Sprint Samsung Galaxy S4 Gets Android Lollipop 5.0 Update, Finally

Sprint are catching up with their own variant of the Samsung Galaxy S4, as users of the carrier’s phones will finally be able to upgrade their operating systems to Android 5.0 and enjoy all the benefits that the Lollipop update brings. Sprint have started rolling out the new update on Friday, about three weeks after they released it initially and then retracted it due to apparent issues with the Spark version of the device.

Now, both the standard Galaxy S4 as well as the Sprint Spark variant are getting a refresh on their operating systems, improving both their usability as well as performance and features. The specific version released for the regular Galaxy S4 has the version ID L720VPUGOD2, as opposed to L720TVPUGOD2 which is being deployed to devices of the Spark variant. Among the differences between the two builds of the operating system, the latter apparently includes the Factory Reset Protection feature.

Users should get a notification for the update automatically, but it never hurts to perform a manual search through the device’s settings, because sometimes the update doesn’t get pushed out to all users simultaneously, and some end up receiving it later than others. In some cases, the delay can go on for several days, so those who still don’t see any new Android versions in their settings should keep checking every few hours or so. Automatic update notifications sometimes arrive after the actual update has been launched, not immediately with it, so they aren’t completely reliable.

Of course, the update also includes Samsung’s own changes to the operating system, which were mostly aimed at improving their own apps and services, as well as integrating the new Google Material Design more effectively, adding it to all parts of the OS that have been modified by Samsung in the first place.

We still don’t know if the update will also be made available for the Galaxy Note 2, however. There are rumors that the update is coming, including a Twitter post by Samsung Denmark, according to which the device really is about to get updated, but not across all markets. The tweet didn’t actually specify when the update would be released, only stating that it’s coming “soon”.

So far, the Android market has been coming to a more or less normalized state with regards to the state of device updates. All major devices have already received the new Android 5.0 Lollipop, and some minor models are still waiting for the update to be pushed out to them, but that should come pretty soon at this point.