Galaxy S4 Android 4.4 KitKat Update Release Starting Soon

The Samsung Galaxy S4 Android 4.4 KitKat update roll out will begin soon and it will start with the Samsung Galaxy S4 Google Play Edition before the Android 4.4 KitKat update spreads to other versions of the Galaxy S4 in the future, possibly in 2014.

Earlier today, we learned that the HTC One Google Play Edition Android 4.4 KitKat update started rolling out to owners, just a few hours after Google posted the update’s source on its HTCDev site. This actually was a little quicker than the Android 4.3 update roll out which took place the day after the update arrived on HTCDev.

Interestingly, the Samsung Galaxy S4 Google Play Edition Android 4.4 KitKat upgrade also arrived on Samsung’s Open Source release center website, though no roll out has begun. The update is the MKG build that is found under the GT-I9505G variant of the Galaxy S4 Google Play Edition.

Given its arrival, we expect that the update will be rolling out in the near future for those that bought the device off the Google Play Store, a roll out that will kick off the Galaxy S4 Android 4.4 KitKat update process, a process that could take months to complete.

Google and Samsung won’t say when the update will roll out but given that the code is update has been posted it should only be a matter of hours, or perhaps days, before the software rolls out to owners of the Galaxy S4 Google Play Edition. When the update does arrive, it will be available Over-the-Air (OTA) and it should be available for a manual install through sideloading.

This Galaxy S4 Android 4.4 KitKat roll out will not only mark the first Galaxy S4 Android 4.4 roll out, but it’s a roll out that should come well before the other versions of the Galaxy S4 get the Android 4.4 KitKat update. We don’t expect Samsung to push out Android 4.4 KitKat for other models until next year and rumors currently suggest that we could see the software emerge in the early goings, possibly as soon as January.

Samsung typically starts with the Google Play Edition, before moving on to the international, unlocked variants of the device, then pushing on to the carrier-branded models. The United States should be on the tail-end of the roll out process which means that carriers there could push out the updates several weeks into the new year.

The company usually does not provide concrete information for the roll outs so users will need to keep an eye on leaks for clues about the individual release dates.