Samsung Galaxy S2 owners who were hoping for another Android upgrade might want to sit down for this one: it's going to be a while, possibly next year, possibly never.
Recent developments regarding Samsung Android updates have indicated that 2012 flagship devices, the Galaxy S3 and the Galaxy Note 2, will not be receiving Android 4.2.2. Instead, Samsung might be looking to hold off on any updates to older phones above Android 4.1.2 until November, when the South Korean electronics manufacturer will then push out Android 4.3 instead.
While there is no mention of the 2011 flagship Galaxy S2 phone in the reports, the implications are large. Samsung, justifiably so, tends to update its lineup going backwards in time, meaning that newer devices get upgrade before older ones. The Galaxy S3 and Galaxy Note 2 were incredibly successful and popular smartphones, and there's little chance that Samsung will bump up the older Galaxy S2 before those two. The Galaxy S2 usually gets its updates a few months after the Galaxy S3, so this could put the release time frame for the next major Galaxy S2 Android update sometime in 2014. Whether or not it will be Android 4.3 or Android 4.2.2 remains to be seen, although an earlier tip indicates that whatever the next Android update is for the Galaxy S2, it will be the device's last.
In other words Galaxy S2 owners, if you've been holding onto your handset in hopes of getting one last ride out of it, you might be better off switching to a newer phone, unless you want to wait until 2014 for Android 4.2 or Android 4.3 Jelly Bean. Remember, Android 5.0 is rumored to release this fall and there's no guarantee that Samsung will even update hte Galaxy S2 in 2014, when the handset is three years old.
Let us know whether you will be keeping your Galaxy S2 or moving onto a newer handset in the comments section below.