Multi-window mode to land on the Galaxy S III in December, ADD awaits us all

posted by Daniel P. / Oct 25, 2012, 5:44 AM

Multi-window mode to land on the Galaxy S III in December, ADD awaits us all

One of the most useful features on an already versatile device like the Samsung Galaxy Note II is the multi-window mode, which allows you to see two apps running at the same time, resizing their screen estate at will.

The possibilities of such a setup are endless, and it seems that Samsung will be extending this regime to the other flagship phone it has on the market right now, the Galaxy S III.

The bestselling Android handset is tipped to receive the coveted multi-window mode with the next, Android 4.1.2 update, by the end of the year - in December, to be precise.

via SamMobile

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27 Comments

1. pikapowerize

Posts: 1869; Member since: May 03, 2012

yeah... its really useful but tried it on note 2 and note 10.1 it needs to be polish...most of the time it freezes and lags....

posted on Oct 25, 2012, 5:51 AM 2

14. squallz506

Posts: 1075; Member since: Oct 19, 2011

"It needs to be polish" xD

posted on Oct 25, 2012, 7:19 AM 1

15. SleepingOz unregistered

Never experienced any of these freezes and lags you're talking about on my NOTE II.

posted on Oct 25, 2012, 7:34 AM 12

16. hung2900

Posts: 966; Member since: Mar 02, 2012

It's extremely flawless on my Note 2

posted on Oct 25, 2012, 8:07 AM 8

22. fervid

Posts: 183; Member since: Nov 22, 2011

For those of you with the Note 2, how is the Screen performance? There is the famous Black Scale image-http://www.dirmsg.com/Black.bmp where Note 1 clipped at around 7 and was really choppy (It even clipped Browns and Blues and made video look horrible). S3 seems to clip at 10 or 11 and only seems to apply to blacks, but smooths it better although videos are really dark. I actually prefer seeing as many shades as possible with smooth transitions which is how LCD and some non-high end AMOLED do. I also made an animated gif cycling the first 21 shades and Black-http://www.dirmsg.com/BlackAnim.gif to detect Screen Defects my S3 had bad that could be seen in Levels 11 and below in a dark room with brightness to Auto (Big Black line at top and a bunch of black dots that make dark videos look horrible). Depending on brightness the S3 is not very smooth and some frames even appear green too which is really bad. PA really needs to show pictures of these types of tests too when reviewing phones.

posted on Oct 25, 2012, 12:08 PM 1

24. darac

Posts: 2156; Member since: Oct 17, 2011

Thanks for posting this.. I also knew about flaws Note 1 had, and while the s3 is not as horrible, it still has big issues with dark shades.. it is the only gripe I have for my s3

posted on Oct 25, 2012, 2:41 PM 0

27. fervid

Posts: 183; Member since: Nov 22, 2011

I ended up returning my S3 and switching to Tmobile this last weekend to get the Note2 (Actually got it for $247...the other price of like $325 was getting it on their Classic plan which actually has a higher bill and not sure why people would go that route). Note 2's screen is great and the more RGB matrix really makes a difference. It clips about the same as the S3, but has twice the Smart options as the S3 and 4 different screen options to choose how the color gradients are and tones of colors. Only thing I see missing is Auto Haptic which was added in last S3 update that uses the vibrator to give sounds more kick/bass. Now that Hulu finally updated their app to work with the Note 2 I'm happy (3-4 days with no Hulu on my phone felt like an eternity)...still a little jerky and buffer issues on all platforms lately, but hopefully they will fix that soon. No Multi Window mode that I see, but it does have the Popup Video and Popup Browser which are cool. New pen and pen features are amazing. Note 1 had hover already, but this hovers twice as far and does a lot. The *#0*# screen shows pen touch registering all the way to the edges this time too.

posted on Nov 01, 2012, 11:56 AM 0

2. Reverence

Posts: 224; Member since: Jul 16, 2012

not gud fr s3, this could be made exclusive to s4 and note 2...nd i dont support on s3 becuz s3 has 4.8 inch screen where as note 2 has 5.5, added to this, this real type of multitasking looks gud on big displays like that of note 2!!

posted on Oct 25, 2012, 5:57 AM 1

6. rusticguy

Posts: 2828; Member since: Aug 11, 2012

Take this as a good marketing ploy. Soon S3 owners would be tempted towards NOTE II for bigger screen :)

posted on Oct 25, 2012, 6:17 AM 3

10. predator93

Posts: 122; Member since: Aug 28, 2012

Its better if users are given a choice to decide whether they want to use it or not. Got to give Samsung credits here.

posted on Oct 25, 2012, 6:51 AM 6

21. whysoserious

Posts: 318; Member since: Jul 20, 2012

Agree. Unlike that other iCrappy company that I know out there which requires you to buy the next generation of its smartphone or tablet just to get that very little feature upgrade. Samsung is the best.

posted on Oct 25, 2012, 11:57 AM 4

3. NickPeters

Posts: 74; Member since: Oct 24, 2012

I find this very useful and practical and nice of course but it does remind mi of the Windows 8 feature... However, I don't have anything against "copying" features from other devices and OS even if its done by Android (Google), iOS (Apple), Windows(Microsoft) or anyone else because things like that should NOT be forbidden to others cause they make things go easier and ARE revolutionary and all thanks/credits go to the company/person who invented something like that but it should be shared. It's good NOT being selfish!

posted on Oct 25, 2012, 6:00 AM 2

4. illiad

Posts: 132; Member since: Feb 07, 2012

yeah, but what about flash??? there are things that youtube *wont* do... try playing some good videos fromhttp://www.dailymotion.com , or even a more obscure video website, and see how well they work..

posted on Oct 25, 2012, 6:12 AM 0

23. SellPhones82

Posts: 569; Member since: Dec 11, 2008

You can still side load Flash but will also need to install a browser that still supports it like FireFox or Maxthon since Chrome and the defult Samsung browser will never support it. I blame Apple and all their HTML5 bs and have yet to see it take off! Also don't have the multi-window feature on my GS3 yet but just loaded a Rom that has Pop up browser on it and it's ba! Just like the mini video player that you can move around the screen and use it over other apps while you can still see them!

posted on Oct 25, 2012, 12:48 PM 0

5. rusticguy

Posts: 2828; Member since: Aug 11, 2012

Hmmm the side bezels look like taken from iPAD mini :D

posted on Oct 25, 2012, 6:15 AM 0

7. twens

Posts: 1163; Member since: Feb 25, 2012

This phone was released before the ipad mini. Dont be silly, the ipad 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9&10 can never ever be capable of what this phone does out of the box. I own one and am very proud

posted on Oct 25, 2012, 6:29 AM 0

8. rusticguy

Posts: 2828; Member since: Aug 11, 2012

Perhaps you didn;t get the intent which was trying to indicate actually who is now copying whom :)

posted on Oct 25, 2012, 6:32 AM 0

12. shuaibhere

Posts: 1986; Member since: Jul 07, 2012

I understood.....i think he is new to PA...

posted on Oct 25, 2012, 7:12 AM 1

13. shuaibhere

Posts: 1986; Member since: Jul 07, 2012

I understood.....i think he is new to PA...

posted on Oct 25, 2012, 7:12 AM 0

9. Bluesky02

Posts: 1439; Member since: Dec 05, 2011

Love Note 2

posted on Oct 25, 2012, 6:48 AM 0

11. dickwyn

Posts: 621; Member since: May 07, 2012

what about the note i

posted on Oct 25, 2012, 6:57 AM 1

17. metoyou

Posts: 279; Member since: Oct 19, 2011

Good job Samsung!

posted on Oct 25, 2012, 9:42 AM 0

18. AhmadAlsayegh

Posts: 326; Member since: Jul 18, 2011

we have had this for a couple of weeks now...Merica, lol :d

posted on Oct 25, 2012, 10:16 AM 0

19. boed1

Posts: 6; Member since: Oct 25, 2012

While new features would be great - the "feature" I want most on my Verizon S3 is a reliable radio. I'll frequently go from 4 bars to no bars back to 4 bars while stationary. The Nexus had the same issue. Some people claim not to have this - not sure if it is because they barely use their phones as phones or the towers in there areas do not use the same type of technology. The issue is very well documented on XDA Developers and androidforums so it IS an issue even if you don't notice it. It isn't just a bad phone or a bad batch of phones.

posted on Oct 25, 2012, 10:35 AM 0

20. Stuntman

Posts: 843; Member since: Aug 01, 2011

The best use of split screen to copy some text from one app to another or view two documents side by side.

posted on Oct 25, 2012, 11:38 AM 0

25. darac

Posts: 2156; Member since: Oct 17, 2011

I hope things like this will make people start realizing that "pure android " isn't necessarily the best android. I love TW on my S3 , and I love the UI on my Sony tipo..custom androids are adding flavor to it

posted on Oct 25, 2012, 2:51 PM 0

26. illiad

Posts: 132; Member since: Feb 07, 2012

yes, its like using windows, *as it is first installed* .. not the most easy to use, without adding various things to remove the long winded (need 4 or more clicks) features, and other tweaks to make using it easier!!

posted on Oct 29, 2012, 5:07 AM 0

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