The update is likely to arrive in February / March 2014

Jan 10, 2014 10:59 GMT  ·  By

Samsung Galaxy S4 owners will be very happy to know that the first official Android 4.4.2 KitKat firmware has just leaked online and is now available for download.

The folks over at SamMobile have been teasing an Android 4.4.2 KitKat update since yesterday, but they did not confirm what device was targeted by the teaser.

Well, it looks like the Galaxy S4 will be the first Samsung smartphone to receive the latest Android 4.4.2 KitKat upgrade. Obviously, there might be other Galaxy devices that will get the update as well, but Samsung has yet to come forward with its own KitKat upgrade scheduler.

All in all, the first Android 4.4.2 KitKat test firmware for Samsung Galaxy S4 is now available for download. According to SamMobile, the official ROM can be flashed on the European version of the Galaxy S4, also known as Samsung GT-I9505.

The test firmware has been tested for several days and SamMobile confirms that it’s pretty stable. The KitKat update for Galaxy S4 is said to bring some minor UI changes such as the status bar icons which have been changed to reflect the upgrade in Android version.

Furthermore, there are overall improvements in performance, which is also noticeable in benchmarks. It appears that Samsung also tweaked its keyboard app with slight enhancements in landscape mode. Users are likely to notice that it’s now easier to type and use gestures.

Last but not least, it’s been mentioned that Samsung has also included a shortcut to camera application directly on the lockscreen. These are some of the most important changes mentioned by the cited source, but a lot more have probably been made under the hood.

Before flashing this ROM on your Galaxy S4 smartphone, keep in mind that this is a pre-release build and it is not offered by Samsung directly, so there might still be some bugs and issues.

For more details on how to download and install this Android 4.4.2 KitKat test firmware for Samsung Galaxy S4, head over to SamMobile for additional instructions.

On a side note, SamMobile claims that Android 4.4.2 KitKat may officially be pushed to Samsung Galaxy S4 units beginning February / March.

Photo Gallery (6 Images)

Android 4.4.2 KitKat logo
Android 4.4.2 KitKat screenshotAndroid 4.4.2 KitKat screenshot
+3more