Android 4.4 KitKat Update: Which HTC One US Carrier Rollout Will Hit Next?

The Android 4.4 KitKat update for HTC One U.S. carrier models has roughly begun with the firmware now available on the Sprint HTC through manual download. According to Sprint, the Android 4.4 KitKat update will be available over-the-air starting Feb. 11, but this among the little information currently available about the U.S. carrier rollout.

HTC announced last Thursday that the U.S. carrier update might be delayed up to two weeks due to the carrier certification process, but has not given a definitive timeline as to when updates on other carriers will proceed. The other HTC One carriers, including AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon have also yet to comment on their plans. The Android 4.4 KitKat update seems eerily similar to the Android 4.3 Jelly Bean update for the HTC One. HTC announced in advance a late-September 2013 update for U.S. carrier models of the HTC One; however, as this time approached the Taiwanese manufacturer announced that carrier certifications had delayed the rollout.

Following the delay, the Sprint HTC One was the first to update to Android 4.3 Jelly Bean on Oct. 2. The AT&T HTC One was next to update to Android 4.3 on Oct. 8. After that the T-Mobile HTC One updated to Android 4.3 on Oct. 21. The Verizon HTC One did not update for some time, until Dec. 17.

Observing the already present similarities between the Android 4.3 update and the Android 4.4 update for U.S. carrier models of the HTC One may give users a slight indication of what to expect with the remainder of the Android 4.4 rollout. Just as Sprint was first to update its HTC One model to both Android 4.3 and Android 4.4, the odds are in favor of seeing Verizon be the last to update its HTC One model to Android 4.4.

In addition to having extensive carrier branded software, which may require extra testing before a system rollout, it is also believed that Verizon may hold its updates on purpose -- to see what issues other handset models may have, so it can fix its own firmware accordingly. Considering that Verizon was the first to update its Samsung Galaxy S4 model to Android 4.3 may indicate that the carrier could still change up its rollout routine. However, the Verizon Galaxy S4 was notably among those models plagued with severe bugs on Android 4.3, which caused the update to be postponed mid-way through.

Thus far, the HTC One Google Play Edition, HTC One unlocked model, and HTC One Developers Edition have all updated to Android 4.4 in the U.S, in addition to the Sprint HTC One and several Canadian HTC One models. Carriers are expected to announce their respective updates once they are available.

When do you think the Android 4.4 KitKat update for HTC One U.S. carrier models will continue? Let us know in the comments below.

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