14 DAY TRIAL // Mobile phone maker Motorola will skip one Android update for some of its devices, specifically for those handsets included in the DROID lineup, it seems.
In a recent post on Google+, David Schuster, senior director, SW product management, Motorola Mobility, notes that the company will leapfrog the Android 4.4.3 KitKat update for these devices, and that it will go straight to Android 4.4.4 with them.
The new platform iteration was made official earlier this week, and has already started to arrive on various devices out there, specifically on Nexus ones, but it seems that Motorola is set to make it available for its users as soon as possible.
The company has already started to deliver the Android 4.4.3 update to its latest handsets, namely Moto X, Moto G, and Moto E, yet it no longer plans on deploying it on last year’s DROID devices.
Due to the fact that Android 4.4.4 KitKat comes with a security fix for a major OpenSSL vulnerability found in Android, it makes perfect sense for Motorola to try to rush the update.
“Sorry for the delay in giving an update on the 4.4.3 upgrades but I had to wait unit Google announced KitKat 4.4.4 today (I am bound by a NDA). A significant security vulnerability was discovered by OpenSSL and is fixed in KitKat 4.4.4,” David Schuster said.
He also notes that, while Android 4.4.3 was almost ready for deployment, Motorola had to cancel it, and to move straight to the newer platform iteration.
“We had to wait until KitKat 4.4.4 became available. Consequently, all of our 4.4.3 upgrades that were in carrier labs worldwide (including the 2013 Droid's) had to be respun, tested and resubmitted again,” he said.
“This was a significant unplanned effort that we had to undertake. We should be re-entering labs next week and hopefully getting TA (technical approval) in 3 to 5 weeks later depending on the carrier.”
Basically, this means that DROID users out there will have to wait for about a month or so longer until the update is made available for their devices. When that happens, they will receive all the enhancements that Android 4.4.3 and Android 4.4.4 were released with.
Considering the fact that the new update contains mainly security fixes, chances are that carriers will try to approve and start deploying it as soon as possible. Hopefully, more info on the matter will emerge in the not too distant future, so stay tuned.