Samsung Galaxy S Ice Cream Sandwich Update Not In The Cards, Says Manufacturer

The prospects of the Samsung Galaxy S getting Android Ice Cream Sandwich are quickly melting away.

According to Samsung representatives who spoke with both The Next Web and ComputerWorld, the company will not be updating Galaxy S smartphones to Ice Cream Sandwich but has not explicitly ruled out bringing some ICS features to the Galaxy S; neither report specified what those features might be.

Here's the full statement Samsung provided to ComputerWorld:

A full update to Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich for the Galaxy Tab (7-inch) and Galaxy S is not practicable due to hardware limitations. Samsung remains committed to providing the best possible mobile experience to all existing and new customers.

It's disappointing news for owners of the Galaxy S, which was released in June 2010 and sold over 10 million units worldwide in its first six months in stores. Samsung officials have pointed to the impossibility of fitting both Ice Cream Sandwich and TouchWiz, Samsung's special touch interface for Android, on the Galaxy S.

When it was first announced -- just before Christmas -- that the Galaxy S would not be one of the Samsung smartphones receiving the Ice Cream Sandwich update (because of the phone's hardware limitations), there was public outcry from the phone's owners, many of them pointing out that the 1GHz Cortex A8 processor was the same as that of the Samsung Nexus S, which has already received its ICS upgrade. This reportedly caused Samsung to reconsider its position. The issue dangled there over the holidays until Tuesday evening, when the reports from TNW and CW came crashing down; though both of those articles maintained that certain features of Ice Cream Sandwich might still land on the Galaxy S and Galaxy Tab, they all but delivered the death blow to Android 4.0 on the Galaxy S.

Google's transition to Ice Cream Sandwich on its Android phones has been marked by uncertainty, as manufacturers have been slow to indicate which of its smartphones would be able to handle the massive update to the Android operating system. Though Samsung's Nexus phones and the Galaxy S II have begun to receive over-the-air updates, other handset makers are projecting months-long waits for Ice Cream Sandwich; Sony, for example, has set an ETA for ICS in March or April, while competitor LG anticipates that it will begin to roll out Ice Cream Sandwich to its phones some time between April and June. For a complete rundown of when LG, HTC, Motorola, Sony and Samsung have said Ice Cream Sandwich will arrive on their smartphones and tablets, check out this guide we put together before the New Year.

One phone that won't be getting Ice Cream Sandwich? The Samsung Galaxy S. If Samsung changes its mind (again), we'll be sure to let you know.

Comments

[ylmzcom]

07:05 AM on 12/25/2012

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[sinannamli]

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[efeturnakliyat]

09:28 AM on 05/22/2012

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[FCBarca]

06:46 AM on 01/16/2012

SII...ICS =)

[karanraj]

01:25 AM on 01/10/2012

Samsung has already cheated once or you can say already failed to fulfill the promise. But what about the tablet users who are complaining for not receiving the ICS update. Also there was some 4.0 updates only released for the European continent, so why does it sell its devices in other countries if the updates are limited to some countries only.
Any technical upgrade or OS updates are popular with improved features and utilities, but not like Samsung rolling out updates and its users have started complaining.
This is handsome mark of customer dissatisfaction. Check Out Nokia and its releases. Nokia keeps on upgrading its phones and OS every time. The latest release of Nokia Lumia, with windows technology has brought revolution in the smartphone industry, there has been no issues or complaints till now regarding any hardware or software, even the remarkable features have stunned the iphone makers. Every feature of iphone has been in a improved version in the Lumia, even there many such advantages where Lumia stands up over the Samsung.

[Garry J Murray]

08:41 PM on 01/09/2012

Come on really??? A phone that was released in June 2010 and expecting an ICS upgrade. JUNE 2010!? Gimme a break, that ancient history in the cellphone world. I've owned three phones since June 2011

[DaniloMisura]

03:32 PM on 02/02/2012

Just because you're a consumerist, doesn't mean common people have to be too. To spend $400 in a device is not like to buy everyday bread in bakery. It's a durable good. And in this specific case, the Galaxy S hardware is as powerful as many recent smarphones that are getting Ice Cream Sandwich updates, if not better than most. The reason Smasung is not going to update it is that they want to sell more, it's a marketing strategy, they don't want consumers to be satisfied with a smartphone for so long and feel no need for buying a newer one. They want them to be greedy for the new ones, just like you are.

[crislevin]

06:35 PM on 01/08/2012

samsung is greedy, they just want you to buy their new generation of galaxy S II, and tabs.

Guess what samsung, I will never buy another samsung product again. Goto hell with your greed.

[Post31]

12:16 PM on 01/05/2012

Hahahaha iwin.

[jsgaetano]

06:55 AM on 01/06/2012

iPhone will get ICS? Cool!

[Mister Grumpy]

11:37 AM on 01/05/2012

It happens when you're the first to buy something. Not everything is upgradeable.

[PenguinLinux]

11:01 AM on 01/05/2012

I screen you scream, we all scream for Ice Cream

NO Ice Cream for you.

[Aziz an]

10:38 AM on 01/05/2012

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[Pectin]

09:45 AM on 01/05/2012

Seems to me that whatever the OS, the only way to get what you want is to root your device.

[thorntondw]

09:34 AM on 01/05/2012

The inability to upgrade the Samsung Galaxy S to ICS underscores the most significant shortcoming of the Android OS. Android phone manufacturers create overlay software to distinguish their devices from the competition, thereby requiring the device owner by a new device each time Android has a version upgrade (sometimes even an in-version release). This tends to lock the owner into the increasingly outdated OS for the length of their carrier contract. The 2+ year old iPhone 3gs runs the latest version of iOS (my daughter my hand-me-down and it works fine).

[Steven Travis]

04:31 PM on 01/05/2012

The biggest shortcoming of Android devices is that handset manufacturers make all their money off hardware - they have 0 (zero/nada) motivation of spend any kind of $$$ to keep the older handsets up to date.

[DaniloMisura]

03:45 PM on 02/02/2012

The motivation they have is to keep their consumers satisfied for long. If I was satisfied with a smartphone brand for a long time, there's a big chance I buy the same brand 5 or more years laters when I really feel my device cannot do well the new tasks the current tecnology demands. But, if my device gets outdated one year after I bought it, even being capable of getting updated, I'm not throwing it away to spend $400 again buying the newest/more-fashionable device of that brand, because this company has a marketing strategy that is harmful to the consumers.

[rickwar]

08:03 AM on 01/05/2012

A: Not every computer can run the newest version of windows or Apple OS everytime it changes
B: Not every computer can run every version of ne browser software
C: Not every gaming device can run all the new games
D: Not every TV can do Hi Def
E: Not every car can be updated in 15 minutes
F: Not every basic cell phone can be updated for more basic memory
G: Not every reader can be updated
H" Not every program can be updated

I could go on and on , but won't.

Lost in the tech world and instant tech followers is the real fact that the majority of users use less than 20-30% of what many of these devices can truly do and don't care if it's a donut or and ice cream sandwhich, if it does what they want. And can we please get past the cutsey names Google?

And just to clear the air, one of my 4 businesses is in the cellphone/computer business.

Stop whining!

[JohnTheMac]

08:20 AM on 01/05/2012

If you signed the typical 2 year contract for a phone, you might expect full support throughout that contract.

[rickwar]

11:57 AM on 01/05/2012

The contract is for service, not for equpiment updates, read the contract. Don't get me wrong, I agree with your feeling, however, that's not the way it works, never has and suspect it never will.

[Kiana Sullivan-Harper]

01:28 PM on 01/05/2012

I see what your saying, but in this day and age there is no excuse for a device not to be upgradeable...
I've owned an Xbox 360 for 6 years now, its upgraded everyday...a device thats under two years has no excuse.

[netzwerg]

05:55 AM on 01/05/2012

My Galaxy S already runs Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich.

Here's how: http://www.chip.de/news/CyanogenMod-9-Android-4.0-fuer-das-Galaxy-S_53118086.html