It wasn't too long ago that we revealed that the Samsung Galaxy S3 Android 4.2.2 update could be delayed until as late as November due to concerns with Galaxy S4 sales. Now, as Samsung has released its earnings forecast for Q2 2013, things are looking even grimmer.
Samsung is on pace to have a record-breaking quarter, pulling in around $50 billion in revenue and around $8.3 billion in profit. If those numbers sound incredible, it's because they are. Sadly, that hasn't alleviated investors' concerns, who responded by causing Samsung's stock shares to drop - all because investors expected $8.9 billion in profit and Samsung came up 6.4 percent short. What that translates to is: interest is not as high as initially thought in Samsung products or rivals are offering enough compelling alternatives to begin to slow the company down. There's an aura of fear that the Galaxy S4 won't continue to sell well, and that it could have already fizzled out. All this after Samsung reported 20 million Galaxy S4 sales, making it the fastest-selling Android phone ever.
So how exactly does this relate to Android 4.2.2 for the Galaxy S3, you ask?
The reason some believe Android 4.2.2 might be delayed until November is because Samsung doesn't want consumers to choose between the Galaxy S4 and the cheaper Galaxy S3, which is still a top-of-the-line handset, creating a scenario that would potentially cannibalize Galaxy S4 sales. If the Galaxy S3 has Android 4.2.2 with all the TouchWiz features the Galaxy S4 has, it's only reasonable to assume that many would opt for the cheaper Galaxy S3. By withholding Android 4.2.2 for the Galaxy S3 until the Galaxy S4 has a chance to upgrade to Android 4.3 (unreleased) or Android 5.0 Key Lime Pie (expected sometime around October), Samsung and carriers can always convince customers that Android 4.2.2 is what they need, and if they want that, they'll have to choose the Galaxy S4.
Remember that Samsung has not commented on the upgrade, so everything's up in the air at the moment. If a recently-leaked build is any indication, there's even a chance of the upgrade rolling out sometime in July or August.
Either way, let us know how you would feel if Samsung withheld Android 4.2.2 from Galaxy S3 owners in order to boost Galaxy S4 sales in the comments section below.