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Samsung Galaxy S3 to get multitasking in future update?

The multitasking feature found in Samsung's Note 2 could be headed to the popular Galaxy S3 smartphone as well.

Joseph Hanlon Special to CNET News
Joe capitalises on a life-long love of blinking lights and upbeat MIDI soundtracks covering the latest developments in smartphones and tablet computers. When not ruining his eyesight staring at small screens, Joe ruins his eyesight playing video games and watching movies.
Joseph Hanlon

One of the headline features of the new Samsung Galaxy Note 2 could be headed to the popular Galaxy S3 (GS3) smartphone, too.

A screenshot of the Multiview feature in action. (Screenshot by CNET UK)

"Multiview" is Samsung's name for the multitasking feature, first introduced on the Galaxy Note 10.1 tablet, which lets users have two applications open at the same time. There are some restrictions to how this works, but you can, for example, have your email open in one panel and the web browser open in the other.

According to Samsung software blog SamMobile, the Korean electronics powerhouse is working on a new firmware build for the GS3 that will introduce Multiview along with a number of other new features and enhancements. The update is based on Android 4.1.2, and will also include another Note 2 feature called Smart Rotation, which attempts to set the screen rotation using the phone's front-facing camera to detect the position of your eyes, rather than the accelerometer inside the phone.

The blog has also posted the test build online for knowledgeable users to download and install. Of course, this process will require you to root your phone and will void your warranty, so you'll want to make sure that you understand what you are doing before you begin.