Samsung has officially started rolling out Google's latest Android version 4.4.2 to its flagship Galaxy S4 I9500 in Russia and India.
Samsung is not too prompt about rolling out updates to its base platform, sometimes due to Google's reservation about Samsung's ability to suit its own lineup. The updates are pushed to all its devices in a phased rollout, which leads to a delay at the carriers' end. At last, Samsung's latest Galaxy S4 smartphone is getting the official over-the-air update for Android 4.4.2 version, in Russia and India.
Google's most recent update to KitKat does not bring any significant changes to the platform, but includes some notable features like better lock screen, support for full screen music album art, dedicated camera shortcut, slight changes to the interface and improved stability with bug fixes. The process is usually slow, but Russia and India are the first two countries to get the latest update on Galaxy S4.
The build date for the KitKat firmware is February 13, 2014 and requires at least 1GB free space on the device in order to proceed with the installation of the update. If the update goes without any issues in these countries, devices in other markets including U.S. and U.K will join shortly. Samsung USA, however, has already announced the list of devices that will get the Android 4.4 KitKat update.
The news of Android 4.4.2 hitting the Galaxy S4 first does not come as a surprise, as an earlier report in January showed that Samsung was already testing the update for its flagship. After completing the update to its flagship model, Samsung will likely begin testing the update for other devices in its Galaxy lineup, such as Galaxy Note 3, Galaxy Note 2, Galaxy S3 and others.
If the OTA update for Android 4.4.2 is not available for some reasons and one cannot access it from the KIES software, IBTimes UK has detailed the steps to install the update manually, though it comes with a warning that owners are fully responsible for any damage to device during the firmware installation.
