Android 4.4 KitKat coming to Nexus 4, HTC One, others; Galaxy Nexus misses out

While unveiling the latest Nexus 5 smartphone, Google has announced that the Android 4.4 KitKat will be soon available on Nexus 4 smartphone, Nexus 7 and Nexus 10 tablets. In addition, Google has also revealed that the new Android OS iteration will be rolled out to Google Play editions of Samsung Galaxy S4 and HTC One in the coming weeks.
However, it seems that the new Android 4.4 KitKat will also be rolled out to devices from HTC, Samsung, LG and others soon. As Jason Mackenzie, president of HTC America has confirmed to Engadget that the Taiwanese maker will be rolling out the new Android 4.4 KitKat aggressively to its devices. As per Jason, the HTC One Google Play edition will be updated in less than two weeks while the developer edition and unlocked variants of the HTC One will be receiving the update within 30 days. The report further confirmed that other HTC One variants will be receiving the Android 4.4 KitKat update in three months or less. The report also suggested that HTC has plans to release the Android 4.4 KitKat update for other HTC One variants like the One mini and One Max phablet.

On the other hand, Samsung's Nexus smartphone, the two-generation old Galaxy Nexus, won't be receiving Android 4.4 KitKat. Google confirmed the news via support page which notes, "Galaxy Nexus, which first launched two years ago, falls outside of the 18-month update window when Google and others traditionally update devices." While there is no word from Samsung till now on the rollout of Android 4.4 KitKat for Galaxy devices, if a recent leak is to be believed, the Samsung Galaxy S4 mini, Galaxy Mega 5.8 and Mega 6.3 might be getting the Android 4.4 soon. However, Samsung is yet to respond on the availability of Android 4.4 KitKat for its devices.

While Sony has also not revealed its plan for the rollout of Android 4.4 KitKat for Xperia smartphones, we expect the high-end Xperia smartphones such as Xperia Z1, Xperia Z Ultra and Xperia Z to get the taste of the new KitKat iteration.

For LG, it is already manufacturing the Nexus smartphone for the second year in a row, and can be expected to rollout the latest Android 4.4 KitKat for its flagship, the LG G2 along with some high-end smartphone like LG Optimus G and LG  Optimus G Pro.