Back in late February, AT&T’s Samsung Galaxy S 4 began receiving its Android 4.4 update. The Galaxy Note 3 got its own KitKat update a month later, and then in April the Galaxy S4 Active was updated to Android 4.4. Now we’re in the middle of June and its time for the Galaxy S III to get its serving of KitKat.
Samsung says that starting today, June 18, the AT&T Galaxy S III will begin receiving its update to Android 4.4.2. The update brings the S III up to software version I747UCUFNE4 and, as you might expect from an update that moves a device from Android 4.3 to 4.4.2, this is a biggie. Here’s the full changelog:
- Android OS Version upgraded to 4.4.2
- New Lock Screen Access
- Media Controls - full-screen album art and media controls when listening to music
- Camera Shortcut - access the Camera application right from the lock screen
- SMS App Chooser - select a default application for sending and receiving SMS text messages
- Restyled Status and Navigation Bars - status and navigation bars are translucent and can sit on top of apps, along with simplified status bar icons
- AT&T Drive Mode is changed to DriveMode
- “Beat Music” Pre-loaded
- Video player closed captioning Settings > My device > Accessibility > Google subtitles (CC) and Samsung subtitles (CC)
- Unified Location Menu: Settings > More > Location Location Settings is same as Location service in JBP. User can set the Locating method and check the recent location requests
- Expanded Emoji Icons
- Wireless Printing is added. You can add printing support to your apps or develop print services to support specific types of printers. Apps > Settings > Connections > More networks > Printing
- Prevention Information pop-up message is suppressed.
- Copy & paste improvements
- Email allows inline editing
- Phone/Dialer user interface enhancements
- Settings changes
- Bluetooth enhancements
- Immersive mode addition
- Keyboard enhancements
- HCE (Host card emulation) Enabled
- UICC (Universal Integrated Circuit Card ) is set as default
- GMS apps update (GMS 4.4.2_r2)
Samsung said back in February that the Galaxy S III would be updated to Android 4.4, so it’s not a surprise to see this update rolling out. That doesn’t mean that it’s not exciting, though, because the Galaxy S III is starting to get a little long in the tooth, but it’s still getting treated to a major KitKat update.
If you’ve got an AT&T-branded Galaxy S III that you call your daily driver, you can check for this update by going into Settings > More > About device > Software update > Check for updates. Happy updating!
Via Droid-Life, Samsung
