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Samsung has confirmed its flagship phone the Galaxy S3 will receive the update to the latest version of Android, known as Jelly Bean, as soon as October. If you can’t wait that long then the 4G version will be available with Jelly Bean as standard.
Samsung doesn’t have the best track record when it comes to updating its Android phones, with last year’s Galaxy S2 update delays causing something of a riot among its customers. Thankfully it’s not mincing its words this time round, explaining to me that “the Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean) operating system will be available on the Galaxy S3 from October.”
During the launch of the UK’s first 4G network however, Everything Everywhere (or EE as they now like to be known) indicated that the 4G version of the S3 will be available with Jelly Bean as standard, so there’s no need for you to hang around for updates. The 4G version will of course be able to take advantage of the high-speed data promised by the 4G network, providing you’re in one of the 16 UK cities where it’ll be available.
Sadly there’s no firm details on exactly when in October you’ll see the update, but try not to be too miffed if you don’t see it on the first day. The news came from Samsung directly, so it’s expected that the update will be released to SIM-free handsets first.
Each network will need to properly test the update to make sure it runs
properly with their respective services, so phones bought locked to a
network will likely receive the update slightly later. Indeed, Samsung went on to explain that “Details regarding the availability across network channels will be announced in due course.”
Customers on Orange and T-Mobile were among the last to get the Ice Cream Sandwich update on their S2s, but as they’re the ones (under the EE brand) who are launching the 4G S3 with Jelly Bean, you’d hope they’d be among the first this time around.
We’ll be keeping track of exactly when the different S3s will be receiving the updates. Be sure to keep it CNET UK to find out exactly when you’ll get it and can start taking advantage of the buttery smooth transitions, Google Now and other treats that Jelly Bean promises.
In the meantime, let me know your thoughts on Jelly Bean and 4G in the comments below and over on our Facebook page.
