Official: Samsung bringing Android 4.4 KitKat to 14 different Galaxy devices

We’d already gotten word from an inside source that Samsung had big plans for KitKat, and those rumors have just become reality. Samsung has just officially announced that 14 different Galaxy devices will be receiving the upgrade to Android 4.4 KitKat. That’s a lot of devices, so let’s not waste any time and jump right into it:

• Samsung Galaxy Note 3
• Samsung Galaxy Note 2
• Samsung Galaxy S4
• Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini
• Samsung Galaxy S4 Active
• Samsung Galaxy S4 Zoom
• Samsung Galaxy S3
• Samsung Galaxy S3 Mini
• Samsung Galaxy Mega
• Samsung Galaxy Light
• Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0
• Samsung Galaxy Tab 3
• Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1
• Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 2014 Edition

Samsung made it a point to mention that “select” carrier editions of all these devices would get it, which pretty much means it’s up to your carrier to decide whether or not they’ll ultimately bring it to their version of any of these. We have a feeling quite a few of the devices on this list are going to be updated on nearly every carrier imaginable, though, so we wouldn’t worry too much about missing out.
This upgrade doesn’t add a ton of new features on Samsung’s side of the court, as the manufacturer brought most significant changes in the Android 4.3 upgrade that preceded it. Here’s what’s new in case you’re interested:

• Location Menu: An integrated location menu enables users to easily activate GPS, Wi-Fi and mobile networks, while simultaneously checking the battery usage of apps running location service capabilities.
• Enhanced Messaging: Enables users to choose between Messages or Hangouts as their preferred default messaging application, and select from a larger assortment of updated Emoji icons.
• Upgraded Google Mobile Service™ (GMS) apps: Users can automatically back up photos and video and can open, view, rename and share Google Docs and files.

Of course, everything else new to KitKat as a whole can be found in our big FYI post right here, so be sure to take a gander in case you’re interested in more of the under-the-hood changes making this thing tick.
In case you haven’t heard, the Samsung Galaxy S4 upgrade has already started rolling out on Sprint here in the United States, while the Galaxy Note 3′s upgrade has started rolling out overseas.
Samsung says updates will “start” rolling out today, which you should take to mean that only certain devices, in certain regions and on certain carriers will be seeing an immediate rollout. It’ll likely take a few weeks — maybe months — for the upgrade to reach everyone on all these different devices, so you’ll have to be a little patient if you don’t get it sooner than you can say “break me off a piece of that KitKat bar.