HTC One M8 Android KitKat Update Briefly Appeared For AT&T Customers Before Being Pulled Down

By Shawn Schuster
HTC One M8
Android 5.0 Lollipop update is available on HTC One M8 from Verizon, AT&T, Sprint, and T-Mobile.

While many Android users are patiently waiting for the update to the Android 5.0 Lollipop operating system, HTC's One M8 users on the AT&T network started experiencing the update to Android 4.4.4 Kitkat earlier this week, only to have it quickly pulled by the carrier, claiming it "wasn't ready."

The 4.4.4 update was rolled out on Monday to get HTC One M8 users all ready for the latest Android 5.0 update for those with an AT&T contract, but the software, version 3.42.502.1, was quickly pulled, as was the support page that originally detailed the update.

The KitKat update was said to bring with it HD Voice and some battery performance fixes, in addition to the operating system update that represents Android's most recent stable version. Android news site Phandroid reached out to HTC and received confirmation that the update was made in error. 

HTC One M8 users are hoping that the update, whenever it's released, will include the HTC Eye Experience that updates the camera's software. That tidbit was missing from the original patch update log, so that may have been the problem with it being not yet ready for release.

Android 4.4.4 KitKat was originally launched on September 3, 2013 to Google's own Nexus 5 and then other Nexus devices, but not all Android devices have the 16-month-old update yet, even with Android 5.0 Lollipop already arriving on various flagship phones as we speak.

KitKat features improved RAM memory management, an integration with cloud storage, mobile printing, the new immersive mode, smarter caller ID, improved Google Now integration, and much more.

The HTC One M8 was first announced and released in March of 2014 with Android 4.4.2 KitKat standard, so this update to 4.4.4 would be a long time coming. The smartphone features a 5-inch screen running 1080 x 1920 resolution (at 441 ppi pixel density), a quad-core 2.3 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 processor, 2 GB RAM, and 16/32 GB of storage, upgradable to 128 through microSD.

While the unlocked HTC One M8 is currently upgradable to Android 5.0 Lollipop through manual download, the carrier editions are often behind the curve as each carrier needs to do extensive testing to make sure that the latest software is compatible with their systems. Android allows for modifications for each device manufacturer and carrier, which is a great feature for customization, but often bad for these types of operating system software delays and compatibility issues.

There's currently no date given for the update to be re-released for AT&T users, or those on any other U.S. carriers for the M8.

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