Samsung Galaxy S4 GPE Receiving Android 4.4.3 KitKat; Top Things You Should Know About the Update

Official Android 4.4.3 KitKat is now rolling out to the Samsung Galaxy S4 Google Play Edition and Galaxy S4 I9505G. However, some questions are left unanswered such as will the original Galaxy S4 get the same update? And what changes will it deliver to the eligible devices?

Android 4.4.3 KitKat for GPE Galaxy S4

Users can now download and install the latest Android 4.4.3 KitKat firmware for the Samsung Galaxy S4 Google Play Edition and Galaxy S4 I9505G which runs the vanilla stock ROM of Android. It is being pushed wirelessly and so owners should receive a notification if the device logs in via mobile data or Wi-Fi.

If not, users may go to Settings menu > About phone > Software updates to get the new firmware. However, will the original Galaxy S4 receive such update and what changes will it bring?

Original Galaxy S4

According to SamMobile reports, Samsung is testing Android 4.4.3 KitKat for the Galaxy S5 smartphone and the Galaxy S4 LTE-A variant. Testing phase will require integration to the TouchWiz UI and various Samsung Galaxy S apps and services which may take a month or more before the rollout occurs.

It may even take longer than expected if Google pushes out the upcoming Android 4.5/5.0 version at the end of the month after the Google I/O event for 2014. There is no assurance if Samsung will jump the two smartphones straight to the newer Android version.

Once the testing phase for Galaxy S5 and Galaxy S4 LTE-A has been completed, users may expect the next big thing for the original Galaxy S4.

How About Galaxy S3 4G and Galaxy Note 2?

Recently, both Galaxy S3 4G and Galaxy Note 2 received the official Android 4.4.2 KitKat and probably the final major upgrade as the software support expires. But, Android 4.4.3 is in line with Android KitKat and Samsung has not yet affirmed anything about 4.4.3 version.

For the sake of public's knowledge, Android 4.4.3 KitKat mainly contains bug-fixing patches rather than more features and if Samsung sees the advantage of these patches, owners of the Galaxy S3 4G and Galaxy Note 2 may get lucky on receiving the firmware.

What Does the Firmware Deliver?

Android 4.4.3 KitKat was developed initially to fix various issues on Nexus devices especially with the case of Nexus 5 that suffers a major camera issue. Here is the list which details the changes provided by the latest Android KitKat firmware.

- Fix on frequent data connection dropout

- Fixes and optimisation for the "mm-qcamera-daemon" crash

- Fixes on camera focus in regular and HDR shifting modes

- Fix on the Power Manager display wakelock

- Several fixes on Bluetooth app and radio

- Fix on the random reboot

- Fix on the issue "app shortcuts sometimes got removed from launcher after update"

- Fix on USB debugging security

- Fix on app shortcuts security

- Fix on Wi-Fi auto-connect issue

- More camera fixes

- Fixes on MMS, email and exchange, calendar, people, dialler, contacts, DSP, IPv6 and VPN