The Android 4.4 KitKat software update has leaked for the European version of the Samsung Galaxy S4 (GT-I9505). This may not be the final version of KitKat but looks to be very close, and brings several notable changes to Samsung's flagship smartphone.First off, we get flatter look, especially visible in the status bar icons, which reflects the stock KitKat visuals, with white icons looking svelte on the transparent status bar. There is now a nice round shortcut to the camera app on the lock screen for easier access to the 13 MP snapper on the back, too. The keyboard has also seen its landscape mode tweaked for easier typing and improved finger-tracking. Last but not least, KitKat's Project Svelte brings a lot of resource optimizations under the hood, resulting in some record benchmarks from the S4 running the new firmware.
If you have a GT-I9505, here's how to install the leaked test KitKat firmware, whose pre-release version won't increase the binary counter, neither will it void your warranty:
- Backup your device content as you should do prior to any such firmware update efforts. Remember, this is for model GT-I9505, country code: Open Europe, product code: OXA. The changelist is 276328, build date: Thu, 2 Jan 2014 23:30:51 +0000.
- - Download I9505XXUFNA1_I9505OXAFNA1_I9505XXUFNA1_OXA.zip upload and extract it. The file is 1.5 GB, so the TeraFile service will ask you to create a free account, before it lets you download files larger than 1 GB.
- - Download Odin3 v3.09, Samsung's firmware upgrade software, if you don't have it already, and start it.
- - The phone now has to be restarted in downloading regime by pressing and holding the Home + Power + Volume down buttons keys all at the same time.
- - Hook the Galaxy S4 with an USB cable to your computer, and wait until Odin indexes it, indicated with a blue sign.
- - Click the Add button in Odin, and point the file browser to the firmware file I9505XXUFNA1_I9505OXAFNA1_I9505XXUFNA1_HOME.tar.md5, wherever you extracted it in the second step. Don't tick the re-partition option, or untick it if it's checkmarked.
- - Press on the start button and wait until the update is finished. If you encounter any forceclose, boot loop and so on error, press Home+Power+Volume up on your handset to get into the recovery mode, and choose to wipe/factory reset, which will return your phone to the stock state, erasing all your data on the internal and card storage.
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