Galaxy S4 Android 4.4.4 KitKat Update Starts Rolling Out

The Samsung Galaxy S4 Android 4.4.4 KitKat update is rolling out to select users in the United States just a day after the Galaxy S5 Android 4.4.4 KitKat update started rolling out and a couple of days after the Galaxy Note 3 Android 4.4.4 KitKat began.

In June, Google rolled out two new Android 4.4 KitKat updates in the forms of Android 4.4.3 KitKat and Android 4.4.4 KitKat. Both were, and still are, bug fixers aimed at squashing major Android 4.4.2 KitKat problems. In the past three months, we’ve seen several Android manufacturers make it a point to deliver these two updates to smartphone and tablet users.

Samsung, the world’s largest Android manufacturer, once lagged behind the rest of the pack but now it’s starting to catch up. Earlier this month, we saw a number of new Samsung Galaxy Android 4.4.4 KitKat update details emerge including an Android 4.4.4 KitKat update confirmed for the Galaxy Note 4 and now, we’re starting to see Android 4.4.4 KitKat updates deploy.

Last week, Samsung started rolling out the Galaxy S3 Neo Android 4.4.4 KitKat update in Kazakhstan. The update is available Over-the-Air and it’s available through the company’s Samsung Kies software for PC. This update was the company’s first Android 4.4.4 KitKat update but it’s not going to be the company’s last.

Earlier this week, Sprint started rolling out its Galaxy Note 3 Android 4.4.4 KitKat update. The update delivered a number of new features and it should be rolling out, slowly, to Sprint Galaxy Note 3 owners. We also spotted the Sprint Galaxy S5 Android 4.4.4 KitKat update lurking on Sprint’s website last week though it hasn’t been released quite yet.

Yesterday, two Galaxy S5 Android 4.4.4 KitKat updates pushed out. The first, the Verizon Galaxy S5 Android 4.4.4 KitKat update. The second, the Galaxy S5 Android 4.4.4 KitKat update for Optus, an Australian carrier. Today, a Galaxy S4 Android 4.4.4 KitKat update has emerged, this one for a device in the United States.

The T-Mobile Galaxy S4 Android 4.4.4 KitKat update is rolling out today, confirmed by an update to the device’s software support page on T-Mobile’s website. The change log states that the OTA update, which is available right now, comes with Wi-Fi calling enhancements and a shift to Android 4.4.4 KitKat. It’s not clear what else it has on board.

Google’s Android 4.4.4 KitKat software is chock full of bug fixes and patches so it’s possible that this update contains most of those bug fixes for Android 4.4.2 KitKat problems.

This is great news for owners of the Galaxy S4 in the U.S but it doesn’t change the fact that the Samsung Galaxy Android 4.4.4 KitKat situation remains murky ahead of the Android L release. This is, after all, the first Galaxy S4 Android 4.4.4 KitKat update that we’ve seen and other Galaxy S4 Android 4.4.4 KitKat roll outs remain in the shadows.

We simply haven’t seen any widespread Android 4.4.4 KitKat plans emerge and it’s not clear what other devices will be getting Android 4.4.4 KitKat ahead of Google’s Android L update later this year. There’s a good chance that these deployments could be a part of a bigger roll out but right now the roll outs are limited to a select few devices.

Google’s Android L update was first announced at Google I/O 2014 back in June. And while the update is available in beta form for developers, it’s still without a public release date.

Rumors point to an arrival later this year though that remains unconfirmed. And while companies like HTC and Motorola have confirmed upcoming Android L releases, Android L details still haven’t emerged for Samsung Galaxy devices. Devices like the Galaxy S5 and Galaxy Note 3 should get the update but that remains unconfirmed.

For now, Galaxy users will want to focus in on the Android 4.4.4 KitKat update, Google’s latest, and an update that could potentially fix some of the problems that arrived alongside Android 4.4.2 KitKat updates this year. U.S. carriers almost never confirm release date ahead of time which means that users on carriers like AT&T and U.S. Cellular will almost certainly be waiting in the dark for Android 4.4.4 KitKat and its features.