According to a recent announcement by Samsung, the upgrade to the Android 4.0 ‘Ice Cream Sandwich’ (ICS) version – which is scheduled to debut on the Samsung Galaxy Nexus handset this month - will come aboard the Galaxy S II handsets in the first quarter of the next year.

Samsung also added that the majority of its Galaxy line of devices will benefit from the upgrade to ICS some time in 2012. The devices which will boast the ICS-linked improvements in the coming year include, other than the Galaxy S II, the Galaxy S II LTE, Note, and R handsets, as well as the Galaxy Tab 10.1, 8.9, 7.7 and 7.0 Plus tablets.

However, there is no specific timeline announced by Samsung about the ICS update on each of the mentioned devices because, as per Samsung, the upgrading process will vary from carrier to carrier and from market to market.

According to the ICS upgrade-related details shared by Google, the company is hopeful that the new Android version will essentially bridge the gap that exists between the smartphones based on Android 2. X and the tablets which run Android 3. X.

The most significant change underlying the Android ICS upgrade is that the new devices powered by the OS will no longer need the four Android hardware buttons, which will give way to contextual software keys.

Among the other notable features which the Android ICS will bring along is the face locking feature, and, for the devices equipped with NFC, the Android Beam sharing over NFC.