Samsung Galaxy Note, Sony Xperia S to Receive Android Jelly Bean Updates in May
Two Android-based smartphones will be receiving Jelly Bean updates next month.
Sony Xperia S and the first generation of Samsung Galaxy Note are bound to receive Jelly Bean updates, according to leaked update roadmap for the French carrier SFR.
Sony Xperia S launched in February 2012 running on Android 2.3 Gingerbread, got the Ice Cream Sandwich later on and was confirmed as eligible for the Jelly Bean treatment. It will probably be the last update for the smartphone. The delay angered a lot of consumers.
The SFR's list also suggest the first Galaxy Note phablet will get the Jelly Bean update about the same time as the Xperia S - in May.
Moreover, a recent tweet from well-known Samsung-centric website SamMobile states that an Android 4.2.2 update will land on the devices in May or June.
"Android 4.2.2 updates Galaxy S III and Note II in May/June," SamMobile tweeted.
The update would put both devices on par with the Galaxy S4, which will run Android 4.2.2 right out of the box at the time of its release (which will start in April).
Samsung has not officially commented on the matter. Thus, it is still unconfirmed as to when the Jelly Bean update will be released. However, such a release time frame would make sense to keep Samsung's lineup as updated as possible against the slew of smartphones releasing in the first half of 2013. SamMobile does also have a track record of nabbing insider Samsung information.
New features on the S4 that could translate to the S3 include real-time lingo-decoder S Translator, and an array of pointless camera features, such as Dual Camera pictures.
Some features look like they could make the switch but might rely on hardware in the S4's camera. I'm talking about the various hands-off features that let you control the phone without touching the screen, as the camera detects your hand waving in front of the screen to scroll and swipe, your eyes straying from the display to pause a video with Smart Stay, and your hand tilting the phone to Smart Scroll.
The update, as usual, will probably roll out in batches, and take much longer to arrive on carrier-tied variants.