Samsung Galaxy S3 & Note 2 News: Android 4.3 Jelly Bean Update Available
Domestic Samsung Galaxy S3 and Note 2 owners are able to upgrade their phones to Android 4.3 Jelly Bean from 4.1.1 Jelly Bean if they so choose. The update is free for every Samsung Galaxy S3 and Note 2 owner in America. The entire installation should take less than an hour on most Wi-Fi and cellular connections to complete. Globally, a few carriers are still testing the Jelly Bean update to make sure that it works and won't slow down their respective networks. Barring any more unforeseen network complications, Samsung completes its update rollout that it commenced back in November 2013 this month.
Sprint Corporation was the first carrier to update to 4.3 with the Note 2 back in November. Each of these carries updates seem to be sporadic and 4G LTE compatible devices are given preference over the standard 3G models. That may be because 4G LTE networks are better equipped to handle the masses of people who will undoubtedly upgrade their phones software.
French carrier SFR announced today that is has enabled the Galaxy S3 (3G version) to download the update. Their annoucement was of course written in french, but GottaBe Mobile had the scoop. The 4G LTE versions of the Galaxy Note 2 and Galaxy S3 still have yet to be released. SFR isn't alone, though, as Australian carrier Telstra has only just updated the Galaxy S3 to Android 4.1.2. No word on if the carrier is planning on updating the 3G only version of the Note 2. An update to Android 4.3 is forthcoming for the 4G LTE model.
The software upgrade from Android 4.1.1 to 4.3 isn't nearly as dramatic as Apple Inc.'s iOS update. iOS 6 to iOS 7 was hailed as the "biggest change" to iPhone since the original iPhone first hit store shelves in 2007. iOS 7 was Apple's way of playing catch up with Android 4.2, let alone 4.3 or 4.4! Many iOS 7 features were derived from Android. Siri, iOS's personal assistant, still trails Google Now in one key area according to Macworld: Live Speech Transcription.
Apple's OS still fails to wow consumers on the customization front. Many Android fans would argue that this is because Android is a more advanced mobile operating system. Regardless of features, the Android 4.3 Jelly Bean update ensures users that their Galaxy S3 and Note 2s aren't being forgotten about by Samsung.
Do you have a Galaxy S3 or Note 2? How does the new update work for you? Let us know in the comments section.