According to PCMag (I apologize for the awful floating ads in advance), Samsung will be issuing a software update to the Galaxy S III that will incorporate many of the new Galaxy S4's features.

Nick DiCarlo, a Samsung VP, said "Anything that we can do that's not dependent on hardware like infrared, we'll definitely bring to all the flagship devices."

So, I take that to mean the Galaxy S III, Note II, and possibly a couple other devices that might support some of the features in the S4 - perhaps the Note 8.0 and Note 10.1. Considering Samsung has massively overhauled the camera app and added a handful of new S-features, a new Premium Upgrade Suite with Android 4.2 is likely to bring some of those S4 goodies to older hardware. Here are some of those features, in case you're interested:

Camera-related:

  • Drama Shot: takes up to 100 photos in 4 seconds, and overlays them into one
  • Eraser: if someone walks into the shot, you can easily remove them
  • Dual mode: use both cameras at the same time
  • Sound & Shot: captures an image with sound
  • Dual Video call: Use both cameras while on a video chat, presumably only works with Samsung's ChatON software
  • ...and more

Various software:

  • S Translator: translates nine different languages in real-time – both text to speech andspeech to text.
  • S Voice Drive: Control your phone with your voice while in the car – it can even read SMS messages and the like back to you.
  • S Travel
  • S Health: With accompanying accessories – S Band, Body Scale, and Heart Rate Monitor – the GS4 will help you get healthy. Given that you actually use the stuff, of course.
  • Air Call accept: simply wave your hand over the screen to answer a call. Neato.
  • Group Play: not as dirty as it sounds, this lets users share music, photos, documents, and games with devices around without the need for Wi-Fi or even a cellular AP. It's magic.
  • Share Music: Plays the same song on multiple devices in real-time.

Obviously, features relying on the infrared sensor or perhaps some of those utilizing the new rear camera might not make it in, but otherwise, none of the features on their faces seem to be hardware-dependent. Notably, this also all but confirms that Android 4.2 will be coming to the S III and (probably) the Note II, though that's not exactly unexpected.

PCMag