Samsung Galaxy S3 owners in the United Kingdom and Germany are in for an early holiday treat. The recently announced 4.2.1 Jelly Bean Premium Suite upgrade has just hit Samsung’s flagship smartphone in these countries.

The long-awaited Jelly Bean update brings a slew of new features to the third-generation Galaxy handset. Galaxy S3 owners have been waiting for the standard Android 4.1 Jelly Bean update for quite some time, as the current iteration of Google’s mobile software didn’t start rolling out for the device until September.

Google unveiled Jelly Bean back in June at its annual I/O conference and the software debuted on its Galaxy Nexus and Nexus 7 devices shortly after. Poland was the first nation to get Android 4.1 for the Galaxy S3, and carriers have been slowly launching the update ever since.

The new update can be downloaded over the air (OTA) or via Samsung’s desktop software KIES. Before updating, it’s important to make sure you back up your files. While firmware updates are a routine procedure, there is always a small risk that some of your data could go missing. After backing up, ensure that your device is connected to a Wi-Fi network. Then head over to your Settings menu and scroll down to the bottom of the screen to find the About Device button.

At the top of the screen there should be a tab that says Software Update. This will launch a search for updates on your device. If your phone is eligible for a software update, an Update button will appear. Once this is pressed, your phone should automatically connect to Samsung’s servers and the update should start immediately.

Samsung announced these Premium Suite Jelly Bean features that come with Android’s 4.1.2 update earlier in December, dividing the new capabilities into different categories. The company also announced these features in two separate parts, which are listed below.

Premium Suite Features Part 1:

Contextual Awareness

1. Page Buddy. This feature allows your phone to smartly predict what you intend to do based on previous actions.

2. Contextual Menu. Users can now choose to see their most frequently used applications first. This can be especially useful when scrolling through apps to find files.

3. Contextual Tag. When you take a photo with your phone, you can now tag elements such as weather, date and place immediately.

Enhanced Features

1. Multi Window. This feature that debuted on Samsung’s Galaxy Note 2 allows you to open two different apps at the same time in separate windows. This provides for a better multitasking experience, which Samsung was sure to boast about upon the device’s launch.

2. Auto Share Shot Pairing using NFC. The new Auto Share Shot mode lets you share photos with others by simply touching the device to another Android Beam enabled handset.

3. Reader Mode. This makes it easier to control the size of the text on your Web browser and share content.

4. Facebook Lock Ticker. You can set your Facebook news feed as your lock screen.

Premium Suite Features Part 2

Powerful Multimedia

1. Paper Artist. This lets you create a picture like a pop artist and change the mood of your image whenever you like.

2. Camera, Low-Light Shot. Like the name implies, this feature brings low-light photography functions to the Galaxy S3, making it easier to take photos in the dark.

3. Camera, Best Face. When taking photos, you can now select the best shot from five different images to create your ideal photo.

New Features & Better Accessibility

1. Easy Mode. Similar to a short cut icon on a computer’s desktop, this lets you choose your five most frequently used widgets and keep them on your home screen.

2. Sound Balance. You can adjust the balance of volume on each individual earphone.

3. Setup Wizard. After turning on your device, the assembly menu immediately comes up on the screen.

4. Camera Easy Snap. The Galaxy S3 can now tell you how many faces it can detect on the camera preview.

Samsung’s Galaxy Note 2 received the update just yesterday, so the company appears to be rolling out the Premium Suite features to its high-end devices. To see these features in action, head over to Samsung Tomorrow’s official website and check out the videos.

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