The Samsung Galaxy S III smartphone
Samsung appears to be rolling out an international upgrade for its Galaxy S III smartphones that, along with some improvements, disables universal search, which allows users to search the web and the device from a single search bar.
We previously reported that Samsung had begun disabling universal search on Galaxy S III smartphones in the US, apparently a pre-emptive move by Samsung in order to stave off an injunction while a patent dispute with Apple over the technology goes on. At the time, it seemed that users elsewhere were safe from this development.
However, according to Android Central, a new over-the-air update has started to appear in other countries which is disabling universal search. Described as a stability update, users on the XDA Developers forum say the 27MB package removes this handy search facility, changes the keypad back to the default Samsung keypad, and changes the default browser layout. Users are also claiming better performance and higher audio quality since upgrading.
Reports say this upgrade has been rolled out to UK users. We cannot yet confirm if the Irish market will receive the update.
