Mumbai: While Samsung has been continuously trying to upgrade most smartphones and tablets to the latest operating system, the manufacturer has confirmed in an official statement that the Samsung Galaxy S3 and S3 Mini will not receive the Android Kit Kat upgrade.
SamMobile, a well known portal for information about all Samsung related tablets and smartphones, has been in official talks with Samsung about the upgrade for the S3 variants. They received a disappointing response stating that the Samsung Galaxy S3 and S3 Mini do not have the required hardware to run the new operating system.
Below is the official statement from Samsung to SamMobile.
“In order to facilitate an effective upgrade on the Google platform, various hardware performances such as the memory (RAM, ROM, etc.), multi-tasking capabilities, and display must meet certain technical expectations. The Galaxy S3 and S3 mini 3G versions come equipped with 1GB RAM, which does not allow them to effectively support the platform upgrade. As a result of the Galaxy S3 and S3 mini 3G versions’ hardware limitation, they cannot effectively support the platform upgrade while continuing to provide the best consumer experience. Samsung has decided not to roll-out the KitKat upgrade to Galaxy S3 and S3 mini 3G versions, and the KitKat upgrade will be available to the Galaxy S3 LTE version as the device’s 2GB RAM is enough to support the platform upgrade.” – Samsung Mobile UK
SamMobile also went ahead to state that Samsung’s own smartphones with 512MB RAM have been shipped with Android KitKat and are known to work efficiently. However, SamMobile also confirmed that Kit Kat can run on the hardware only in stock and not with additional applications and bloatware. The newer devices are running with lighter environments and reduced amounts of apps.
SamMobile also thinks that an upgrade from Samsung could threaten the sales of their flagship handsets, and hence the move to keep the Galaxy S3 and S3 Mini restricted to Android Jelly Bean v4.3.
Galaxy S3 and S3 Mini fans would get disappointed by this statement, but should not lose heart. Rooting the phone and installing a third-party custom Kit Kat operating system is possible. Head on to the XDA forums and you shall be greeted with loads of options.
