14 DAY TRIAL // Galaxy S III, Samsung’s current flagship Android smartphone, might not receive an update to the new Android 4.1 Jelly Bean OS flavor in the United States until next year, recent reports on the matter suggest.
The update has started to roll out in other markets around the world since last week, when Samsung pushed it to Galaxy S III units in South Korea, and is currently arriving on units in Europe as well.
However, it seems that users in the United States won’t be so lucky as to get a taste of it before the end of this year, a recent article on Examiner notes.
According to them, a Samsung spokesperson has confirmed that US Galaxy S III models will be the last to receive the long expected software update.
Moreover, said person added that, while Sprint’s version of the mobile phone could actually taste the update before 2012 is over, the AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon variants might see it only in 2013.
Samsung has already confirmed the availability of Android 4.1 Jelly Bean for models in other countries around the world, and announced that users in the UK would receive it before the end of this month.
When it comes to the United States, although the company confirmed that it will be providing users with the update, it hasn’t offered a specific release date as of now.
A possible delay of the update to the next year will certainly leave users frustrated, especially since carrier-branded units in other markets are about to jump in the Jelly Bean boat.
At the moment, Galaxy S III runs under an official Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich build, yet unofficial Jelly Bean ROMs have already emerged for it. However, the installation of such software requires rooting the device, something that many users are not willing to do.
Hopefully, this report will prove to be nothing more than a rumor, though US Galaxy S III owners should prepare for the worse. They might remain with Ice Cream Sandwich even after the launch of Android 4.2.