If you’ve read our Samsung Galaxy S3 Mini review, you’d know that the phone doesn’t hold a candle to its bigger brother when it comes to specs. Nevertheless, the Mini scores big on usability factor and the fact that it looks a lot like the Galaxy S3 – albeit smaller. As we're about to ring in the New Year, Samsung has a surprise for those who are planning to get the phone.

Initially, the Galaxy S3 Mini “only” shipped with Android 4.1.1 onboard, but now we’re hearing via Unwired View that the phone will come with Android 4.1.2 out of the box – as reported by users in Vietnam and Indonesia.

The problem is we’re quite sure that the Galaxy S3 Mini hasn’t been officially released in Indonesia, where it’s only expected to arrive in January 2013, possibly with more color options. We’ll find out soon enough if that’ll be the case.

The Android 4.1.2 firmware (I8190DXALL3) is already available online for folks who want to have a taste of the newer Jelly Bean version early. You will want to back up everything on your phone before flashing the ROM. And as always, proceed only at your own risk.