Huawei Ascend Mate2 will not see an update to KitKat

Huawei has just confirmed via their blog that one of our favorite budget phones of this year, the Ascend Mate2, won’t be receiving an update to KitKat.

We’ve received word that unfortunately we will not be updating the Mate2 to Android KitKat.
Our Mate2 is the first of many products we’ll continue to offer in the coming months, and you can expect superior hardware with the latest software going forward.

Given the bargain basement pricing of the Ascend Mate2, just $299 off contract, this probably shouldn’t come as a significant shock to Ascend Mate2 owners. Nonetheless, it is counter to what Huawei told us when we reviewed the device in late July, which makes it a bit more disappointing. It is also the first device that we have seen Huawei push in the U.S. and this isn’t the most promising start to that relationship.

Huawei staff acknowledged in the comments of their post that the hardware is capable of running KitKat and that “there are many reasons why this update is not coming and for those reasons we are targeting to improve on our next device.” Not elaborating on those reasons would seem to be a poor choice here as any explanation would at least stave off some criticism. The most reasonable explanation is likely that they simply didn’t see the sales to warrant the time and effort to update the device, but again, they are leaving this open to idle speculation.

If any of you are Ascend Mate2 owners we would love to hear from you in the comments. And for the rest of you, does this leave you less likely to consider a device from Huawei in the future or are you willing to chalk this up to growing pains as they explore the U.S. market?

source: androidandme