Owners of Samsung’s Galaxy S III may have the latest in smartphone hardware technology, but their device is still stuck running Androind 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. This is nearly two months since Google’s Nexus 7 tablet debuted with Android 4.1 Jelly Bean.
Finally, Samsung has stated that the Galaxy S III will soon be getting an upgrade to Jelly Bean. CNET’s U.K. website has “confirmed” that the smartphone will recieve the update sometime in October. The site states that the info comes straight from Samsung. CNET quotes a Samsung as saying that Jelly Bean “will be available on the Galaxy S III from October.”
After that, the burden of customer complaints shifts to mobile operators, who will have to implement their own restrictions and software into the update. While SIM-less Galaxy S III’s will be able to upgrade in October, those with heavy-handed carriers may have to wait weeks or longer for a chance to taste Jelly Bean on their smartphone.
Of course, Galaxy S III owners who are a bit more adventurous know that Jelly Bean-based roms have been available for the smartphone for a while now, assuming it is rooted of course. Just yesterday it was announced that CyanogenMod, one of the most popular roms for Android smartphones, will be releasing monthly stable versions for quite a few top-tier devices, including the Galaxy S III. That should make it easier than ever for Galaxy S III owners to keep their phones running the latest Android operating system with cutting-edge features without having to wait months (or forever) for their phone manufacturer or wireless carrier to push out an update.