Android 4.3 is here, but only for one device that hasn’t even been released to the public yet.
Notorious tipster SamMobile has obtained what appears to be an early version of Android 4.3 built for the Samsung Galaxy S4 Google Edition. If you cast your memory back a month or so, Android 4.3 was spotted running on a Nexus 4 at a consumer show in Thailand, but the only thing of note was a new camera interface that found its way into the build of Android 4.2.2 that shipped with the Google Editions.
Now users can download and install a leaked build of that same software, ostensibly built just two days ago, on June 26th. Glancing around the operating system, aside from the new build number (JWR66N) and version number (Android 4.3), there isn’t anything new. This would lead us to believe that, if Android 4.3 does arrive on Nexus devices before the next major version, it will mainly be a bug fix and performance boosting release.
Users of the Galaxy S4 GT-i9505 can download and install the build, and are looking for any semblance of new features, but all signs point to a very iterative update over Android 4.2. Android Police’s Jeremiah Rice doesn’t think it’s real at all, or at least isn’t a true update; it’s possible to fake the build and version numbers quite easily.
Nevertheless, if you’re one of the few users running a Galaxy S4 i9505, head to SamMobile and download the ROM.
Update: We’ve received word that the ROM works on Canadian versions of the GS4, specifically the WIND/Mobilicity version. More information at XDA-Developers.
(Thanks Arjun!)
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