14 DAY TRIAL // Bad news for Samsung fans who still own either the international version of Galaxy S III (GT-I9300) or the Galaxy S III mini, both of which pack 1GB of RAM.
The folks over at SamMobile have managed to get an official statement from Samsung UK concerning the illusive Android 4.4 KitKat update for this particular Galaxy model and things aren't looking good at all.
This is a follow-up of the news that Samsung might only offer the said upgrade to the LTE version of Galaxy S III, which is now available in North America and features 2GB of RAM.
We reported yesterday on the Samsung internal document leaked online, which contained the name and estimates for those Galaxy devices that should be upgraded to Android 4.4 KitKat in May/June, and the international version of Galaxy S III was listed as not getting the update.
Unfortunately, the official statement received recently confirms what we were afraid of, and that is that Galaxy S III (GT-I9300) will never get the Android 4.4 KitKat that you all have been waiting for.
On a positive note, Android 4.4 KitKat rollout for Samsung Galaxy S III LTE has already started in North America and the smartphone should be upgraded at all carriers by the end of June.
Here is the official statement from Samsung Mobile UK, regarding the Android 4.4 KitKat update for Galaxy S III: “In order to facilitate an effective upgrade on the Google platform, various hardware performances such as the memory (RAM, ROM, etc.), multi-tasking capabilities, and display must meet certain technical expectations.
The Galaxy S3 and S3 mini 3G versions come equipped with 1GB RAM, which does not allow them to effectively support the platform upgrade. As a result of the Galaxy S3 and S3 mini 3G versions’ hardware limitation, they cannot effectively support the platform upgrade while continuing to provide the best consumer experience.
Samsung has decided not to roll-out the KitKat upgrade to Galaxy S3 and S3 mini 3G versions, and the KitKat upgrade will be available to the Galaxy S3 LTE version as the device’s 2GB RAM is enough to support the platform upgrade.”
Even though Google made it possible for KitKat to work smoothly even on devices with only 512MB of RAM, Galaxy S III and S III mini come with an obsolete version of TouchWiz, which Samsung does not seem to be capable of tweaking for the upgrade.
That being said, this will probably be the last piece of news about the Android 4.4 KitKat for Samsung Galaxy S III and Galaxy S III mini, and we recommend those who still own these devices to switch to newer ones if they really want KitKat.