Just last week we saw a leaked table which showed when all the US versions of recent flagship Samsung phones would be getting Android 4.3, which included Galaxy Gear support via Bluetooth 4.0 Low Energy. Today, Samsung has confirmed that the “premium suite” update pack for the Galaxy S4, S3 and Galaxy Note 2 will be arriving in the US “in the coming weeks”. According to the table we posted last week, the Galaxy S4, S3, Note 2 and Galaxy S4 Active will all receive Android 4.3 before Christmas. Which is pretty insane.
This update includes Android 4.3, Galaxy Gear support, and Samsung’s new KNOX enterprise security suite. According to the press release that Samsung put out, it looks like some devices will receive the update starting today. According to the timetable, that should be the Verizon Galaxy S4.
Outside of the US, Galaxy S4’s had begun receiving their Android 4.3 update a few weeks ago, and these already included Galaxy Gear support and Samsung KNOX support as well. In addition to their flagships, the Galaxy S4 Active, Galaxy S4 Mini and Galaxy Mega will all be receiving their updates “in the months ahead”. Kinda surprised to see the Galaxy S4 Zoom missing from that list.
It’s great to see manufacturers getting updates out there faster than in the past. In the past, we almost never saw an update. But now Samsung is updating the Galaxy S3 which launched on Android 4.0, and it’s about to receive Android 4.3. It’s great to see these types of changes. Samsung isn’t the only one getting updates out quicker now. HTC already has pushed out Android 4.3 to the AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile variants of the HTC One. All that’s left is Verizon. Which is also great to see.
Everyone should receive their update by the end of the year, as long as that timetable turns out to be correct. With the update, I kind of expect Galaxy Gear sales to go up, but I’m not completely sure on that since there’s still not really a whole lot of apps available for it yet.