Tuesday, January 28, 2014

Samsung claims accessory-breaking KitKat update contains a bug, fixing it with OTA

It was quite a joyous occasion when Samsung released the official Android 4.4 KitKat update for the Galaxy Note 3 in a few countries. However, that joy was quickly ruined when it was discovered that third-party cases with smart features, like S View covers from Spigen, ceased functioning. It was then found that the KitKat update had disabled those third-party cases, leaving only Samsung’s official cases with special identification chips to work properly. Unsurprisingly, this sparked outrage.

This was nothing short of an Apple-like move, grabbing hold of the accessory market and forcing the use of licensed ID chips to enable an accessory towork properly. Because many of us left the Apple ecosystem for Samsung’s devices, we weren’t happy. Samsung first denied that it did anything at all, but now it seems that the company is finally admitting that this is an issue.

We have currently identified a software compatibility issue with the Galaxy Note 3 update to Android 4.4 (KitKat) and select 3rd party accessories. A software update will be available shortly. We are committed to offering a diverse and reliable mobile experience for all customers, providing continued support and solutions for any issues that arise with product updates for both Samsung manufactured and third-party accessories.Samsung

There were rumors that Samsung has been planning this move for quite a while, so we highly doubt that it’s a “compatibility issue” or any sort of bug. But if that’s what Samsung wants to call it, let it. The company probably realized that this move was suicide and that it could lose a lot of sales, so it’s backing away and planning to fix the problem. There will be an OTA update to fix compatibility with third-party accessories.

We’re glad to see Samsung not going through with this plan, as I wouldn’t buy another Samsung product if this was the case for all future devices. How do you feel about this entire situation? Leave a comment!