14 DAY TRIAL // As expected, HTC and Verizon have just kicked off the rollout of the Android 4.4.2 KitKat update for DROID DNA. The almost 1.5-year-old smartphone is now getting its last major Android update, so owners might want to take into consideration switching to another device in the coming months.
Google recommends manufacturers to offer updates for their products for only 18 months after the device was launched on the market.
The search giant offers the same support for its own Nexus series, so after the 18-month cycle is over, these Android devices will be stuck on a certain version of the operating system and will receive any other major update in the future.
The DROID DNA was released back in November 2012, so it has already reached the 18-month deadline, which means that it will remain on Android 4.4.2 KitKat until it gets discontinued.
Anyway, according to Droid-Life, DROID DNA owners will receive two updates before getting their smartphones to Android 4.4.2 OS. The first one has only 18.3MB and prepares the device for the much larger KitKat build, which is about 618MB in size.
Verizon has already published the official changelog for this update, which brings lots of new features and improvements apart from the ones included by Google in Android 4.4.2 KitKat.
First of all, the update brings BlinkFeed. Users will be able to turn it on or off by performing a pinch-in gesture on the home screen, then accessing the Edit screen and tap BlinkFeed ON or OFF.
Location Settings have been redesigned to offer a more streamlined user experience and battery conservation. New features and tweaks have been included as well, such as the option to see estimated battery use of each app and the possibility to turn all locations settings on or off from a master switch.
There are new settings included in the Location Settings department such as: High accuracy, Battery saving and Device sensors.
The Music application has also been redesigned for easier viewing of different content configurations. There are now panels for each configuration, which replace the drop-down menu in the previous version. Users can now swipe left or right to switch between these panels.
Some lock screen-related tweaks have been added in the update, like the option to swipe left from the lock screen and tap the + icon to choose a widget to add to the Lock Screen. For the full list of changes, make sure you check out Verizon's support site.
It is also worth mentioning that the Android 4.4.2 KitKat update for DROID DNA also contains an upgrade to HTC Sense 5.5 UI. Keep in mind that the update is pushed OTA (over the air), so it might not be available to all DROID DNA devices at the same time.