Why should I upgrade to 4.4 ?

[anon(847090)]

Android KitKat | Android Developers

 

[fernandezhjr]

There are many reasons why you would want to upgrade to the latest version of Android if you haven't already done so. However, my motto is always "if it ain't broke don't fix it". If 4.3 works well enough for you and you don't see anything that appeals to you with the 4.4 update, and the flaws pointed out in the sources you seen, then stick with 4.3 Ride it out and wait for some or all of those issues to be taken care of in a future update.

No logic to that because you will just be worried about bugs in that future update and you can still apply the same "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" mentality. Mercy, I remember all the posts here of people hating on the 4.3 upgrade. Now, it works well and ain't broke. There is no reason to make excuses for not upgrading. There are plenty of reasons to do it, but nobody is forced to do it. The op has already decided he doesn't want to, so I don't know why he would want to put up a useless post letting everyone know he doesn't want to. Sure he asks for reasons to do, but it is obvious he is locked on not doing it, as he has been given many logical reasons already and his best answer is his phone already looks new and shiny. Simple answer, if you don't want to upgrade don't do it.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk

 

[cloak.n.dagger]

After googling for many days about features of 4.4 , I don't see any point to upgrade to 4.4 because
# I rarely used google now.
# Write messages occasionaly
# using truecaller ( flawless) for caller ID
# can not get GEL after update
# don't like rooting
# my phone is already giving lightning fast performance
# don't know about others but 100% satisfied with camera
# 100% satisfied with resolution of N4's screen
# I like its curved screen edges
and in the end my greatest fear of upgrading to 4.4 , I don't want to face any unwanted performance issues after upgrade because my phone is out of warranty . Now do you tell me any compeling reason to upgrade to 4.4 ? I mean Please suggest me ,why should I upgrade to 4.4 ? Thanks in advance .

I'm not sure that any of the reasons you list have anything to do with upgrading the version of Android on your phone. Here are my responses to the things you list out:

# I rarely used google now.
Just because you update to 4.4 does not mean that you have to use it more. It's still pretty much the same on then Nexus 4.

# Write messages occasionaly
Not sure what this is referring to, but the amount of messages you write should not be tied to the version of Android you are running.

# using truecaller ( flawless) for caller ID
You should still be able to use this app with 4.4 unless it's not supported on 4.4. I know the OS will do this for you automatically, so you may find that you no longer need the app.

# can not get GEL after update
I'm not sure what GEL is so I cannot comment on this.

# don't like rooting
You only need to root if you want to install the factory image now. The OTA update should be released in the next few days and does not require rooting.

# my phone is already giving lightning fast performance
Noting in the new version of Android should impact this in any way. From what I can tell the new version will utilize less memory, thus resulting in better performance.

# don't know about others but 100% satisfied with camera
Your camera and resulting pictures should remain as they are now. There will be a few new camera features but this should not impact your pictures in any way.

# 100% satisfied with resolution of N4's screen
Screen resolution is determined by the display in the device (HW) not by the version of Android that you are running (SW). Thus, this will not change as a result of the 4.4 update.

# I like its curved screen edges
Again, you are not updating the HW, so the curves screen edges will remain curved. Are you thinking that after you update to 4.4 that your Nexus 4 turns into a Nexus 5??

Your final point is that you are concerned with performance issues. I think that Google has likely testes 4.4 on the Nexus 4 and has come to the conclusions that it must be an improvement over the 4.3, otherwise it would be a bad decision on their part to push it out to users on a mass scale. Others have highlighted how the memory management is improved and how this has made a slight, but noticeable difference in speed on the device.

I think the biggest thing to worry about is app compatibility, but this falls more on the app developers to make sure their app work correctly on the new OS. So, unless there is a particular app that you use on the regular that you know will not be supported on 4.4, then I don't think you have much to worry about. If you want it play it safe, then just hold off for a few weeks and monitor the forums for issues before you make the plunge. I'm not personally excited about this update, but if the end result is a faster OS then I'm more that willing to give it a spin. OS updates are rarely a step backwards (unless you're talking about IOS 7 or Windows 8!).

 

[codejinchu]

Cloak.n.dagger you don't need to root to install KitKat in fact.my phone wasn't root when I install the factory image. All you need to do is unlock the boot loader which is easy on a nexus device. Just go to developer options check USB debugging and using android SDK. I'm not techie, I'll be honest, I'm just someone whose can see a YouTube video and follow steps.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk

 

[sameer kapoor]

I'm not sure that any of the reasons you list have anything to do with upgrading the version of Android on your phone. Here are my responses to the things you list out:

# I rarely used google now.
Just because you update to 4.4 does not mean that you have to use it more. It's still pretty much the same on then Nexus 4.

# Write messages occasionaly
Not sure what this is referring to, but the amount of messages you write should not be tied to the version of Android you are running.

# using truecaller ( flawless) for caller ID
You should still be able to use this app with 4.4 unless it's not supported on 4.4. I know the OS will do this for you automatically, so you may find that you no longer need the app.

# can not get GEL after update
I'm not sure what GEL is so I cannot comment on this.

# don't like rooting
You only need to root if you want to install the factory image now. The OTA update should be released in the next few days and does not require rooting.

# my phone is already giving lightning fast performance
Noting in the new version of Android should impact this in any way. From what I can tell the new version will utilize less memory, thus resulting in better performance.

# don't know about others but 100% satisfied with camera
Your camera and resulting pictures should remain as they are now. There will be a few new camera features but this should not impact your pictures in any way.

# 100% satisfied with resolution of N4's screen
Screen resolution is determined by the display in the device (HW) not by the version of Android that you are running (SW). Thus, this will not change as a result of the 4.4 update.

# I like its curved screen edges
Again, you are not updating the HW, so the curves screen edges will remain curved. Are you thinking that after you update to 4.4 that your Nexus 4 turns into a Nexus 5??

Your final point is that you are concerned with performance issues. I think that Google has likely testes 4.4 on the Nexus 4 and has come to the conclusions that it must be an improvement over the 4.3, otherwise it would be a bad decision on their part to push it out to users on a mass scale. Others have highlighted how the memory management is improved and how this has made a slight, but noticeable difference in speed on the device.

I think the biggest thing to worry about is app compatibility, but this falls more on the app developers to make sure their app work correctly on the new OS. So, unless there is a particular app that you use on the regular that you know will not be supported on 4.4, then I don't think you have much to worry about. If you want it play it safe, then just hold off for a few weeks and monitor the forums for issues before you make the plunge. I'm not personally excited about this update, but if the end result is a faster OS then I'm more that willing to give it a spin. OS updates are rarely a step backwards (unless you're talking about IOS 7 or Windows 8!).

Thanks, My only worry is my phone is out of warranty, if any thing happened wrong after upgrading to 4.4 ( as I have read about 4.3 in some cases ) then I can't replace my phone with a new one from google. Although 4.4 is a upgrade but in my view it is not a major compelling upgrade. I like your advice that I should hold off for few weeks and monitor the forum for issues.

 

[sameer kapoor]

Here are reasons to upgrade.
1. KitKat less memory hog and more efficient. Average on JB:768mb KK:512
# There always remains more than 1GB RAM (1.1 to 1.3) free on my nexus 4.
2. KitKat runs smoother. Not major but subtle enough to notice.
# At present my phone is lightning fast.
3. Getting KitKat doesn't require rooting, all u doing is restoring it to the factory image.
# My phone is out of warranty and I can't take risks.
4. Camera doesn't suffer from a slower shutter like the N5.
# it already takes less than a second to take a snap
5. Can install GEL yourself just manually install Google search 3.1 first then install GEL doesn't required rooting.
# I still have no problem with black stats bar and nav bars
6. There are a lot minor changes to like. a) playing music album art fill whole screen in lock mode. b) immersion mode when reading books or movies is nice. c) makes it easier to change launchers in the settings menu. There more that I 4got.
These are mere small tweaks.
Thanks anyway for answering .


Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk

 

[ohyeahar]

Thanks, My only worry is my phone is out of warranty, if any thing happened wrong after upgrading to 4.4 ( as I have read about 4.3 in some cases ) then I can't replace my phone with a new one from google. Although 4.4 is a upgrade but in my view it is not a major compelling upgrade. I like your advice that I should hold off for few weeks and monitor the forum for issues.

I think you?re being a bit paranoid about the whole thing, but I suppose we all have to respect each other?s opinion.

Just some thoughts from me:

- It sounds like you?re not comfortable with hacking Android. So if you?re going to update your OS, you?ll likely do it via OTA. That?s the safest route imaginable. There?s no way this will cause any problems for you.

- For those cases of people who bricked their phones by updating it, I?d bet they were trying to flash it manually and got a bit fancy. Perhaps they downloaded the wrong files to flash, their downloads became corrupted, etc.

- You mentioned that 4.4 is not a compelling update. At the moment, I?ll have to agree with you. Kitkat seems to take a forward-looking approach. For example, let?s look at the transparent status and nav bars. Right now, they only exist in Google Now and the Google Experience Launcher. I?m going to wager that a few months later, almost every app will include it. Same deal with the Full Immersion mode.

- I see absolutely zero reason not to update to 4.4 if you?re running a stock ROM. You get new features and you?ve got nothing to lose.

Personally, I?ve decided not to update to the stock 4.4 ROM. But that?s because I?m on CM and I value the CM features more than Kitkat features. When CM11 gets released based on Kitkat, I?ll flash that.
I did, however, manually flashed the stock 4.4 ROM image to my wife?s N4. Works great. Nothing to complain about.

 

[someguy01234]

I don't think anyone is oblige to persuade you to upgrade your device. It's your choice to upgrade or not. If you prefer 4.3, don't upgrade.

# I like its curved screen edges

A non-curved edges device is not required to use Android 4.4.

 

[sameer kapoor]

{ non-curved edges device is not required to use Android 4.4. }
Sorry, it was meant for N5.

 

[DroidGuy1990]

After googling for many days about features of 4.4 , I don't see any point to upgrade to 4.4 because
# I rarely used google now.
# Write messages occasionaly
# using truecaller ( flawless) for caller ID
# can not get GEL after update
# don't like rooting
# my phone is already giving lightning fast performance
# don't know about others but 100% satisfied with camera
# 100% satisfied with resolution of N4's screen
# I like its curved screen edges
and in the end my greatest fear of upgrading to 4.4 , I don't want to face any unwanted performance issues after upgrade because my phone is out of warranty . Now do you tell me any compeling reason to upgrade to 4.4 ? I mean Please suggest me ,why should I upgrade to 4.4 ? Thanks in advance .

Judging from your list I am surprise you are even using android lol but you should want Kitkat for one reason and one reason only....the SECURITY update on Kitkat compared to Jellybean is huge...Kitkat operates under an encrypted code allowing almost all your tap and pay and online purchases to not be relayed back to an end user. Android has a security hole and has since Froyo. Kitkat patches that hole and then some.

 

[jnichols16]

That's why a still use DOS 3.1

I see you smile. I actually have DOS 3.2, Windows 3.1, and a functioning 100MB Zip Drive in my attic.
Some day, they will make me rich. Hahahaha!!!