Android 4.3 Jelly Bean arrives on Samsung Galaxy S4

Android 4.3 Jelly Bean arrives on Samsung Galaxy S4
Galaxy S4 - now with added beans

There's good news for Samsung Galaxy S4 owners in the UK as the Android 4.3 Jelly Bean update begins to roll out on the handset.

The Android 4.3 rollout began in early October, but it is only now making its way to British shores.

Our in-office Galaxy S4 has received the update, which includes a boost from version 4.2 to 4.3 of Jelly Bean plus support for Samsung's Galaxy Gear smartwatch.

If the update hasn't appeared on your S4 just yet, don't panic, as these rollouts do tend to take a few days to reach every handset.

That said, our Galaxy S4 didn't actually notify us of the update, but heading to Settings > More > About Device > Software Update saw the Android 4.3 upgrade waiting for us.

Gearing up

You'll need to be connected to Wi-Fi to download this hefty over-the-air update (it's almost 700MB in size), but other than that it's a straightforward procedure.

One of the major inclusions in the update isn't actually a Google offering though. It's support for the Samsung Galaxy Gear smartwatch.

Up until this update the Galaxy Note 3 was the only smartphone capable of playing nicely with the smartwatch, but now punters have two phones to choose from - with support for further handsets on the way.

There are numerous improvements, upgrades and additional features arriving with Android 4.3 including a boost to colour reproduction, better RAM management, a new internet browser and various UI updates.

John McCann
Global Managing Editor

John joined TechRadar over a decade ago as Staff Writer for Phones, and over the years has built up a vast knowledge of the tech industry. He's interviewed CEOs from some of the world's biggest tech firms, visited their HQs and has appeared on live TV and radio, including Sky News, BBC News, BBC World News, Al Jazeera, LBC and BBC Radio 4. Originally specializing in phones, tablets and wearables, John is now TechRadar's resident automotive expert, reviewing the latest and greatest EVs and PHEVs on the market. John also looks after the day-to-day running of the site.