With the U.S. release mere days earlier, European users of the HTC One M8 didn't have to wait long to receive the KitKat 4.4.3 update for their smartphones. The weighty package brings with it a host of performance, security and application upgrades.
Weighing in at 613 MB, the KitKit 4.4.3 update was said to have been released for unlocked and developer version of the HTC One M8. With the latest update installed, the M8's software moves up to version 2.22.401.4.
Gift-wrapped inside that 613 MB package were performance tweaks for the smartphone's Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, camera, mobile network, Boomsound, Extreme Power Saving Mode, Motion Launch, Quick Setting, Image Match, Power History and HTC Sync Manager. Also included in the update was a collection of security fixes from both KitKat 4.4.3 and 4.4.4.
With Android L coming out soon, HTC stated before the latest update that it intended to roll out the OS on its flagship devices. It said its regular updates were intended to help protect the investments of the M8 and M7 owners.
"HTC is excited about the new features in the Android L release and we can't wait to share them with you," stated HTC. "We are committed to updating our flagship HTC One family as fast as possible as part of our HTC Advantage program. We will begin rolling out updates to the HTC One (M8) and HTC One (M7) worldwide within 90 days of receiving final software from Google, followed shortly thereafter by other One family members and select devices."
Some of the new features to be rolled out in the in-bound Android L, which hasn't received a release date yet, include upgrades to lockscreen, multiasking, the notifications bar, notifications themselves, the OS architecture and the aesthetics of the user interface.
Notifications, which will be available on the lockscreen, appear to be proportional to the content they contain in their headers, rather than being symmetrical for symmetry's sake. Multitasking was said to take on a card-style aspect, with background tabs peeking above content in the foreground.
Google's Material Design will give the new OS a sleeker, more refined look. Android L will be built on a 64-bit architecture, which will allow it to better harness the power of multicore processors.
The news wasn't all Android related for the HTC One M8. Reports have restated HTC's intent to release a Windows Phone version of the M8, sometime in late 2014. However, HTC hasn't officially addressed reports about the release of an alternative to the Android version of the phone.
