Apple has recently agreed to drop the Galaxy S III Mini from its patent case with Samsung. If you remember back, Apple had asked the courts to include the handset (along with a few tablets) to the patent case back in November. That however has changed since Samsung has never released the Galaxy S III Mini for sale in the US market.

According to Samsung, they are not “making, using, selling, offering to sell or importing the Galaxy S III Mini in the United States.” And while Apple has agree to withdraw the handset from the case, they did so under a condition. That condition was to make sure that the removal from the case would “not prejudice Apple’s ability later to accuse the Galaxy S III Mini if the factual circumstances change.”

Of course, looking at this as a consumer — this also means that Samsung will likely never release the Galaxy S III Mini in the US market. After all, should Samsung decide to release the handset, Apple would then once again ask to have it included in the case.

All said and done, while we would consider this a win for Samsung, it is important to remember that this is just one device out of many. In other words, while the Galaxy S III Mini is out, there are still more than a few devices that remain included. And keep in mind, this latest case is separate from the previous Apple/Samsung case which saw Apple be awarded a $1.05 billion verdict.

[device id=3718] [via Reuters]