Here's the latest roundup on the Android 5.0 Lollipop release for Samsung's most popular smartphones, the S series, plus other variants including the Galaxy Alpha, Galaxy S5 Mini, S5 Active and S5 Sport versions.
In the weeks since our last Galaxy S Series Android 5.0 Lollipop release update, some fresh news has developed to excite anxious Samsung smartphone owners, especially in the U.S. A major U.S. carrier has confirmed and announced their Galaxy S5 update, and international progress was made as well with the Galaxy S4 and Galaxy S5 Active, which indirectly bodes well for U.S. release of the updates. Here's a breakdown of what has occurred.
Galaxy S5: The big news here is that AT&T has announced officially via its twitter account that it is actively working on the Galaxy S5 Android 5.0 Lollipop update for its customers, though an exact release date has not been given. Speculation is that the update will roll out this month. While Verizon, Sprint, and T-Mobile all rolled out their Galaxy S5 Android Lollipop 5.0 updates back in February, anxious AT&T customers are still holding their breath, along with subscribers to U.S. Cellular, the country's fifth largest carrier. On the international front, an update was just released in Korea today to owners of the Galaxy S5 LTE-A, a limited international variant that sports a Quad HD display.
Galaxy S4: Just last week, one international variant had a software leak posted on the web allowing owners of that model to flash their S4 to the new Android Lollipop 5.0 OS before its official release by Samsung. Large international markets such as Russia and India have already received the update. Nothing has officially occurred yet on the U.S. front with none of the four major carriers pushing out the update yet.
Galaxy S3: As we have reported, the expectation is that Samsung may well pass on updating their three-year-old flagship with the newest Android OS. Confirmed plans to update the aging Note 2 in some regions, however, hold out hope for Galaxy S3 owners.
Galaxy S5 Mini, Galaxy S5 Active, Galaxy S5 Sport, Galaxy Alpha: Last week in something of a surprise, Galaxy Active owners in the Nordic region of Europe were treated to an announcement of an imminent update, the first one reported anywhere for an S5 variant. The offshoot variants of the Galaxy S line are expected to lag in general in receiving the Android 5.0 Lollipop update while the more popular flagships get priority.
We'll be sure to keep you updated as always with any new developments regarding the Android 5.0 Lollipop update on all Samsung smartphones. We'll be rounding up the latest in the Galaxy Note phablet series in a separate report coming soon. Meanwhile, continue to share your comments below with other readers, and let us know if and when you receive the update, where you are located, and your carrier.
