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New Samsung Galaxy Android 4.4 KitKat Update Details

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New Samsung Galaxy Note 3 and Galaxy S4 Android 4.4 KitKat update details have arrived today thanks to a carrier in France and a Samsung upgrade page that not only details Android 4.4 KitKat upgrades for its Galaxy smartphones and tablets but also shows which updates are currently available.

Earlier this year, Samsung started pushing out Android 4.4 KitKat upgrades for the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 and the Samsung Galaxy S4. Those updates have started to pick up speed and they are both now available for some carriers inside of the United States.

There are, of course, plenty of Galaxy Note 3 and Galaxy S4 Android 4.4 KitKat upgrades that are still missing. Most carriers do not announce their plans ahead of time particularly in the United States where communication ahead of the release date is virtually non-existent. That is not the case at all carriers, however.

French carrier confirms Galaxy Note 3 and Galaxy S4 Android 4.4 KitKat upgrades for March.

French carrier confirms Galaxy Note 3 and Galaxy S4 Android 4.4 KitKat upgrades for March.

French carrier SFR issues an Android update schedule each and every month and today, the carrier released its plans for the month of March. The carrier lists both the Galaxy Note 3 and Galaxy S4 Android 4.4 KitKat update release dates for March meaning they won’t arrive in February and are currently targeted for next month. Originally, the carrier said that it would push the updates out in February or March.

SFR also likes to give specific release dates ahead of time but in this case, it only provides a vague March window. Once the releases get closer, we should see SFR make an announcement.

SFR’s update isn’t the only new detail for Galaxy Note 3 and Galaxy S4 users. Samsung recently posted an extremely useful page for not only Galaxy Note 3 and Galaxy S4 users but for all Galaxy owners who are expecting the Android 4.4 KitKat upgrade in the United States.

android_kitkat

The page will continue to list off Galaxy Android 4.4 KitKat upgrades as they become available making it an extremely useful tool for Galaxy users in the U.S. Samsung typically announces updates before they roll out so this is certainly a page that Galaxy smartphone and tablet owners will want to bookmark as a resource.

What’s more, Samsung’s new page also details exactly what will be coming with all of these Android 4.4 KitKat updates. In other words, it confirms an incremental Android 4.4 KitKat update, not only for the Galaxy S4 and Galaxy Note 3, but for devices like the Galaxy Note 2 and Galaxy S3 as well.

While we assumed that updates for older devices would follow in the footsteps of Galaxy Note 3 and Galaxy S4 Android 4.4 updates, this is the first time we’ve seen Samsung confirm it.

Here is what U.S. Galaxy owners should expect from their Android 4.4 KitKat upgrades:

  • Location Menu: An integrated location menu enables users to easily activate GPS, Wi-Fi and mobile networks, while simultaneously checking the battery usage of apps running location service capabilities.
  • Enhanced Messaging: Enables users to choose between Messages or Hangouts as their preferred default messaging application, and select from a larger assortment of updated Emoji icons.
  • Upgraded Google Mobile Service™ (GMS) apps: Users can automatically back up photos and video and can open, view, rename and share Google Docs and files.

As we have pointed out numerous times, carriers tend to put their own unique spin on major Android updates which means that not all updates will be created equal. The Sprint Galaxy S4 Android 4.4 KitKat upgrade, for example, included Zact Mobile compatibility.

The Samsung Galaxy S3 and Galaxy Note 2 Android 4.4 KitKat upgrades are both rumored for March or April though Samsung has yet to confirm specific dates. The other updates listed here remain without release dates.

7 Comments

7 Comments

  1. Marc Lee Winnig

    02/25/2014 at 8:44 am

    Woke up this morning… picked up my phone AT&T Note 3 and it was downloading an update. Imagine my excitement! Then it started installing said update. Got back to familar lock screen. Hmm… (I thought). Thought Kit Kat changed it. Went into setttings, device, then general (who would have thought you wouldn’t put “About Device” on the “Device” tab)…. Recalled falling for that one more than once…

    Displayed my “new” Android version… DRUM ROLL PLEASE…

    4.3!

    REALLY??? Four dot freaking three? April 25th 2014, a month or more after the initial rollout? Friend with 3-week-old Droid he got free (with 2 year contract) has it (probably came pre-installed). Can you say “Weeks late, 1 version short!”?

  2. Marc Lee Winnig

    02/25/2014 at 8:46 am

    Nicely done AT&T. 4.3. The version you probably SHOULD HAVE SKIPPED so you could devote appropriate resources to the one that really mattered!

    GEESH!

  3. sonsofhell

    02/25/2014 at 9:26 am

    You can try the leaked one for AT&T Galaxy S4/Note 3, it’s quite ok || https://www.justaboutphones.com/samsung-galaxy-s4-att-gets-android-4-4-via-leaked-firmware/

  4. Monte

    02/25/2014 at 4:36 pm

    I also received the Note 3 update this morning. It was about 38.something mb, and extracted around 228-ish files. I thought YAY! But… still 4.3 So I called AT&T. Boy are they good at pretending they have no information! Anyway… the little update was supposedly “for improved network communications”. That’s about all I could get from the rep. When I asked about the Kitkat update, I was told to hold on while she “checked the system”. I told the rep that if she was looking on google, that I already knew all the rumors. Claiming that there are no internal memos or inside info on the release date, she said “my guess is probably a couple of months before you see the kikat update”. I promptly told her how the competition, as well as other countries are beating AT&T to the party. Oh well. And now the S4 is getting the update tomorrow! WTF! Does this mean the Note 3 will be any time now, or are we supposed to be angrily waiting for this? No idea. Damn!

  5. Ticked

    02/26/2014 at 7:00 pm

    No choice! U get this update whether u want it or not…….I hate that!!!!!

  6. booboo

    02/26/2014 at 10:37 pm

    Monte has too much free time on his hands.

  7. booboo

    02/26/2014 at 10:41 pm

    What’s funny is your are the same guys who will be the first to complain when a mobile carrier makes an os upgrade mistake due to rolling out an update to quickly. Besides… there’s nothing about 4.4 that will make your life so much better that it’s worth complaining about a delay anyway.

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