Samsung announced a while back that Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean) would be coming to Galaxy S III devices in the US at some point in the near future. Many expected it to take a few months as Samsung left the scheduling in the hands of carriers. In surprisingly good news, at least one US carrier has been able to get the update out in a timely fashion.

Sprint announced today that they are the first US carrier to offer Jelly Bean to Galaxy S III owners. Android 4.1 will be available today as an OTA update. A user’s Galaxy S III will notify them when the update is available for download.

Jelly Bean brings a number of enhancements to the Android platform that Galaxy S III owners are sure to be pleased with. The most important new feature is Google Now which provides up to the second information updates on traffic conditions, public transportation schedules and more. Other improvements include expandable notifications, Android beam and resizable widgets.

Samsung is also packing in a number of new features into the phone with the update as well. The camera is receiving the most notable improvements with new filters including warm vintage, cold vintage, black and white, sepia, color highlights and many more to fulfill your innate artistic desires.

The other notable addition is easy mode. It provides a simplified user experience for those who are new to the Android operating system or just aren’t very good at navigating modern UIs.

There’s no word yet on when the update will hit Galaxy S III devices on other carriers. T-Mobile may be next as they’re pretty good about getting updates out in a timely manner. I wouldn’t count on an update from AT&T or Verizon in the near future though. Having said that, an update in the next few weeks from all the carriers would be greatly appreciated.