HTC Android 4.4 Kitkat Update Progress Report

HTC Android 4.4 Kitkat Update Progress Report is a post by Adam Mills from Gotta Be Mobile.

Last year, HTC started rolling out its version of the Android 4.4 KitKat update. And while the overall roll out has begun, there are still plenty of devices that don’t have the update, including variants of the HTC One in the United States. Here, we check in with HTC’s Android 4.4 KitKat and deliver a progress update for those wielding HTC devices.

In November of last year, HTC made some bold promises. It said that it would roll out several HTC One Android 4.4 KitKat updates within 90 days. That gave it until the end of January. And while it did make good one many of those promises, it also failed on a few more, leaving some HTC One owners looking for answers.

The HTC One, of course, isn’t the only smartphone in HTC’s arsenal. It also boasts a number of other HTC One branded handsets including the HTC One Max and the HTC One Mini, both of which made it to U.S. carriers last year. There are also some older and lesser known devices that are thought to be getting Android 4.4 KitKat in the future as well.

Point is, there are a ton of HTC users looking for information about Android 4.4 KitKat. Unsurprising, given that Android 4.4 KitKat will deliver Sense 5.5 to some users and deliver enhancements and Android 4.4 KitKat features to everyone.

Unlike Samsung, HTC is extremely forthcoming about Android updates. It’s a policy that the company put into place last year after it missed several deadlines, letting some of its consumers down. It was a complete 180 degree turn for the company and one that consumers have come to appreciate. What this means is that there is a lot of information readily available, it’s just a matter of knowing where to look.

Fortunately, we know exactly where to look and here we offer up our own HTC Android 4.4 KitKat update progress report for HTC One owners and more.

HTC One

The HTC One is HTC’s current flagship and it’s a device that is in the hands of many users around the world. The HTC One was the first HTC device to receive Android 4.4 KitKat but the device’s Android 4.4 KitKat roll out is still ongoing and many HTC One owners are still without their Android 4.4 KitKat update.

In the United States, we’ve seen the Sprint and Verizon HTC One Android 4.4 KitKat updates roll out with Sense 5.5. However, due to delays in the certification process, the AT&T and T-Mobile HTC One variants are still without their updates.

HTC promised the updates within two weeks of January 31st and from the looks of things, there is progress being made. HTC President Jason Mackenzie, in a series of tweets, claims that the T-Mobile HTC One Android 4.4 update should roll out this week. He does not make a specific date known. The AT&T HTC One Android 4.4 KitKat update is in worse shape as Mackenzie says there is simply no news to relay.

As for other markets, the HTC One Android 4.4 KitKat roll out in Canada is complete. HTC UK says that the update has started to push in selected markets and that it will continue to roll out over the course of the next few weeks. The regional wing claims that carrier-branded roll outs are under the jurisdiction of carriers.

We also recently saw the HTC One Developer Edition and HTC One unlocked edition both receive upgrades to Android 4.4.2 KitKat. HTC ROM developer LLabTooFeR claims that the HTC One Dual SIM Android 4.4 KitKat update is under testing at the moment.

Unfortunately, it’s not all good news. There are still plenty of carriers that have yet to announce Android 4.4 KitKat roll outs. Australian carriers Telstra and Optus are two culprits.

HTC One Max

According to a well placed source, the HTC One Max Android 4.4 KitKat update roll out recently landed in Hong Kong. We haven’t seen any other news emerge since the initial push on February 7th.

Right now, the HTC One Max Android 4.4 KitKat update for the United States, which will land for Sprint and Verizon, is still without a specific release date but we have seen some movement.

According to HTC, the Verizon HTC One Max update is in the certification process which means that it will roll out once Verizon certifies the update. That could take hours, days or even weeks. The Sprint HTC One Max update is a little bit behind that and is still in the integration process, meaning, it’s still in HTC’s lab.

HTC One Mini

We still haven’t seen the HTC One Mini Android 4.4 KitKat update emerge from hiding and it’s not exactly clear when we will see it start to roll out. What we do know is that there is a very good chance that it will start rolling out this month.

Canadian carrier Rogers claims that it will roll out the update in late February, no date provided. According to HTC, the update is in the certification process which bodes well for a release sometime in the next few weeks. The AT&T HTC One Mini update is not even that close as the update is lingering behind with HTC noting that it’s still being integrated.

Droid DNA

The Droid DNA Android 4.4 KitKat update will arrive at some point in the future as HTC has confirmed that it will skip Android 4.3 and go right to Android 4.4 KitKat.

@TheAlbinoman @JasonMacHTC we’re still on track for end of March OTA with 4.4.

— Mo (@moversi) February 11, 2014

HTC’s Executive Director of Product Management, Mo Versi, continues to point to a release in late Q1 and specifically, in late March. Versi claims that the update is still on track for the end of March. HTC’s website suggests that the update is still being integrated but at this point, users will simply have to take Versi’s word.

HTC Desire 601

The other HTC devices that has received the green light with Android 4.4 KitKat is the HTC Desire 601. HTC says that the update is currently in testing for Virgin Mobile in the United States and is also being integrated for a number of Canadian carriers including Virgin Mobile, Bell, Fido, Koodo, Rogers, SaskTel, Videotron, and Wind.

We haven’t seen any dates for the updates emerge just yet.

Other Devices

There are a couple of other devices that should see the Android 4.4 KitKat update, the HTC Butterfly and HTC Butterfly S being two of those devices, but we still haven’t seen any dates emerge for those two updates. That doesn’t mean that HTC isn’t making progress, it just means that public information is currently scarce.

Devices like the HTC One X+ and HTC One X will be sticking around on Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean and Sense 5. Android 4.3 and Android 4.4 KitKat will only be available through the development community.

HTC Android 4.4 Kitkat Update Progress Report is a post by Adam Mills from Gotta Be Mobile.