The Samsung Galaxy S3 currently has its horns locked in squarely with the Apple iPhone 5. As the only smartphone to really make a dent in Apple's juggernaut, the Galaxy S3 is arguably the Android flagship phone, but has still failed to receive the latest Android operating system, Jelly Bean. Samsung has acknowledged this, and has released more details about Jelly Bean for U.S. Galaxy S3 owners, but the answer remains the same: "Coming soon."
A Samsung press release from October 17 reads:
"Available in the coming months, the Galaxy S III update offers the latest AndroidTM platform; new camera, video and customization enhancements; and access to ESPN's ScoreCenter app with custom AllShare® integration."
While this may seem comforting , the reality is that this isn't much of an update from Samsung.
Samsung posted on their official update page a while ago that the Android 4.1 Jelly Bean update release date on carriers Sprint, AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile, and U.S. Cellular would be "Coming Soon!" There's not much of a difference between "coming months" and "coming soon" if you really think about, and the new press release is slightly disappointing.
U.S. consumers whose Android phones are tied to carriers are some of the last people on Earth to get their phone updated because of the nature of the Google to Samsung to carrier relationship. While Jelly Bean has already started launching on international Android phones, it's looking like U.S. consumers will have to wait even longer.
While there is no exact release date, there's a good chance that Samsung will push for Jelly Bean before the end of 2012. The South Korean electronics manufacturer will want to have as many features to tout as it possibly can in order to fight back the Apple iPhone 5 demand. If Samsung waits until 2013 to update its phone, there's a good chance that some consumers will turn towards Apple, who can update its devices directly. Let's hope we see Jelly Bean on the U.S. Galaxy S3 before long.