The update brings support for Galaxy Gear 2 and Samsung KNOX 2.0

Jun 11, 2014 21:07 GMT  ·  By

Samsung Galaxy Note 2 owners in the United States who have purchased their phablets through one of the major carriers in the country are still waiting for the South Korean handset maker to offer them the long-awaited Android 4.4.2 KitKat update.

Well, it looks like the first to get the sweet taste of KitKat are Verizon customers who own the Galaxy Note II. The carrier has just announced that software version KOT49H.I605VRUFND7, which is meant to bring the phone's software to Android 4.4.2 KitKat, is now being pushed OTA (over the air) to Galaxy Note 2 devices.

Verizon Wireless is the first major carrier that releases the KitKat update for Samsung Galaxy Note 2, but T-Mobile and AT&T should follow soon.

Aside from the usual new features and improvements included in the Android 4.4.2 KitKat, Verizon's upgrade also adds a ton of other enhancements.

For example, applying the update will add Galaxy Note 2 support for Samsung KNOX 2.0, which is aimed at enterprise customers. Other enterprise features that should be available in the update include: Dual Persona, TIMA Real Time Kernel Protection, Trust-Zone based ODE, Universal MDM Client and Samsung Enterprise Gateway, as well as Knox Generic VPN Framework.

Lots of issues with the smartphone have been solved in this update, so expect lots of bug fixes to be included as well. For example, Samsung has confirmed that it has fixed the error code popups in Backup Assistant and that it has improved text alerts for select factory-installed car kits.

In addition, the “Search” icon has been removed within S Memo when there is no memo and the favorite “Contact” information background is now more readable. Connectivity when streaming music has been improved, along with stability for Samsung Gear Manager.

Some of the applications already installed on the Galaxy Note 2 will be updated or removed entirely. According to Samsung, the Music and S Suggest apps have been removed, while Google Drive, Photos, Play Newsstand and Emergency Alerts App Icon have been changed/improved.

Last but not least, the update also brings support for Samsung Galaxy Gear 2 and some changes to options for the keyboard.

Hopefully, there won't be any issues with the update, so that Verizon can continue to push it to all Samsung Galaxy Note 2 units.

As mentioned earlier, the update is rolled out OTA (over the air) in stages, so it might take a while until it reaches all Galaxy Note 2 devices. In order to manually check for Android 4.4.2 KitKat, simply head over to Settings / About phone / System updates.