News
News Categories

Samsung Rolling Out Android 4.3 Update for Galaxy S4

By Sidney Wong - on 25 Oct 2013, 3:35pm

Samsung Rolling Out Android 4.3 Update for Galaxy S4

Image source: SamMobile

*Update on 25 October: Samsung Mobile Singapore confirmed in a Facebook post that the Android 4.3 update is now available for Galaxy S4 users. It will be progressively released over the air and via Samsung Kies. Users are advised to do a factory reset after the update to get the most optimized experience.

Originally reported on 18 October

As promised during the launch of the Samsung Galaxy Gear, Samsung has begun rolling out Android 4.3 update for the Galaxy S4 (GT-I9505) which brings support for the smart watch. The model sold in Singapore is the GT-I9505, which is commonly referred as the 4G LTE model or the Snapdragon 600 variant.

According to SamMobile, the Android 4.3 update does not bring significant visual changes. Most of the changes are under the hood - improvements and optimizations to the software. SamMobile also noted that the Galaxy S4 runs more smoothly and benchmark scores have increased significantly. Here's a list of new features in the update:

  • OpenGL 3.0 Support
  • GALAXY GEAR Support
  • TRIM Support (Makes the device much faster)
  • ANT+ Support
  • Samsung KNOX Implementation (KNOX bootloader and dedicated application)
  • Samsung Wallet comes pre-loaded
  • Improved RAM management
  • Improved Display colour reproduction (Display looks much sharper than before)
  • Improved TouchWiz Launcher (Much less launcher redraws and less lag)
  • New Samsung Keyboard
  • New Samsung Browser (Full screen by default, new tab interface and more)
  • New Reading Mode (Optimises display for reading, used by only a few specific applications)
  • New Camera firmware
  • Minor UI tweaks (Contacts app, Flashlight Widget, dialog boxes etc)

There are two ways to update your Galaxy S4. One way is to connect the phone to a computer and use Samsung KIES. The other is using Samsung's OTA service. To check whether the OTA is available on your Galaxy S4, go to Settings > More > About Device > Software Update > Update.

As the update is rolled out in phases, it may take some time before the update is available in Singapore. We've reached out to Samsung Mobile Singapore on this and will update this section when we have information on the specific or estimated time frame of the availability here. 

*Update at 10AM: Samsung Mobile Singapore informed us that the update is targeted to roll out locally in Q4. 

Source: SamMobile

Join HWZ's Telegram channel here and catch all the latest tech news!
Our articles may contain affiliate links. If you buy through these links, we may earn a small commission.