Android 4.4 KitKat Update: Unofficial Firmware Available For International Galaxy S3

Although Samsung will not update the Samsung Galaxy S3 I9300 model, developers have stepped in to give brave users an opportunity to get the firmware.

Samsung recently confirmed that the I9300 won't get an Android 4.4 update due to the device's constraints on its RAM capacity. Other reports indicated that Samsung had trouble implementing its TouchWiz apps with the Android 4.4 KitKat software on the international Galaxy S3 model.

However, members of the XDA Developer Forum, including Kryten2k35, arter97, forumber2 and JustArchi have tweaked an Android 4.4 KitKat ROM for the Galaxy Note 2 to run on the Galaxy S3. The developers noted that the ROM is unstable and still needs work, and it should not be relied upon for everyday use. Various glitches include bugs related to ending calls and some sensor glitches.

Since developers will release a ROM for the I9300, it raised the question of why the update was canceled, especially when the Android 4.4 firmware is supposed to be optimized for better device distribution. Google implemented the firmware within the Android 4.4, Project Svelte, which is intended to allow the update to run on devices with as little as 512MB of RAM. Many believe it might be the excess bloatware features in Samsung devices that prevent compatibility with Android 4.4 on this model of the smartphone. SamMobile in particular expressed this sentiment.

We’d like to note that while Samsung could have done what the ROM’s developers did to fit it on the S III, the company can’t remove features while pushing out an official update, as that would be troublesome for users, because some of them might use features regularly. We wish Samsung would provide the source files so developers can make updates on their own, but that’s likely something it (or other companies) will never do.

Find downloads and more information about the Galaxy S3 I9300 custom ROM here.

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