The Verizon Galaxy Nexus is four updates behind other Nexus devices, but it now seems that an update is in the works and coming soon.

It's not just any update, however; it's an upgrade to the very latest version of Android. It may seem unlikely, considering Verizon's device is four updates behind, but the Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean update for the Verizon Galaxy Nexus looks very real, and is apparently rolling out already to beta testers.

Droid-Life received confirmation that not only is the update real and imminent, but users will get a taste of the absolute latest Jelly Bean version. Moreover, it seems a brand new radio is on board as well. It remains unclear at this point whether the update will also bring some better 4G LTE, but it should.

Last week, Verizon responded to a frustrated user on its official support account, confirming that the update "will be coming soon," but still offering no release date. On the other hand, the VZW support page for the Galaxy Nexus also has a "Coming soon!" tag attached.

Those who followed the Verizon Galaxy Nexus' evolution closely may have already grabbed the early test build for the device from XDA Developers member El Madhatter. According to Droid-Life, El Madhatter now claims he received 4.2.2 (JDQ39) this week, and sent the screenshot attached to this article.  New radios seem to appear as FK01 and FK02, while the kernel appears to be somewhat old.

El Madhatter created a new XDA thread at this link for anyone who wants to tag along and see if others in the community got the file or URL of the file. Another thread about Android 4.2 on the Verizon Galaxy Nexus is available here. Meanwhile, Droid-Life claims to have yet another source who confirms that the next Verizon Galaxy Nexus update will indeed be Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean.

Once Big Red approves the update, the file will be coming directly from Google, as it always has. Verizon already approved a handful of updates to a range of devices in February, and things seem to be looking up.