Verizon has at last started rolling out the much-anticipated Android 4.3 Jelly Bean over-the-air (OTA) update to all its carrier-branded Samsung Galaxy Note II handsets located in the United States. As you’d expect, this upgrade brings a mass of bug fixes, stability improvements and speed optimizations, however, it also incorporates an updated version of the TouchWiz user interface together with compatibility for the Galaxy Gear.

The Note II was released back in September 2012, and features an impressive 5.5-inch Super AMOLED capacitive touchscreen with a resolution of 720 x 1280 pixels, a 1.6GHz quad-core Exynos 4412 processor, a Mali-400MP GPU, 2GB of RAM, 16GB/32GB/64GB of internal storage (expandable via microSD), an 8-megapixel rear-facing camera and a 3,100 mAh Li-Ion battery.

Also bundled into this update is support for TRIM, updated GPU drivers, updated core UI elements, a revamped stock Samsung keyboard, the inclusion of lockscreen widgets, new Samsung apps and the implementation of new S-Voice controls — which is a feature that made its debut on the Galaxy S4. The full changelog, courtesy of SamMobile, can be seen below:

• GALAXY GEAR Support
• TRIM Support (Makes the device much faster)
• Samsung KNOX
• Samsung Wallet (Pre-loaded)
• Better RAM management
• Core UI elements updated to the ones on the Galaxy S4 (Galaxy S4′s theme all over)
• New Samsung Keyboard
• GPU drivers have been updated (Higher GPU benchmark scores)
• New Lockscreen: Multiple Widgets, improved ripple effect than Android 4.1.2, ability to change clock size and set a personal message
• New screen modes (From S4): Adapt Display and Professional Photo
• Daydream
• Driving mode
• Actionable notifications
• Move-to-SD-card feature
• New Camera mode : Sound and Shot
• New Additions in Notification Centre
• Completely revamped Settings UI (Tabbed interface – Exactly like the Galaxy S4)
• Implementation of Voice controls (Let’s you control various parts of the phone using voice commands – Galaxy S4 feature)
• New Samsung Apps: Calculator, Clock, Contacts, Gallery, Music
• Full screen Samsung apps
• New S-Voice (from Galaxy S4)

If you own a Verizon-branded Galaxy Note II and have not yet received the OTA update, you can head into “Settings,” then “About Device,” and select “Check for Updates” to manually scan for the upgrade. Alternatively, you can wait until you receive a push notification on your handset prompting you to download and install the update when it’s ready for your handset.

• SourceVerizon