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More good news for Samsung Galaxy S III users. O2 is now rolling out your Android Jelly Bean update, while Vodafone’s should be out on Monday. If you’re not already using the ”buttery smooth” 4.1 operating system, check your settings for the update. [O2, Vodafone via TechRadar]
UK Galaxy S III Getting its Jelly Bean Update This Month
O2 user with unbranded S3 here. No effing update.
Seriously, how hard is it to deliver an OTA update Samsung? Just send me that shit YESTERDAY
If by “unbranded” you mean you’ve got an O2 SIM-only plan and you bought the phone separately, then this wouldn’t affect you anyway. They mean O2-branded GS3s bought on an O2 contract.
Still, I also have the “unbranded” GS3, and there’s no update rolling out to me either, which is pretty outrageous. One of the reasons I went for this is that the unlocked international versions typically get the updates *first*.
If it’s anything like the Galaxy S II, I’m afraid you’re going to be last on the list of updaters.
How utterly shitty! I know HTC used to deliver the unbranded updates first
Sam, do you know if it’s a software thing? I ask because I’m on Orange, but bought from P4U, so it’s nice and unbranded (and thus meaning I most likely won’t even get the update they give out), but would installing the official Orange (or O2, Vodafone etc) flavored ROM of Touchwiz get you the update?
I thought the carrier update phase thing was for the Americans.
Why do they do it carrier dependent? if the update is done over wifi? serious question, not trolling.
Money.
How does anyone make money if updates are pushed over different networks?
Does Three pay more money for an update to come out with them first? if so that’s stupid on Threes behalf as the people already have the phone, it’s not like your going to now go out and get a three phone is there is a better deal on EE or something.
if* (4 down 5 across)
It’s not that they’ll be making money from pushing the updates, more from a contractual agreement to keep the phones up to date.
It is a crock of s… that BTU users aren’t updated first, especially considering that we’ll’ve paid more money for a contract free phone, however, business-wise, selling phones to the carriers is and always will be Samsung’s main priority.
Happy carrier customer = happy carrier = continuing long term investment to Samsung products
Simple answer is that carriers usually like to add their own stuff to the firmware (such as locking it down by default to only use their SIMs), and as such an OTA update request on a phone running a carrier’s firmware calls the carrier’s server to get the carrier’s version of the firmware update, not Samsung’s.
If you run an unbranded device then it’ll call Samsung’s servers, which currently aren’t serving the unbranded update, presumably because after the issues they had the the update killing batteries on mainland Europe they’re going to let the carriers essentially test the update for them.
Nothing yet.
Of course the farcical thing for me is, is that although I bought my phone with a new T-Mobile contract (EE), I have a carrier free (BTU) phone. So even if T-Mobile decides to push an update out, I’m still at the mercy of a Samsung update.
sigh.
Hmmmmm, I’m wondering (and I’ve said this somewhere above) if it’s a ROM thing? Unbranded and branded phones have slightly different ROMs, thus when updating on an unbranded device it’d look for an unbranded update, and branded phone looks for a branded update… or so I believe.
I’m on 02. Unbranded S3. No update yet
i have a s3 on 02, and dont have any updates
i have a s3 on 02, and dont have any updates …..
The reason why Samsung will release their software after all of the major branded updates:
Bugs… Within software, there is always bugs, If Samsung release the update for people with branded software then the bugs they find can be fixed before Samsung release the unbranded software…
Guys guys guys… do a simple google search and download a previous O2 rom – Then try search for the update (bobs your uncle, well in this case – bobs your update).
Also, the OTA update does not roll out from a carriers server, this is still sat on a Samsung server!
If you cant wait, try using the Desktop SW to update your unbranded handset, the OTA updates usually take an extra day or so to go live
HTH.
I would like to point out that this is one aspect where apple beats android hands down – software releases.
They announce software and release it within weeks to developers, on all compatible devices, also saying roughly when the software will be released in full.
They then release the software in the time frame they set, on all compatible devices.
But with android the software is released for a few handsets, but many are not. I believe there were still android models being updated to I.C.S. whilst JB was being released.
Regardless of what the software is, what features it contains, it is still better to release for all devices at the same time than to leave certain models, carriers and countries waiting, with no expectations of when it will be released.
This article shows this point I’m trying to make:
http://www.techradar.com/news/phone-and-communications/mobile-phones/android-4-1-jelly-bean-release-date-when-will-you-get-it-1087344
Difference is that Apple is the device manufacturer and the OS manufacturer so its not a particularly apt comparison. With Android its an open source OS designed by a separate company. At any one time there are at least two orders of magnitude more android devices currently supported by the current android update than there is apple devices supporting the current iOS.
In the mobile market there isn’t anywhere close to level of standardisation like in the desktop systems so you can’t create one OS and push it to all devices and expect it to work. You can’t for example simply flash the stock google release of android on every device because it simply won’t work. You need to wait for it to be adapted to the devices hardware.
The process of taking the google release to the device release does take quite a while for most companies. Too long actually as you will find many of the custom roms have it done within a day or two but large companies are slow beasts and need to evaluate if its worth it and test everything.
I must call you on the newest devices running the newest OS between iOS and Android.
This data is true as of 1st October in both cases:
http://insights.chitika.com/2012/ios-by-device/
60% of iPhones and 45% of iPads running latest software version(ignoring iPod touch as there isn’t a comparable android device)
http://developer.android.com/about/dashboards/index.html
1.8% running latest software version, and more than 55% running 4 versions previous.
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I do understand that’s why it takes so much longer, and of course they update the newest and more widespread devices first, it’s just a drawback of using hardware and software from different manufacturers.