Samsung Galaxy S3 Jelly Bean Update: Sprint Brings It To The US; Other Carriers Still Silent

Samsung Galaxy S3 owners around the world have been patiently waiting for their Android 4.1.1 Jelly Bean updates. The United States is usually one of the last countries to receive such an update, since smartphones are normally tethered to carriers. As of yesterday, October 25, however, Sprint became the first U.S. carrier to release a Jelly Bean upgrade for Samsung Galaxy S3 owners. 

"Today, Sprint became the first U.S. wireless carrier to offer the Android^TM 4.1.1, Jelly Bean, update to its Samsung Galaxy S® III customers. The update began rolling out today and adds a host of new and enhanced TouchWiz® features, offering a faster, richer and more responsive device experience," said Sprint in a press statement on October 25. 

The update comes even as many international countries with unlocked Galaxy S3s still haven't received Jelly Bean.

For Sprint Galaxy S3 owners, here's how you will receive the update, straight from Sprint:

"The update is available as an over the air update. When your Galaxy S III is eligible for the update, it will automatically download. Once the download is complete, you will be prompted to install the update. Installation will take a few minutes, and your device will be disabled during the installation process. It will be ready to use when the process is complete."

Sprint lists four main new features that will be in Jelly Bean: Google Now, a Siri-like voice assistant; expandable, actionable notifications; Android Beam which allows you to use NFC to transfer photos; and an improved widget interface. Android 4.1.1 Jelly Bean also comes with Project Butter, an improvement to the interface and visuals that makes Jelly Bean look far more fluid to the eye than Android Ice Cream Sandwich does.

The press release also reveals other new features, such as improvements to the camera, an "easy mode," and the ability to "wirelessly mirror their phone screen to any HDTV or HDMI® display."

A look at Samsung's official update page for the United States shows that Sprint is the only one of the five U.S. carriers to have Jelly Bean available at this time for the Galaxy S3. Carriers AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile, and U.S. Cellular are all listed as "Coming Soon!"