The promise of a major software update for many of Nokia's Lumia devices is coming true and will be complete by the end of September. Nokia has confirmed that the Amber update has started its slow roll out, but its availability will be affected by several factors, including the wireless carrier and country where the phones are located. For example, the Australian carrier Telstra announced just today it will release the Amber update for its version of the Lumia 920 on Friday.
In a blog post, Nokia offers up the details of which phones will get the Amber upgrade and what features will be included. Every Lumia device with Windows Phone 8 will get better image processing with Amber, including "better noise reduction, colour reproduction, exposure control and autofocus." Also, all those phones will be able to access the Smart Camera app from the Windows Phone Store. The app, which debuted with the Lumia 925, offers up a ton of different image options.
The Amber update also adds the even more advanced Pro Camera software to the Lumia 920, 925 and 928. The software, which is in the new Nokia Lumia 1020 out of the box, adds ways to control a camera's ISO, white balance, and manual focus options on the phone's touch screen.
A new glance screen, which shows a clock and a phone's battery level when the device is inactive, is part of the Amber update for all Lumia phones except for the Lumia 520 and 625. The Storage Check app, which Nokia released for more recent Lumia models, is now available for all Lumia phones when the Amber update is applied. Nokia has added the option of flipping a phone over to silence it and double-tapping the screen to unlock it with the Amber update.
Nokia says:
The rollout starts now first for the Lumia 920 and Lumia 820 in selected countries as well as the Lumia 521, Lumia 810, and Lumia 928 in the US. Exact delivery timings will vary by region, phone and operator, but we expect the update to reach your Lumia 520, Lumia 620, Lumia 720, Lumia 820 or Lumia 920 by the end of September.
You can find out more about the procedure to get the Amber update on Nokia's support page, which says it will take about 15 to 30 minutes to complete the process once it has started.
Source: Nokia | Image via Nokia
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