We saw Samsung and HTC post KitKat kernel sources for their Google Play edition devices yesterday and it has naturally led to the official Android 4.4 KitKat OTA update for both the devices starting its roll out today. Google announced this officially through their Android Google+ account and it seems like the devices will start getting the update anytime now. Both the devices had their own KitKat versions ready for a while now, but the green signal has been officially lit and hence these devices now join the ranks of Nexus 5, nexus 4, 7 and Moto X as the only devices running Android 4.4 KitKat right now.
The intention of releasing Google Play edition devices of flagship devices like the Samsung Galaxy S4 and the HTC One was to address the concern of delayed Android updates for a various number of reasons like customization, carrier testing and more. These devices launched with Android 4.3 and were promised to be swiftly updated just like the Nexuses from Google. So far so good, as Google seems to have kept its promise. Do note that these devices are actually have their own specific firmware like any other device, so it does take some time for the OEMs to work it through, but thanks to the lack of any customization, the process is swift.
If you are one of the few owners with a Google Play Edition device, make sure you manually check the settings page for the latest update, in case you haven’t received it already. Android 4.4 KitKat brings in a lot of improvements for the user as well as under the hood. Some of the big user facing changes include a new look and feel launcher, a new dialer app with local listings search and more. We had taken an in-depth look into the latest iteration of Android earlier, so you can take a look at that in case you somehow missed out on the whole Android 4.4 KitKat hullabaloo.
Source Google+