Samsung Galaxy S4, Galaxy Note 4, Galaxy S5 Skip Android 4.4.4 for 5.0 Lollipop in January
Samsung's multitude of devices meant varying rollouts for every Android update. Just as when people are expecting the Android 4.4.4 KitKat to hit devices like the Samsung Galaxy S5, Galaxy S4, Note 3 and Note 2, recent information suggests that the company may skip it in place of Android 5.0 Lollipop.
Throughout the year, Samsung has been reportedly working on bringing the Android 4.4.2 KitKat update to a variety of its devices with no confirmation on when the Android 4.4.4 KitKat will hit next. According to Android Origin, this may not be the case anymore as the company appears to be skipping on the last KitKat upgrade to the Android 5.0 Lollipop firmware.
SamMobile in its tweet appears to confirm the same: "Samsung won't update the international version of the Galaxy S5 / Galaxy S4 / Galaxy Note 3 to Android 4.4.4. You will get Android 5.0." Reports indicate the possible backlash from users waiting for the KitKat OS but it should also be a good indication that Samsung intends to push the Lollipop OS to its devices earlier than expected.
As for those who cannot wait for the Android 5.0 Lollipop on their devices, they can now access the unofficial AOSP-based Android 5.0 Lollipop builds for Samsung Galaxy S5 and Galaxy. According to Phone Arena, users can now "rejoice" at the moment as OS has been released for variants like SM-G900I, SM-G0900F, and SM-G900M for Galaxy S5 and GT-I9505 for Galaxy S4.
The unofficial firmware builds are based on the alpha CyanogenMod 12 build and AOSP. People should expect a number of bugs they can still experience a taste of the Lollipop series. According to reports, the firmware build for the Galaxy S5 is more stable compared to the Galaxy S4.
However, Galaxy S5 users will not be able to use the NFC and the Camera whereas the build for the S4 will not allow users to access IR blaster, NFC, non-functional external storage, sound and RIL. This means the builds are not yet compliant to the daily drivers but fixes should arrive soon.