Samsung has today resumed its rollout of the Android 4.3 update for the international Galaxy S III (GT-I9300). The rollout was halted last month when users reported numerous issues with their devices after updating, but those should have been resolved in the latest release.This update is a rather significant one for the Galaxy S III, which skipped Android 4.2 altogether. It delivers a much-improved TouchWiz — which is largely identical to that found on the Galaxy S4 and Galaxy Note 3 — as well as new features like lock screen widgets, Daydream, the ability to store apps on an SD card, and new stock apps.

Samsung doesn’t provide us with detailed change logs, but fortunately, SamMobile does:

CHANGES AND IMPROVEMENTS IN ANDROID 4.3 UPDATE
– GALAXY GEAR Support
– TRIM Support (Makes the device much faster)
– Core UI elements updated to the ones on the Galaxy S4 (Galaxy S4′s theme all over)
– New Samsung Keyboard
– GPU drivers have been updated (Higher GPU benchmark scores)
– New Lock screen: Multiple Widgets, improved ripple effect than Android 4.1.2, ability to change clock size and set a personal message
– New Screen modes (From S4): Adapt Display and Professional Photo
– Daydream
– Driving mode
– Actionable notifications
– Move-to-SD-card feature
– New Camera mode : Sound and Shot
– New Additions in Notification Centre
– Completely revamped Settings UI (Tabbed interface – Exactly like the Galaxy S4)
– Implementation of Voice controls (Let’s you control various parts of the phone using voice commands – Galaxy S4 feature)
– New Samsung Apps: Calculator, Clock, Contacts, Gallery, Music
– Full screen Samsung apps
– New S-Voice (from Galaxy S4)

As always, the new update is being rolled out in phases, so some users will have to wait a little longer than others. If you have a carrier locked handset, you may also have to wait for operator approval. But over the coming weeks, it will slowly make its way to all users in all regions.

• ViaSamMobile