Samsung Galaxy S4 LTE variant reportedly receives Android 4.3 update

By Ketan Pratap | Updated: 18 October 2013 10:50 IST

Samsung Galaxy Note 3 was the first non-Nexus device in the market to run Android 4.3, and it seems company's flagship smartphone, the Samsung Galaxy S4 will be the next device to run the OS version.

Sammobile reports that Samsung Galaxy S4's LTE variant (GT-I9505) is receiving the Android 4.3 Jelly Bean update. The site suggests that the first country to receive the update is Germany and mentions that the Android 4.3 Jelly Bean update for Galaxy S4 is being rolled out in phases, which mean that other countries and device variants will receive the update soon.

The S4's Android 4.3 update is reportedly available both OTA (over the air) and via the company's Kies software. Notably, the update will bring Galaxy Gear support to the Galaxy S4, making it the second device to sport that functionality, as previously announced by Samsung.

The site detailed the changelog for the update, listing OpenGL 3.0 support; Samsung's Wallet app comes with the update; improved RAM management; improved display colour reproduction which will reportedly make display look sharper than before; improved TouchWiz launcher; Samsung's new keyboard; new Samsung's default Browser; new camera firmware and minor tweaks in the UI for contacts, flashlight widget and dialog box apps. However, the report does not reveal the availability of Android 4.3 Jelly Bean update for Galaxy S4 (GT-I9500) variant which is available in India.

Recently, a report indicated that Samsung was planning an Android 4.3 update for its top of the line smartphones soon.

The report also claimed the devices getting the Android 4.3 update were the 2013 flagship, the Galaxy S4 in October while the 2012 flagship device, the Samsung Galaxy S III was expected to get the new Android update by October end or even November. The report further revealed that the Galaxy Note II would also be getting the taste of the new Jelly Bean iteration, but that would only be by the end of November, or early December.

Prior to this, while announcing the Galaxy Gear smartwatch at IFA, the South Korean major revealed that the compatibility for the Galaxy Gear smartwatch would be extended to the Galaxy S4 and the Galaxy S III with a software update that would be seeded to consumers in October.