It looks like Samsung wants to update its last year's flagship devices to the latest version of Android, 4.4.2 KitKat, before the release of its next flagship device, the Galaxy S5. After the Galaxy Note 3, Samsung has now started rolling out Android 4.4.2 KitKat to the Galaxy S4 (GT-I9500).
The latest Android 4.4.2 update brings minor UI changes, the most noticeable change being the use of KitKat style white status bar icons instead of the multi-colour icons Samsung has been using in all of its devices until now. The phone has also received a performance boost with the latest update and there is an increase in benchmark scores, as well. Samsung has improved the lock-screen by adding a camera shortcut directly on to the lock-screen for quick access and while playing music the album art now shows up in full screen. Samsung's keyboard layout has been improved for use in landscape mode, which makes gesture typing easy and much faster. Core Android 4.4.2 changes include: wireless printing, new emojis support, choice between stock messaging app and Hangouts for SMS/MMS, option for changing default launchers under settings, and more.
The software update is being rolled out in phases, so it may not yet be available in your country at the moment but don't worry it will arrive very soon. If your device is carrier branded then it might take sometime as the update has to get improved by the carrier first and only then Samsung will make it available for your device.
To update your Galaxy S4 to Android 4.4.2 KitKat, connect your device to your computer and use Samsung Kies or simply use Samsung's OTA (over-the-air) service. To download and install the firmware via OTA, go to Settings > More > About Device > Software update > Update.
Model: GT-I9500
Country: Russia
Version: Android 4.4.2
Changelist: 699287
Build date: Thu, 13 Feb 2014 11:33:19 +0000
Product Code: SER
PDA: I9500XXUFNB3
CSC: I9500SERFNB3
MODEM: I9500XXUFNA6
All new Android 4.4 KitKat Firmwares for the Galaxy S4 (GT-I9500) are present in our Firmware Portal, as well. You can use our Firmware Portal to manually update your device if for some reason you can't officially update your device via Samsung Kies or via OTA as you might be using a Custom ROM or if your country has not yet received the Android 4.4 KitKat update. Also, bookmark this page as we will keep this page up to date with the latest information on countries and carriers releasing the new update.
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