samsung galaxy flgship

Just a couple of days ago the international variant of Samsung’s flagship Galaxy S III received a “stability” update that also removed the universal search function. This feature grants users to search through local files using the Google Search application on the phone, as well as the usual Google results.
Apparently the removal on this feature in the last software update was “inadvertent” and will be restored to users in a future update.

Universal search will soon return to the international Galaxy S III.

Here is the full statement from Samsung:
“The most recent software upgrade for the Galaxy S III in the UK included the inadvertent removal of the universal search function. Samsung will provide the correct software upgrade within the next few days.”
However, it does not appear that the North American variants will regain this feature anytime soon due to patents held by Apple that are being used against the Korean company in the United States.
Update: Universal search has now been restored with a  5 MB OTA update. The software version is now XXBLG8 and offers the same “stability” notation as the previous functionality disabling update.