Sprint has rolled out Google's latest mobile OS, KitKat, to its customers using Samsung's 2012 flagship smartphone Galaxy S3.
Sprint, the third largest wireless carrier in the U.S., announced the roll-out of Android 4.4 KitKat to the older smartphones on its network. Updating its support page, the wireless carrier said the KitKat update to Galaxy S3 will start rolling out Thursday, May 1.
The roll-out will be in stages and can take days before it reaches all Galaxy S3 owners on the network, but the carrier is the first to announce the latest update to Samsung's 2012 flagship ahead of other carriers in the U.S.
The Android 4.4 KitKat was launched in October last year, when Google officially launched the Nexus 5 smartphone. The update was then pushed to Motorola and Google Play Edition smartphones. The flagship devices from all major companies such as Samsung, HTC, LG and others received the update, but owners of older handsets were left out.
As Sprint has stepped up to initiate the roll-out of KitKat for Galaxy S3 handsets on its network, it is safe to assume that other carriers will follow soon. The last update to the U.S. Sprint version of Galaxy S3 was in November, when the handset received its biggest Android 4.3 Jelly bean update. The November update was pushed earlier as Samsung wanted to get its Galaxy Gear support on as many handsets as possible to boost its wearables presence.
Sprint hasn't detailed the changes with the Galaxy S3 KitKat update, as it did for all previous updates. But the changelog must include all notable features that were added to the Galaxy S4 when it was updated. According to IBTimes, some of the most important changes users will witness, include Location Menu that allows easy access to GPS, Wi-Fi and mobile network settings while keeping a tab on the battery consumption by apps using device's location, automatic back-up of photos and videos, improved caller ID that can retrieve details on an unknown number on the internet with local listings via Google Maps and more.
The Android 4.4 update also features priority contacts to show most contacted number on the top and NFC and wireless printing. Like any other software update, KitKat will also improve the overall efficiency of RAM, which in turn improves battery performance.
Check for updates on the Sprint Galaxy S3 by going to Settings> More> About device> Software Update> Update. If the device returns a message with no latest updates available, it is likely that the KitKat will arrive in the next few days.
