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Galaxy S4, Galaxy S3, Galaxy Note 3 Android 4.4 Update Breakdown Pt. 8

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As we head deeper into the year, Samsung’s Android 4.4 KitKat release continues to evolve. In the past week, we’ve seen a number of updates emerge from the shadows including several upcoming Samsung Galaxy Note 2 KitKat updates. With details swirling, we want to break it all down and here, we take a close look at the Samsung Galaxy S4, Galaxy S3, Galaxy Note 2, and Galaxy Note 3 Android 4.4 KitKat updates.

Months ago, Samsung started rolling out its version of the Android 4.4 KitKat update. First in line was the Samsung Galaxy Note 3, the company’s Galaxy Note flagship that arrived late last year with Android 4.3 Jelly Bean out of the box. The update rolled out slowly at first before it deployed to Galaxy Note 3 variants across the planet in February.

Since then, Samsung Galaxy Note 3 Android 4.4 KitKat updates have been popping up left and right. For many, the news has been good, for others, its been discouraging.

Shortly after Samsung deployed the Galaxy Note 3 Android 4.4 KitKat update, it began the Galaxy S4 Android 4.4 KitKat roll out. The Galaxy S4 Android 4.4 update, which began in February, has kept pace with the Galaxy Note 3 KitKat deployment as it has landed for a number of Galaxy S4 variants all over the globe, including here in the United States.

We’ve also seen Samsung Galaxy S3 and Galaxy Note 2 Android 4.4 KitKat update details start to surface. In particular, the Galaxy Note 2 Android 4.4 KitKat update has emerged from the shadows and owners now have a fairly good idea about what to expect.

With Android 4.4 KitKat updates rolling out at a rapid pace and details for future updates emerging at a similar rate, it can be hard to wrap ones head around what’s important.

We want to help make things easier and here, all in one place, we take a look at everything there is to know about the Samsung Galaxy S4, Galaxy S3, Galaxy Note 2, and Galaxy Note 3 Android 4.4 KitKat updates and their releases.

Samsung Galaxy Note 3

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The Samsung Galaxy Note 3 pushed out at a furious pace in February and March. In April, it’s showing no signs of slowing down, even after hitting a number of big name targets in the U.S. and elsewhere. In the past week, it has landed for a number of SM-N900 and SM-N9005 Galaxy Note 3 variants around the globe.

Recently, the update landed for users in Israel and Uzbekistan (SM-N700) and for a number of carriers around the planet including Vodafone in the UK, Germany and the Netherlands, O2 in Ireland, Orange in Poland, and more. The point is that Samsung and its carrier partners are not slacking with this update and we should see a majority of updates land during the month of April.

As for upcoming updates, we’ve been able to track down several. Australian carriers Vodafone and Optus both confirmed Galaxy Note 3 Android 4.4 KitKat updates for arrival though the carriers remain in different stages of its release.

While Vodafone says that testing is planned, Optus claims that it still hasn’t received the update from Samsung which has lead it to downgrade its release target. Initially, the carrier said early-to-mid April but it now says that it doesn’t have an ETA for the update.

This is better than what Australian carrier Telstra has offered to its customers: The Australian carrier still hasn’t confirmed the Galaxy Note 3 Android 4.4 KitKat update.

One of the biggest Galaxy Note 3 Android 4.4 KitKat updates that remains missing in action is the Verizon Galaxy Note 3 Android 4.4 KitKat update. It has been weeks since the Galaxy Note 3 Android 4.4 update hit the U.S. and Verizon is still quiet about the prospects for its device.

We’ve gone into detail about what we expect from the Verizon Galaxy Note 3 Android 4.4 KitKat update and in summary, we have a good feeling that it will roll out at some point this month. That remains unconfirmed of course but it would be shocking to see Verizon lag behind its rivals by more than a month, on a device this new.

Samsung Galaxy S4

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The Samsung Galaxy S4 Android 4.4 KitKat update has been rolling out simultaneously with the Galaxy Note 3 Android 4.4 KitKat update. In February, it landed for a number of Galaxy S4 variants in the United States and since then, it has pushed out to many Galaxy S4 models around the globe.

Recently, the Galaxy S4 Android 4.4 KitKat update landed for users in China and India. Users with the GT-i9500 version the Galaxy S4 should now have access to the Android 4.4 KitKat update and its minimal feature set. We’ve also seen the Android 4.4 update land for users that own the GT-i9505, the LTE model.

Owners on Vodafone in Spain, O2 in Germany, and PLUS in Poland have all received updates in April. We’ve also seen the Galaxy S4 Android 4.4 update land for users in France and Russia.

In other words, Samsung still making strides and we expect the Galaxy S4 Android 4.4 KitKat update roll out to have slowed down significantly by the time April ends.

Upcoming updates include two Galaxy S4 Android 4.4 KitKat updates for users on Vodafone Australia as the carrier says that testing is in the works. Optus says that it will be delivering an Android 4.4 KitKat update but it recently was forced to downgrade its ETA to non-existent because it’s still not in possession of the update.

French carrier SFR says that it will be delivering the Galaxy S4 Android 4.4 KitKat update in April though it still hasn’t offered a specific date. The fact that the French Galaxy S4 LTE model just got the Android 4.4 KitKat update is a good sign for SFR owners.

In the United States, there are still a few updates that remain missing in action. Verizon is the biggest culprit. Weeks ago we heard that the update was in internal testing but that was weeks ago. We’ve taken a look at what we expect from the Verizon Galaxy S4 Android 4.4 KitKat update and like the Galaxy Note 3 update, we expect it to land in April.

The update is MIA for smaller carriers as well including C Spire, Cricket Wireless and MetroPCS. We tend to see smaller carriers push out Android updates around the time that the last major Android update is delivered. In other words, we should see them cluster around the Verizon Galaxy S4 update.

Samsung Galaxy Note 2

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Earlier this year, Samsung confirmed the Galaxy Note 2 Android 4.4 KitKat update for arrival but it did not say much about its release, leaving that up to individual carriers. We’ve already seen Sprint confirm the Galaxy Note 2 Android 4.4 KitKat update for release and over the past few weeks, we’ve seen a number of other carriers start to confirm the update for arrival.

Vodafone Australia and Optus both confirmed the Galaxy Note 2 Android 4.4 KitKat update. Both are currently awaiting the software from Samsung, something that forced Optus to alter its target release date. Instead of early-to-mid April, the carrier now says that it doesn’t have a specific ETA for the Galaxy Note 2’s Android 4.4 update.

French carrier SFR says that it plans to push the Galaxy Note 2 Android 4.4 KitKat update out in May. SFR is typically weeks behind the curve which means that we could see the international push occur in the month of April. Galaxy Note 2 Android 4.4 KitKat update release rumors have pointed to April and May.

From the look of things, the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 Android 4.4 KitKat update is poised to arrive for all variants of the Galaxy Note 2, something that doesn’t come as much of a surprise given the Galaxy Note 2’s specifications and age.

Samsung Galaxy S3

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The Samsung Galaxy S3 Android 4.4 KitKat update is in a completely different situation. While it has been confirmed like the Galaxy Note 2 Android 4.4 KitKat update, it’s still not clear when, or where it will roll out.

Weeks ago, we saw Samsung confirm the Galaxy S3 Android 4.4 KitKat update for arrival. Shortly after that, Samsung Poland confirmed that it would be rolling out the Android 4.4 KitKat update to the LTE version of the Galaxy S3 but would be skipping an update for the 1GB RAM version of the Samsung Galaxy S3.

Samsung itself still hasn’t confirmed that to be the case across the planet but the signs that we’ve seen emerge in recent days aren’t encouraging whatsoever.

SamMobile’s Faryaab Sheikh said back in March that Samsung had yet to begin testing for the Galaxy S3 GT-i9300 Android 4.4 KitKat update. The GT-i9300 uses 1GB of RAM. While this doesn’t necessarily kill off an update, it does mean that Galaxy S3 owners are probably in for a long wait if an update does eventually arrive.

We’ve also pointed out that while carriers have started confirming Galaxy Note 2 Android 4.4 KitKat updates for arrival, we still haven’t seen any Galaxy S3 Android 4.4 KitKat updates confirmed. Thus far, Sprint remains the only major carrier that has confirmed a Galaxy S3 Android 4.4 KitKat update outright.

Again, this doesn’t mean that the updates aren’t coming but it’s a sign that Galaxy S3 Android 4.4 KitKat updates could be a ways off in the distance. The fact that French carrier SFR doesn’t have it listed amongst its updates for April or May is a pretty telling sign and could mean that we’ll be looking at summer roll outs for most.

At this point, it’s best to temper expectations and keep those fingers crossed.

7 Comments

7 Comments

  1. Nismo

    04/08/2014 at 3:02 pm

    Why is it this article goes from breakdown part 1 to 8 and its really the same every time.
    You would think the author of this article would have at least some new details or resources to back up his article. It amazes me how people like this guy even have a job with GBM. Do your research man and find more sources. And finally stop re-posting the same article over and over again and calling it something else. just tell us their is no more news on it until you actually get some new details.
    From an angry developer…..

  2. Eric

    04/08/2014 at 3:09 pm

    I agree. What a bunch of rubbish. This IS indeed news…OLD news. Every day it’s the same old conjecture and theoritics. Pt. 8? Really? You have got to be kidding me…STOP filling the internet with useless journalism until you have something credible.

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    04/08/2014 at 5:02 pm

    Start making cash right now… Get more time with your family by doing jobs that only require for you to have a computer and an internet access and you can have that at your home. Start bringing up to $18012 a month. I’ve started this job and I’ve never been happier and now I am sharing it with you, so you can try it too. You can check it out here…https://tinyurl.com/o6hvm5j

  4. VanGilder Michael

    04/08/2014 at 7:39 pm

    I have to post this because SAMSUNG, has really disappointed me. I went and gave, my, suggestion, that the people who talk to me, buy a SAMSUNG as their device. And now, I have to bear their shortcomings as, ‘well, you are the one who suggested it.’
    Back when ANDROID was young, I had a S2, and when ‘gingerbread’ was released, I had still not received ‘froyo’. And it appears it’s going to happen again, with my Galaxy note 2014. The next version (5.0?) will be out before I get Kit Kat.

    • antonio

      04/09/2014 at 11:55 am

      Lol its not gonna take that long. I’m also frustrated that the note 2014 hasn’t been updated yet. But I’m hoping it’s because they are waiting till 4.4.3, witch should be sometime soon.

  5. Mick Steadman

    04/10/2014 at 7:04 am

    What makes me laugh is that no one’s noticed that the first to break the rules about announcing updates, SFR, who said they would release before the end of January and we’re made to retract the statement, are among the last to get it. Coincidence?

  6. Dominic

    04/14/2014 at 4:01 pm

    On AT&T’s website it says the galaxy s3 is upgradeable to 4.4

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