Android
Galaxy S5 & Galaxy Note 4 Lollipop Release Details Emerge
New Samsung Galaxy S5 and Samsung Galaxy Note 4 Lollipop update details have emerged today as companies work behind the scenes to deliver these key Android 5.0 Lollipop updates to users around the world.
In December, Samsung started pushing out its first Android 5.0 Lollipop update. Unsurprisingly, that update turned out to be the Samsung Galaxy S5 Lollipop update. Samsung historically has pushed out new software to its flagship devices first before moving on to older smartphones and tablets. And while many expected the Galaxy Note 4 Lollipop update to follow the Galaxy S5’s upgrade, Samsung’s Galaxy Android 5.0 roll out took a bit of a twist.
Earlier this week, Samsung started rolling out the Galaxy Note 3 Lollipop update. That roll out came as a bit of a surprise given that the Galaxy Note 3 is no longer Samsung’s flagship smartphone. Samsung itself still hasn’t confirmed why the Galaxy Note 3 Lollipop update rolled out first though SamMobile’s editor Faryaab Sheikh claims that it’s because the company is still working on code.
According to Sheikh, the Galaxy Note 4 Lollipop release is delayed while Oculus tweaks code for the Gear VR. The Samsung Galaxy Note 4 is currently the only device that supports Samsung’s virtual reality accessory and it appears that its the reason why the Galaxy Note 3 Android 5.0 update beat the Galaxy Note 4 Android 5.0 update to the punch.
It’s still not clear when Samsung plans to push the Galaxy Note 4 Lollipop update or spread the Galaxy S5 Lollipop update to other carriers and variants though new information suggests that we could see some movement during the month of February.
French carrier SFR says that it plans to update the Galaxy S5 and Galaxy Note 4 with Lollipop sometime next month. It does not outline any specific dates and the carrier’s release dates serve only as ETAs. SFR originally said that it planned to push the Galaxy S5 Lollipop update in December and the Galaxy Note 4 Lollipop update in January but those clearly didn’t work out for one reason or another.
While this carrier is based in France, it helps to mold a potential timeline for Galaxy S5 and Galaxy Note 4 users in other parts of the world. It’s clear that Samsung is making progress but it’s also clear that the company is not rushing out either of these updates to users.
Samsung’s Galaxy S5 Lollipop update continues to roll out to the international version of the device, the SM-G900F, though it has yet to reach other variants including those in the United States. Samsung’s Galaxy Note 4 Android 5.0 update still isn’t rolling out though it looks like we could see the update push out very soon.
Several weeks ago, we noticed that Samsung had begun updating its Galaxy Note 4 manuals to reflect the unreleased Galaxy Note 4 Lollipop update. Earlier this week, the company took it a step further and updated Galaxy Note 4 manuals for three variants including the SM-N910F, SM-N910C, SM-N910H. These seem to hint at the impending arrival of Lollipop.
The Samsung Galaxy Note 3 Lollipop is only the second Lollipop push from Samsung. And while there are only a few Galaxy Android 5.0 Lollipop updates available at the moment, it’s clear that Samsung is aiming to make a strong push in the early part of the year, ahead of the Galaxy S6 laucnh date that’s expected in March.
Samsung’s also scheduled to roll out Android 5.0 Lollipop updates to the Galaxy Note Edge, Galaxy Alpha, Galaxy S5 mini, and the Samsung Galaxy S4 at some point down the road. Samsung could also opt to roll the update out to the Samsung Galaxy Note 2, a device that’s now more than two years old and one that continues to see Android 4.4 KitKat updates.
Jeff Lord
01/30/2015 at 3:11 pm
I just received an update to the Samsung OTA policies. I’m on Verizon in the US
osvaldo
01/30/2015 at 3:43 pm
You received the lollipop update?
matt
01/30/2015 at 8:03 pm
No he didn’t. It’s still 4.4. Verizon is pushing another small update out to tweak things before it tries to eventually update to 5.0.
ron
01/30/2015 at 11:41 pm
Yeah not on note 3 yet in USA. 4.4.4 was just sent out. Verizon is usually one of the last carriers to do an update. I honestly don’t expect to see any push from them for a couple months. Also for s4 series and note 3 I’d expect also this will be last update For them. The unlocked bootloader bounty will need to be claimed for any future updating To these devices.
unamused
02/01/2015 at 4:41 am
Who gives a crap about the gearVR? They delay the update to fix some niche accessory that Less than 1% are ever going to use.
The occulus VR sucks anyway….. it’s not VR… it’s just putting your phone way too close to your eyes.
Trevor
02/02/2015 at 12:35 am
If they ever release this Samsung S5Lollipop update in the US it better be something spectacular. With all the talk and hype you would think it would be a huge game changer. i am new to the Android experience and this is just annoying.
ron
02/02/2015 at 7:58 pm
LoL every update is a nightmare. If your new to the android first thing you’ll learn is waiting. Everyone around you will start getting updates leaving you all WTF?!?! It’s given out in waves and major carriers like verizon,t-mobile,sprint do their own tweeks to the firmware delaying updates even more. Android aka Linux is open source and they try as much as possible not to make it that way.