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New Galaxy S3 Android 4.3 Details Arrive as Android 4.4 Remains MIA

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New Samsung Galaxy S3 Android 4.3 Jelly Bean update details have emerged today but details regarding a future Samsung Galaxy S3 Android 4.4 KitKat update remain scarce as the Galaxy S3’s update future stays in limbo.

While the attention Samsung Galaxy smartphone users has shifted to the Android 4.4 KitKat update and its release, there are still several Android 4.3 Jelly Bean updates that have yet to roll out. Today, one of those missing updates finally got a specific release date after the carrier was forced to delay the roll out.

Galaxy S3

Vodafone Australia, one of the few remaining big name carriers with a Samsung Galaxy S3 Android 4.3 update missing in action, announced that it will be deploying its Galaxy S3 4G Android 4.3 Jelly Bean update on April 29th. The announcement comes a week after the carrier and Samsung hit a snag and were forced to go back into the lab.

The carrier says that the roll out will commence at 1PM AEST and that the update will deliver a number of improvements including Galaxy Gear support, Samsung Knox and global software fixes that should help to shore up some of the issues that owners have been experiencing on Android 4.1 Jelly Bean.

Vodafone’s Galaxy S3 Android 4.3 Jelly Bean update will roll out more than five months after the Galaxy S3 Android 4.3 Jelly Bean update first started rolling out though it may not be the last one to the roll out. Australian carrier Optus still hasn’t rolled out its version of the Galaxy S3 4G Android 4.3 Jelly Bean update though the carrier still lists the software as coming in mid-to-late April.

android_kitkat-575x383

Today’s confirmation solidifies the Android 4.3 Jelly Bean roll out for Vodafone’s Samsung Galaxy S3 users but it doesn’t do anything to clear up the situation surrounding Samsung’s Galaxy S3 Android 4.4 KitKat update that still has yet to be confirmed for a carrier outside of Sprint in the United States.

Earlier this year, Samsung USA announced that it would be delivering a Galaxy S3 Android 4.4 KitKat update. Samsung Poland soon followed and announced that it would be delivering the update but only to owners of the Galaxy S3 LTE model, the model that utilizes 2GB of RAM. Since then, the situation has been a back and forth affair.

One side believes that the Samsung Galaxy S3 Android 4.4 KitKat update may never come. SamMobile’s Faryaab Sheikh says that there is a good chance that Samsung will decline to offer an Android 4.4 KitKat update. He cites Google’s recommended 18 months of software support and Samsung’s issues with Android 4.3 as possible reasons.

Android Geeks, however, believes that the Android 4.4 KitKat update will come to a number of devices, including models with 1GB of RAM. Here is a full list of the devices it believes will get Android 4.4.

  • GT-I9300
  • GT-I9305
  • SHV-E210K
  • SHV-E210L
  • SHV-E210S
  • SGH-T999/L
  • SGH-I747
  • SGH-N064
  • SGH-N035
  • SCH-J021
  • SCH-R530
  • SCH-I535
  • SCH-S960L
  • SCH-S968C
  • SPH-L710
  • SCH-I939
  • SCH-S968C

Included on that list are the Galaxy S3 models for AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, and Verizon as well as the international Galaxy S3, known as the GT-i9300. The list remains unconfirmed and again, beyond Sprint, we have yet to see any carriers confirm a Samsung Galaxy S3 Android 4.4 upgrade in the future.

At the very least, Galaxy S3 owners might be in for a long wait. French carrier SFR recently released its updated Android update schedule and while the carrier has detailed updates that it has planned through May, the Galaxy S3 Android 4.4 KitKat update is nowhere to be found. Perhaps, it will be a late addition but the carrier typically talks about updates far in advance.

Today’s schedule from Vodafone doesn’t help either. The carrier lists a number of updates that it has planned for April, May and June but the carrier still isn’t talking about a potential Samsung Galaxy S3 Android 4.4 KitKat update. While that doesn’t rule one out, it does mean that users could be in for a bit of a wait, should one arrive down the road.

Galaxy-Note-2-Direct-dial-hidden-feature-558x575

The Samsung Galaxy S3 Android 4.4 KitKat update might be MIA but there are several other Galaxy Android 4.4 KitKat updates that aren’t. The Samsung Galaxy Note 2 Android 4.4 KitKat update has been confirmed for a number of carriers including SFR, Vodafone, Optus, and Sprint, and it looks like its roll out could begin within the next few weeks.

Samsung Galaxy Note 2 and Samsung Galaxy S3 Android 4.4 KitKat release rumors all point to an arrival by the end of May which means that both could potentially slot in next to the Galaxy S4 and Galaxy Note 3 Android 4.4 KitKat updates that have been rolling out since the beginning of the year.

With the Galaxy S3 and Galaxy Note 2 both approaching their second birthdays, it could be that the Android 4.4 KitKat update will be their last major Android upgrade. Samsung typically supports devices for anywhere between 18 and 24 months. Rumors suggest that an Android 4.5 update could touch down in July but there is no guarantee that either device will get it.

2 Comments

2 Comments

  1. sixbysix

    04/26/2014 at 12:25 am

  2. Bella

    04/26/2014 at 8:16 pm

    Well Android 4.3 Jelly Bean is still older as the update which I prefer for my two year old Galaxy S3 is the latest Android 4.4 KitKat version. This update is already available on Galaxy S4. Samsung should take appropriate steps with Google’s Android to make 4.4 update available on my Galaxy S3 which is right now placed on wireless charger otherwise I have to look for other option then Samsung; may be Nexus 5.

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