Verizon has not always had the best reputation when it has come down to updates for its devices. The famed failure of the Galaxy Nexus, who was left far behind the rest of its brothers on other carriers when the first version of Android Jelly Bean rolled out, cast a dark cloud over Verizon and caused many consumers to lose faith in them.
However, things are starting to look up recently. Samsung’s Galaxy S4 on Verizon was the first to receive Android 4.3 Jelly Bean just a couple weeks ago, and now the Moto X on Verizon (whose price is currently extremely attractive right now) is officially going to get Android 4.4 Kit-Kat, according to Engadget’s report. The update, provided over-the-air, will include many of the expected features of Kit-Kat, such as the new Dialer, the photo Gallery editor and will come packaged with Hangouts with SMS/MMS support, with the ability to set default SMS apps. The Camera app has also been enhanced with a very cool touch-and-drag to focus and modify exposure addition. Here’s the full official list of changes:
Androidâ„¢ 4.4, KitKat® Android 4.4, KitKat, is the latest release of the Android platform. KitKat includes enhancements such as restyled status and navigation bars, a new full-screen mode, color emoji support, improved closed captioning support, stronger security, smarter power use, and more tools and capabilities for better app development. Phone dialer Improved the phone app with the ability to look up contacts directly from the dial pad, see and tap frequent contacts, and search your corporate directory easily. Camera – Focus and exposure Enhanced the “touch to focus” option with a new circular, on screen control that can be dragged by your finger around the viewfinder to adjust a photo’s focus and exposure. Gallery – Photo editing Added new photo editing options to the Gallery app including new filter effects, draw on your photos, advanced cropping, and adjustments to color, exposure, contrast and more. Hangouts -SMS/MMS support Incorporated a new version of Google Hangouts that supports integrated SMS/MMS messaging. Hangouts can be set as the default SMS app under Settings > Wireless > Default SMS app. Touchless Control – “Find my phone” Added a new “Find my phone” command to Touchless Control. Just say “OK, Google Now-find my phone” and your Moto X will ring loudly to let you know where it’s hiding when you’ve misplaced it nearby. NFC – Host card emulation Enhanced support for NFC Host Card Emulation (HCE), to improve experiences such as contactless payments, loyalty plans, transit passes, card access and more. Accessory support Added support for Square credit card reader
That’s quite a lot if you ask me, all of which are welcome additions to a fantastic product. With the price so aggressively cut, and Moto Maker now supporting Verizon as well as all other major U.S. carriers, we can expect these to be flying off shelves for this Holiday Season.
Check out Motorola’s Official Blog Post here, and their Official Release Notes here. Stay tuned to Android Headlines for continuing coverage for when we can expect to see Moto X getting 4.4 on the rest of the carriers!