All the love so far has been shown to the LTE variant of the Galaxy S4, the GT-I9505 Snapdragon 800 variant. For many of us who have the GT-I9500, we’ve been shivering from the cold. The I9505 is now receiving a stable build of the Android 4.3 firmware directly from Samsung at the moment but the firmware for the I9500 seems to be in its last testing stages. We now have a leaked test build of the firmware thanks to the ever reliable guys over at SamMobile.
Just like is the case with Android 4.3 for the GT-I9505, the update for the I9500 includes several new features and improvements; some from Samsung and the rest from Google as part of the Jelly Bean 4.3 package. Here is what is new:
- OpenGL 3.0 Support
- GALAXY GEAR Support
- TRIM Support (Makes the device much faster)
- ANT+ Support
- Samsung KNOX Implementation (KNOX bootloader and dedicated application)
- Samsung Wallet comes pre-loaded
- Improved RAM management
- Improved Display colour reproduction (Display looks much sharper than before)
- Improved TouchWiz Launcher (Much less launcher redraws and less lag)
- New Samsung Keyboard
- New Samsung Browser (Full screen by default, new tab interface and more)
- New Reading Mode (Optimises display for reading, used by only a few specific applications)
- New Camera firmware
- Minor UI tweaks (Contacts app, Flashlight Widget, dialog boxes etc)
The firmware is build number I9500XXUEMJ5 and is meant for Open Asia but since that does not include the Chinese version (that one is usually different, story for another day), you are free to flash it. In the event you don’t know how, say so in the comments, I’ll be more than glad to be of help. Alternatively, hit the source link below.
I have used Android 4.3 on the Galaxy Note II (leaked test firmware too) and I’m very psyched up to do the same on the I9500. I’ll be testing Android 4.3 on the Galaxy S4 over the next few days so should I encounter anything peculiar, you’ll hear back from me. Meanwhile, I’ve got some flashing to do!
UPDATE
Here is the download link
Get Odin 3.09 from here too
Go ahead, do it 🙂
UPDATE 2
This is actually the final build of Android 4.3 on the GT-I9500. Flash knowing that it is not test firmware. There’s no difference with what is seeding to I9500 owners in Russia at the moment.
