HTC has never been one of the best for adding updates to their premium handsets, but in the past few months the company has rolled out some pretty significant updates in quick succession, including the HTC One and some other devices getting the Android 4.3 update.
This time, HTC has not skipped a beat and announced every HTC One will be getting Android KitKat 4.4 in 90 days. This is a bold move by HTC, who now have to live up to the expectation and deliver the update before the end of January.
Normally with an Android handset the smartphone maker has to make changes to their UI skin first, making everything compatible with the update. It is then pushed to the carriers, who then add their junk to the system and it is then pushed to the user, after getting verified by Google.
This is a lengthy process and can be the reason users don’t get their update for several months. Sometimes Google will not accept certain changes to the UI and sometimes carriers will decide not to push out the update because of the size or customisations that may not favor their apps.
The HTC One is still the flagship device and continues to sell well, despite HTC’s poor third quarter. The HTC One Max and HTC One Mini will also be getting the Android KitKat 4.4 update within the next few months, making the whole brand updated until the next big Android update.
Android KitKat 4.4 does bring some notable changes, most importantly the ability to run smoothly on devices with as little as 512MB of RAM. In a time where 3GB of RAM is starting to become a thing, we are glad to see Google downscaling for the budget end community.
The new update also offering more battery life due to low-energy sensors and a less heavy OS. Google has added SMS into Hangouts and also added a fitness app to track walking.