Latest Galaxy S3 Update: Samsung to Deliver Galaxy S4 Features to Old Flagship via Jelly Bean 4.2.2 Upgrade
Good news for the millions who remain enamoured with the Galaxy S3. Samsung is set to dispatch an update file that will transform the year-old phone into a virtual Galaxy S4 clone, at least in functions and features.
The GS3's jump to the latest Android version was discovered in advance by SamMobile. The tech blog site estimated that the update will start rolling out by June, presumably affecting first the international version of the smartphone.
As soon as the new Jelly Bean resides into the GS3, the phone is expected to behave a little like its newer sibling, the report added. Prominent additions would be the GS4's new lock screen and the tabbed interface on its settings menu.
Also, Samsung's revised S-Voice will be included with the whole package. The app, of course, represents the South Korean tech giant's attempt of upending Apple's Siri and Android's Google Now.
GS3 owners will likely welcome the fact that the Jelly Bean 4.2.2 push out includes the GS4's various screen modes such as the Adapt Display and the Professional Photo and other eye-candy features in the following: a white background in 3D mode of the Gallery app, a smart switch widget and full screen Samsung apps.
Much of the focus, however, is trained on the S-Voice and Notification tweaks. In the former, GS3 users will be allowed to control their handsets by use of programmable voice commands. But some experts are critical of this Samsung app, which they refer as the company's inadequate effort of mimicking the initiative coming from Apple and Google.
It's opposite though on the notification improvements. Samsung's TouchWiz upgrades now allow users to easily pull up the setting menu from the Notification tray, which provides a ready access to numerous phone features.
The fresh Samsung initiative is in line with its earlier pledge that the most of the new GS4 and Premium Suite capabilities recently introduced will be extended to older Galaxy models, provided they have the required hardware specs.
This condition fits both the GS3 and the Galaxy Note 2, the latter expected to get its share of the bump ups later in the year.