Android 4.4 KitKat Update: Leaked Document Suggests Sprint Variant Of Samsung Galaxy S4 Will Get New OS On Thursday

With flagship devices of some leading smartphone brands getting the new Android 4.4 KitKat firmware, it seems to be time for the Sprint variant of Samsung’s (KRX:005935) Galaxy S4 to receive an over-the-air update.

According to a leaked internal document from Sprint, the carrier’s version of the Galaxy S4 could get an OTA update to Android 4.4 KitKat on Thursday, Feb. 13, AndroidCentral reported.

The document also mentioned that the update first needs to wait for Google’s (NASDAQ:GOOG) OTA servers to push the update, before it can be downloaded and installed on the handset. The update is expected to enable support for Sprint MVNO Zact Mobile.

Meanwhile, Sprint customers with the Galaxy S4 should ensure that they have the latest version of the OS running on their handset. According to SamMobile, the new firmware version is L720VPUFNAE, which is the same build number carried by the KitKat kernel source that was released by Samsung for the Sprint Galaxy S4 on Wednesday.

Samsung does not typically release kernel source for software builds that are not official, so it is possible that the Android 4.4 KitKat update for the Sprint Galaxy S4 is around the corner.

Earlier this year, the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 received Android 4.4 KitKat in Europe and Asia, while the U.S. variants of the device are yet to receive the official version of the new OS.

However, HTC (TPE:2498) recently started rolling out the Android 4.4 KitKat update for the HTC One in the U.S. with Sprint and Verizon variants of the handset currently running on the new OS.

Canadian carrier Rogers (NYSE:RCI) recently claimed that it would roll out Android 4.4 KitKat update for both Galaxy Note 3 and Galaxy S4 soon. While the carrier did not confirm specific dates for the update, the claim was considered as an indication that the new OS could land on carriers in North America sooner than later.