Samsung Galaxy S4 update allows users to move apps to memory card, brings new fixes

It looks like Samsung has listened to feedback from customers and tech reviewers, and is finally offering a solution to the low internal storage issue that plagues the Galaxy S4, its flagship smartphone.

According to a report by Samsung focused website, SamMobile, the Korean smartphone giant has started rolling out a new software update to Galaxy S4 users in Germany that brings new improvements and fixes to the phone. The most notable feature that the update brings is the ability to move apps to the phone's microSD card. This will allow users to utilise the phone's external storage not just for storing multimedia content but for also installing apps. Previously, there was a lot of outrage over the phone's limited internal storage as the 16GB variant of the phone offered only 8.82GB to the user. While Samsung had said that it was not really an issue as the phone came with a microSD card slot, it was not possible to install or move apps to the card. Samsung had later accepted that it was indeed a problem and that the company was working on a solution. It's now being reported that the new update also increases the available internal storage space to 9.23GB.

The update, which is currently available for Galaxy S4 phones powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon processor, also brings a new camera firmware. The phone can now record HDR video as well. It also fixes a smearing issue which led to users seeing a purple effect while scrolling a list on the phone. The update brings a toggle for Smart Pause, a semi-transparent status bar on the home screen, new icons in the Settings menu, secure boot status in the About phone menu option and a new option to increase legibility in the Display settings menu.

The update, which is a 365.6MB download, can be installed over the air or via Samsung's KIES desktop software. The report cites insider sources to inform that the update will also roll out to Exynos powered Galaxy S4 in the near future.