Android 4.1 Jelly Bean For Samsung Galaxy S2 GT-i9100 Available Via Unofficial ROM [VIDEO]

By Kukil Bora | July 03 2012 7:25 AM

Google's latest version of its mobile operating system, the Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, was introduced last month and it was announced alongside the release that Over The Air (OTA) updates of Jelly Bean would be released in mid-July for Nexus S, Galaxy Nexus and Xoom.

Samsung

The Samsung Galaxy S2 (GT-I9100) has received the Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean (XWLSJ) official firmware update recently that comes with fixes for issues related to overheating, the Google Play Store app and other bugs.

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However, thanks to unofficial ROMs, the newest version of the Android operating system is already available for latest high-end smartphones like the HTC One X and Samsung Galaxy S3. And now, the Samsung Galaxy S2 has also apparently got the taste of the latest Android dessert.

The news has come from a thread posted on XDA-Developers forum by a member named LastStandingDroid. In the post, the member talked about the custom ROM for the Galaxy S3 after a warning message that read like this:

Important: before attempting to flash this ROM, please understand the risks to your device, which include the possibility of causing it to enter a bootloop, causing a soft-brick, or potentially even a hard-brick. Understand that the chances of causing a problem which cannot be fixed is very low, but still a real possibility. If something crazy should go wrong, and you end up with a broken device, do not blame anyone but yourself. Consider yourself warned.

Redmond Pie noted that the ROM for Samsung Galaxy S2 is based on the same Android 4.1 Jelly Bean that comes on the Galaxy Nexus devices. It uses a customized kernel based on CyanogenMod 9.

Here's what works and what doesn't work on the ROM, as mentioned in the thread.

For information on Android 4.1 Jelly Bean for your Galaxy S2, check out the official XDA-Developers thread here. Watch the video at the end of the article.

On Monday, Christian Post came up with a report claiming that the Galaxy S2 won't receive the Jelly Bean update as it lacks some of the components it would need to allow the OS to run smooth and efficiently on the smartphone.

The report said that due to low screen resolution and because it features a dual-core processor, while quad-core chips are preferred for Jelly Bean, the Galaxy S2 won't be eligible for getting the update.

However, this information should be taken with a grain of salt as both Galaxy Nexus and Nexus S don't have quad-core chips. The Galaxy Nexus is powered by a dual-core 1.2 GHz Cortex-A9, while the Nexus S is powered by a single core 1 GHz Cortex-A8.

Meanwhile, recent reports said that Samsung's latest flagship smartphone, the Galaxy will be receiving the Android 4.1 Jelly Bean update by the fourth quarter of this year.

The Verge also recently reported that Samsung Galaxy S3 variants for some markets got a last-minute specs adjustment to accommodate whatever it was that Jelly Bean would demand.

An industry source told the publication that Samsung's intention was to design the Galaxy S3 as a future-proof device. According to the source, Samsung probably didn't want to be left flat-footed at a time when a new Android version was expected to be released just days after the Galaxy S3's U.S. launches.

Since Samsung's engineers were not 100 percent sure of what Jelly Bean would demand for its hardware requirements, they added 1GB more to the smartphone's internal RAM, making it 2GB, The Verge reported.

Our source isn't aware of Samsung's specific plans for upgrading any version of the Galaxy S III to Jelly Bean yet, but by all appearances, the hardware is more than ready to accept it (let's not forget that the nearly two-year-old Nexus S is already signed up for an update), the report added.

Must Read: Samsung Galaxy S3 Release Date: Verizon To Launch Phone On July 10 At $199.99

Must Read: Android 4.1 Jelly Bean Source Code Released In AOSP, Custom ROMs Expected Soon