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Anyone excited about 4.4.3?

I don't think it will be that big a deal for those on the non-nexus line and most probably may not even see it officially. I am awaiting it to see what improvements it can bring.
 
Based on the leaks, there are some bug fixes that look useful to me. Here's the unoffical changelog from a previous build.

  • frequent data connection dropout fix
  • mm-qcamera-daemon crash and optimization fixes
  • camera focus in regular and HDR modes fixes
  • Power Manager display wakelock fix
  • multiple Bluetooth fixes
  • fix for a random reboot
  • app shortcuts sometimes got removed from launcher after update
  • USB debugging security fix
  • app shortcuts security fix
  • Wi-Fi auto-connect fix
  • other camera fixes
  • MMS, Email/Exchange, Calendar, People/Dialer/Contacts, DSP, IPv6, VPN fixes
  • stuck in activation screen fix
  • missed call LED fix
  • subtitle fixes
  • data usage graph fix
  • Internet telephony fix
  • FCC compliance fix
  • miscellaneous fixes

Off that list alone, I see a few troublemakers for my Google Play Edition. Data connection dropout has been bugging me since the 4.4 update (never had it on 4.2.x or 4.3). Despite the camera" upgrades" in 4.4, there have been just as many downgrades (see my posts in the S4 GPe forums), so any camera fixes are appreciated. Bluetooth has generally been reliable, but 4.4 has had more connectivity issues than 4.2/4.3 for me. App shortcuts being removed from the launcher has bothered me on the stock launcher and the GEL (but not on Nova), so that fix is overdue. Thank God for the Wi-Fi auto-connect fix, as that has been driving me nuts!

The other stuff hasn't affected me in a way that I've noticed.
 
JIMV said:
I might if T-Mobile ever got around to updating my Sony Xperia Z...
Click to expand...

Don't blame T-Mobile...yet. Sony hasn't released the KitKat update for any unlocked or carrier branded version of the original Xperia Z. It's still "planned for 2014."

T-Mobile can't push an update that doesn't exist. So for now, blame Sony.
 
That's a pretty long list of things that are going to be fixed. Hopefully they do get fixed. I am curious to know if I will get it on my Motorola Moto G.
 
sfbloodbrother said:
That's a pretty long list of things that are going to be fixed. Hopefully they do get fixed. I am curious to know if I will get it on my Motorola Moto G.
Click to expand...

There's no way to be certain. OEMs are starting to realize that it's more efficient to sometimes skip versions (many phones went straight from 4.2 to 4.4, skipping 4.3 entirely).

Moto will have to see if these bug fixes are relevant to them (IE, were these bugs squashed by Moto in their release?). They'll then have to weigh the time needed to develop this for their phone, versus the projected release window of the next version of Android. After that is considered, they *could* consider skipping the release. We'll see.
 
As stated it doesn't mean much for us non nexus users.. but I am excited in the fact that android development is everlasting it seems and I'm glad that Google keeps working on it. Of course obviously they will keep working on android but yeah lol
 
I wonder if it will make ART the default run time and out of beta..
I really hope so so the Xposed dev can work on it.
Wonder if the stock 2012 nexus 7 will even be given the option of ART. it performs beautifully on it.
The sceptic in me wonders if google left ART out of the '12 n7 because it breathes new life into it and might make owners less likely to upgrade to the '13..
 
funkylogik said:
I wonder if it will make ART the default run time and out of beta..
I really hope so so the Xposed dev can work on it.
Wonder if the stock 2012 nexus 7 will even be given the option of ART. it performs beautifully on it.
The sceptic in me wonders if google left ART out of the '12 n7 because it breathes new life into it and might make owners less likely to upgrade to the '13..
Click to expand...

As ART is a beta, my understanding is that it's only getting beta support in an official manner on Snapdragon devices. Nexus 7 (2012) is a Tegra device.

Nexus 4, Nexus 5, Nexus 7 (2013), and all Google Play Edition devices uses the Krait-based Snapdragon, except the Moto G GPe, which uses an ARM Cortex-A7 based Snapdragon.

Nexus 7 (2012) uses the Arm Cortex A9 (Tegra) and the Nexus 10 uses the Arm Cortex A15 (Exynos), and I don't think either of them have ART in their official ROM.

I could be mistaken, as I haven't followed it too closely. There's no conspiracy though.
 
funkylogik said:
I wonder if it will make ART the default run time and out of beta..
I really hope so so the Xposed dev can work on it.
Wonder if the stock 2012 nexus 7 will even be given the option of ART. it performs beautifully on it.
The sceptic in me wonders if google left ART out of the '12 n7 because it breathes new life into it and might make owners less likely to upgrade to the '13..
Click to expand...

Its may be coming up on EOL soon. This I/O would mark 2 years.

Google generally keeps updating until the device cant handle it anymore, bit its possible it might be the last major upgrade it sees :thumbdown:
 
I know NVIDIA has already dropped support for all their other devices running tegra 3 processors, so it wouldn't be surprising.
 
EOL doesnt affect me while theres devs who still own a n7 lol. I dont like stock android much anyway.
Yeah i think youre right Medion and yeah no conspiracy :D
 
I've stopped caring about having the latest versions of apps/Android. all my devices work fine as-is, without annoying update nag notifications (finally figured out how to clean my status bar). if it ain't broke, don't fix! Of course, since i'm not a fan of Google Play (which is what they are calling Android these days in their latest adverts) and don't want their new UI. seems that is the only real change anyone would notice in 4.4.x. i think Google has run out of innovation, since Samsung is way ahead of them in that regard. i just hope Android doesn't suffer from 'BlackBerry Syndrome'. the last two updates (seen in Nexii) seem to have been incremental.
 
Heck, KitKat wasnt groundbreaking, either. Hence my comment re: BlackBerry Syndrome. Me thinks Google has run out of things to do with Android. Samsung however always adds a cool feature i like without the need for upgrades to the entire OS.
 
Rxpert83 said:
Its may be coming up on EOL soon. This I/O would mark 2 years.

Google generally keeps updating until the device cant handle it anymore, bit its possible it might be the last major upgrade it sees :thumbdown:
Click to expand...

That's the misconception. Google has a definite pattern with their Nexus phones in terms of software upgrades. They update two devices concurrently, and when number 3 comes out, number 1 is dropped.

Nexus One - released with Android 2.1
Nexus S - released with Android 2.3
Galaxy Nexus - released with Android 4.0, this update does not come to the Nexus One (final update was 2.3.7).
Nexus 4 - released with Android 4.2, this update does not come to the Nexus S (final update was 4.1.2).
Nexus 5 - released with Android 4.4, this update does not come to the Galaxy Nexus (final update was 4.3).

Google is still new at tablets, as none of their Nexus tablets have hit their third generation yet. If they continue the same trend they've displayed with phones, then the Nexus 7 (2012) will likely receive 4.4.3 as its final update (unless there's another 4.4.x release).

As far as hardware limitations go, the main problem with the Nexus One was the internal ROM. It wasn't large enough for the ICS builds. In fact, the CPU in the Nexus One was marginally (5%) faster than the CPU used in the Nexus S (which had a superior GPU). Custom ICS ports had to be stripped (in terms of size) to work on the Nexus One, and the storage had to be repartitioned to account for the lack of ROM (not RAM, as many incorrectly state).

The Nexus S was upgraded to 4.1.2, which is more taxing on hardware than KitKat. Same with the Galaxy Nexus and Android 4.3. In both cases, Google simply stated that these devices had hit "end of life." Google had no intention of supporting devices for more than two concurrent generations.
 
nickdalzell said:
Heck, KitKat wasnt groundbreaking, either. Hence my comment re: BlackBerry Syndrome. Me thinks Google has run out of things to do with Android. Samsung however always adds a cool feature i like without the need for upgrades to the entire OS.
Click to expand...

It all boils down to user perception.

I'd call most of Samsung's new features from year to year bloat, and KitKat a fairly decent upgrade. The OS is maturing, you shouldn't see huge changes year to year. It introduced immersive mode, NFC host card emulation, audio tunneling, screen recording, the android runtime (ART), ect

Different strokes for different folks :). The good thing is we have the choice to buy what we like
 
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