It wasn't a while ago that we were pretty confident that Samsung would be releasing Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean for the Galaxy S2 and Galaxy Note by the end of 2012. Sadly, this may no longer be true, as it looks like Samsung has further pushed back the Jelly Bean release dates for both the handsets to Jan. 2013.
This isn't the first time Samsung Sweden has done this, SamMobile reports. It wasn't too long ago that they gave everybody a November release date, which was then changed to December. Either way, one thing's for certain, something's been holding the updates back, which have already leaked out as ROMs.
Some speculate that one of the reasons behind this delay is the recent security exploit found to plague Exynos processors. Perhaps the Galaxy teams are focused on addressing that issue before polishing up Android 4.1.2.
If you're a Galaxy S2 and/or a Galaxy Note owner and are tired of waiting, there are fairly stable ROMs out there for download. As usual, these firmwares are unofficial, and they come with the risk of making your devices brick. Still, if you're daring enough, you can find out more about Android 4.1.2 ROMs for the Galaxy S2 and Galaxy Note here.
Android 4.1.2 will give Galaxy S2s and Galaxy Notes everywhere plenty of new features such as Google Now, a voice assistant, and Project Butter, which will optimize system performance. The Galaxy S2 and Galaxy Note will also receive Multi-View, a Galaxy Note 2 feature which allows for apps to run simultaneously side-by-side on the screen.