First Galaxy S4 Android 4.3 rollouts begin — what’s new?
When Samsung originally promised they’d be bringing Android 4.3 to their flagship Samsung Galaxy S4 lineup in October, we promised we wouldn’t believe it until we saw it. We’re glad to say they fulfilled their promise, as SamMobile is reporting that the illustrious upgrade is starting to go out to several handsets.
What’s new
So what, exactly, does Android 4.3 bring for Samsung’s crop of handsets? Here are just a few of the highlights:
- GALAXY GEAR Support – Samsung Galaxy Gear users can now use the smart watch with their phone, functionality that was previously only available to owns of the Samsung Galaxy Note 3.
- TRIM Support – New garbage collection platform that will keep your phone lean and mean over time.
- ANT+ Support – Advanced wireless protocol for transmitting vitality data.
- OpenGL 3.0 graphics
- Samsung KNOX – Advanced security and secure bootloader for enterprise
- Samsung Wallet pre-loaded
- New Samsung Keyboard
- Browser now launches in full-screen mode by default
- New Camera firmware
- Less lag and redraws in the TouchWiz launcher
- Better RAM management
- Improved display color accuracy
- Other minor UI tweaks
That’s a huge list, and includes many changes that everyone should be excited about. Android 4.3 itself didn’t bring many changes other than the ones found under the hood (we expect KitKat to bring us more of that), but it all goes toward making Android that much more full-featured and stable of a platform.
How to get it
The rollout is staggered, so if your unlocked version of the device hasn’t seen it yet, then you’ll just have to wait a while longer. Of course, those with carrier branded handsets can expect to wait even longer as carriers have to get their grubby little paws on the updates before they’re approved.
Folks into rooting and flashing ROMs can be sure that the development community will be whipping up the goods before too long. Beyond that, though, the waiting game begins — let’s hope everyone gets their hands on this thing before the close of 2013.