While CES and the new year has everybody excited about future tech products, there's still a substantial portion of smartphone owners out there with older models out there who would like their handsets to be up to date. There's some good news for Galaxy S2 and Galaxy Note owners, as Samsung will be rolling out Android 4.1 for the handsets in the coming weeks - here are the official details.
The Android update will introduce the Galaxy S2 and Galaxy Note to the world of Jelly Bean with some modified extra features courtesy of Samsung. Project Butter will improve system performance by allocating processing power more efficiently and increasing the frame rate of the interface. The Jelly Bean update will also give the Galaxy S2 and Galaxy Note Google Now. A voice assistant many consider to be superior to Apple's Siri, Google Now can tell you how long your morning commute will be and what the weather is.
Samsung will also be be tacking on the Premium Suite upgrade to the Jelly Bean upgrades for the Galaxy S2 and Galaxy Note. Already available on the Galaxy S3, Premium Suite gives the handsets Multi-Window, a mode that allows two apps to run onscreen at the same time. Premium Suite also includes improved camera features, and a couple new apps to spice up the operating system.
Samsung was expected to release the Jelly Bean upgrade a couple months ago, but 2012 has left us without any trace of the update. Instead, most statements from Samsung indicate a January rollout schedule for both handsets. Still, Samsung has put up official webpages detailing the Android upgrade for the Galaxy S2 and Galaxy Note, meaning the release shouldn't be too far off.
As usual, you can always download Android 4.1.2 ROMs for the two smartphones if you can't wait. Just be warned there's a risk of bricking your device, and make sure to back up your files.