Should I bother upgrading the OS on my Android phone from 4.0 to 4.1?

I would recommend you try and find out what the upgrade will do first, this is something I would recommend for any upgrade on any device ever.

It is far more likely, that they will come up with an upgrade that restricts or imposes on you some how, in order for them to gain more money, than it is likely that they came up with a new cool way to help you, and are giving it to you for free.

Many great things have been trashed by upgrades.

Yes. The move from 4.0 to 4.1 is not all that major; a couple fixes. I find that my battery life is a little better.

I would do it.

Jelly Bean has a few minor enhancements over Ice Cream Sandwich.
No single one of them is enough to warrant upgrading, but there are enough tiny things to add up to “sufficient reason”.

@poisonedantidote This is Android, not iOS. Apple may be in it for the money and the monopoly, but as a general rule, the scenario you put forth is practically impossible in an Open Source environment.

I see no reason why you shouldn’t. It’s pretty stable.

Project butter makes the UI a lot smoother and responsive and prettier, and google now has been pretty useful to me. if I google a restaurant on my computer, not long later my phone wil show me directions to that restaurant in a card in google now. It also tells me when to leave for work considering current traffic conditions. Many of the changes are minor, but there are definitely plenty of quality of life improvements.