14 DAY TRIAL // We reported about a week ago that US Cellular and Samsung confirmed the Galaxy S III would soon receive the long-awaited Android 4.4.2 KitKat update.
The old Galaxy S III is finally receiving its last major update before being discontinued. Announced back in 2012, the smartphone was eligible for KitKat when Google announced the new operating system.
Unfortunately, Samsung wasn’t able to tailor the new platform to its Galaxy S III I9300, so millions of users will be stuck on an older version of Android because the South Korean engineers were not able to make TouchWiz UI work with KitKat.
On a more positive note, the LTE version of Galaxy S III, also known as Samsung I9305 is eligible for the Android 4.4.2 KitKat update because it packs 2GB of RAM instead of just 1GB included in the standard model.
That probably pisses off lots of Samsung loyal fans, but there’s nothing else they can do now aside from switching to a newer smartphone if they want access to the latest version of Android.
Anyway, after Sprint rolled out the Android 4.4.2 KitKat update for its carrier-branded Galaxy S III devices, it’s now US Cellular’s turn to do the same.
The carrier has just confirmed on its support site that Android 4.4.2 KitKat update for Samsung Galaxy S III should now be available for download.
However, given the fact that this is a staged rollout, it make take up to several days until it’s delivered to all Galaxy S III units. Those who have yet to be notified on the update should manually check for it by going to Settings / About device / Software update / Check now.
Software version R530UVXCND4 should bring Galaxy S III’s operating system to Android 4.4.2 KitKat, as well as add some new features and improvements.
Samsung Galaxy S III owners should know their smartphones will get camera and messaging enhancements. For example, the camera UI will get a “touch to focus” option with a new circular, on screen control that can be dragged around the viewfinder to adjust focus and exposure.
In addition, users will now be allowed to choose a default messaging application that would handle all their SMS and MMS messages. Hangouts application will be installed as well.
Keep in mind that you can upgrade OTA (over the air) if the update shows up on your Galaxy S III, or by using Samsung Kies desktop software.