likely to start with 4.3, thus companies like Reveal Labs can move forward with Android support. Most of the rest of the new APIs Google released this year are at least accessible back to Android 2.2, as long as it has the Google Play store.