Samsung Galaxy SII/Epic 4G Touch

[Kyle1836]

I think we ALL can agree that the Samsung Galaxy SII/Epic Touch 4G is an "old" piece of technology, BUT it can preform as if it was a new phone released just a few months ago. Keep in mind, this device was released over two years ago and continued to receive updates until the infamous KitKat was released.

" Google fixed this issue in KitKat by shrinking the footprint of the operating system by 16 percent so that it can run on devices with only 512MB of RAM. That means that budget devices and phones aimed at emerging markets, which is exactly what Google is after, can run KitKat, instead of now-outdated Gingerbread (2.3) or Ice Cream Sandwich (4.0). " said,

reviews.cnet.com/android-kitkat

Now, we can confirm thats actually real facts, we have 1024 MB of RAM. We are exactly DOUBLE the qualification to run KitKat 4.4 and still haven't received an official update yet. The upsetting factor is that we have a Dual Core, 1200 MHz, Exynos processor, and with an internal storage of 16GB there is NO reason to not receive an update other than the fact that Android is getting greedy. Android states that Android KitKat 4.4 is on low-end smartphones to high-end smartphones. For example, Boost Mobile is releasing the Moto G for a no contract plan for $130, which is the cheapest on the market, and that is receiving the newest Android updates. The Motorola Moto G has a Quad Core 1200 MHz, which is understandable why it would receive Android KitKat, but the upsetting factor is that has 1024 MBs of RAM also. The point is, we need to raise awareness to Samsung so they understand our "old" devices can meet the standards and over qualify to receive the Android KitKat 4.4 update. If our phones can run a custom KitKat mod, we can run the real thing. In fact, there is no reason at all to not receive the update because infamous developers have found a workaround which will cause people not to buy the product. Samsung can loose money.

Facts:

Motorola Moto G vs Samsung Epic 4G Touch - Phone specs comparison

Google Android 4.4 KitKat - Operating systems - CNET Reviews

Android 4.4 KitKat review: The Good, The Bad and What’s Still Missing | Know Your Mobile

 

[dibblebill]

Good luck. Samsung will march on with or (more likely) without you, relying on you to instead replace your device yearly. You're dependent on aftermarket OS modifications like Cyanogenmod (which are, in my opinion, superior to Samsung/HTC's OEM modifications anyway)

 

[Kyle1836]

Good luck. Samsung will march on with or (more likely) without you, relying on you to instead replace your device yearly. You're dependent on aftermarket OS modifications like Cyanogenmod (which are, in my opinion, superior to Samsung/HTC's OEM modifications anyway)

Thanks for you're input! I agree custom ROMs are usually the way to go with outdated phones, but still. People are just gonna use ROMs on their device or be mad at Android and maybe switch over. It's mostly a loose, loose situation.

 

[Medion]

I just got rid of my Galaxy S II. It served me well for over two years (I had the international i9100 model). It was released on Android 2.3.3 and finished on 4.1.2. You'll find no other handset released in 2011, other than a Nexus, with that kind of support.

With that said, you're asking for something but you don't even know why you want it. Ignore the Android version number for a second. What, specifically, from Android versions 4.2, 4.3, and 4.4 do you want that is actually possible on your device?

Here's a list of what that software provided:

Android 4.2:

• Settings shortcut in notification bar (Touchwiz has this, this was a new feature to stock Android users)
• Developer options are now hidden
• Lock-screen widgets (S II lockscreen uses shortcuts, which many prefer)
• Improved photo editing (in the stock application, which Touchwiz does not use)
• Daydream
• Photosphere (this is still exclusive to the stock Android camera)

Android 4.3:

• Bluetooth smartready (requires hardware that the S II does not have)
• Dial-pad autocomplete (We've had this since Gingerbread in Touchwiz)
• Notification Access (and understated but nice feature, restricting accesst to the notification shade on a per-app basis)
• OpenGL ES 3.0 (requires hardware that the S II does not have)
• Bluetooth AVRCP (again, hardware limitations)
• Wifi location scan now has the option to work even with wifi turned off
• Keyboard changes - you can download this keyboard off Google Play if you want it.
• New camera UI - for stock Android only, no affect on Touchwiz camera.

Android 4.4:

• improved memory management - nice feature, but I almost never filled the 1GB on my S II. The most drastic memory management tweaks were done on a per-app basis by Google, and you reap those benefits by using the latest GAPPS from Google Play.
• Improved Google Now - Nexus 5 exclusive for now
• Hangouts was upgraded - and you can download this separately!
• Smarter caller ID - This is part of the dialer, and wouldn't be part of the Toucwiz dialier anyway.
• Immersive mode - apps have to request this. For S II users, it's just the notification bar as we don't have on-screen home/back buttons anyway. Doesn't affect us as much.
• Cloud storage integration - I'm not going to lie, this is nice
• Printing - Google's cloud print app is now built in. For my S II, I had to download it from the Play Store.
• Support for more sensors - the S II doesn't have these hardware sensors.
• System-wide closed captioning (this is useful for some)
• Lock-screen album art - Samsung would never let you use a non-Touchwiz lockscreen by default (and third party apps would override this anyway)

Here's my conclusion. The majority of those changes were changes that helped stock Android catch up to Touchwiz/Sense in basic features (dialer auto complete), or require new hardware. It would be nice to see KitKat if only for the improved memory management, but that's just about it. It's really not worth upgrading the S II any further.

Oh, and one last thing. There's a storage partition that the user cannot see, and this is where the firmware resides when downloaded. It's what your phone "restores" off of during a wipe. It has a set size limit. Base KitKat MAY fit into it. KitKat + Touchwiz will not. The most recent 4.1.2 packages for the S II were approaching 800MB, which is near the limit for this device. 4.4 for the Note 3? Damn near 2GB. It's not happening.

 

[Kyle1836]

I just got rid of my Galaxy S II. It served me well for over two years (I had the international i9100 model). It was released on Android 2.3.3 and finished on 4.1.2. You'll find no other handset released in 2011, other than a Nexus, with that kind of support.

With that said, you're asking for something but you don't even know why you want it. Ignore the Android version number for a second. What, specifically, from Android versions 4.2, 4.3, and 4.4 do you want that is actually possible on your device?

Here's a list of what that software provided:

Android 4.2:

• Settings shortcut in notification bar (Touchwiz has this, this was a new feature to stock Android users)
• Developer options are now hidden
• Lock-screen widgets (S II lockscreen uses shortcuts, which many prefer)
• Improved photo editing (in the stock application, which Touchwiz does not use)
• Daydream
• Photosphere (this is still exclusive to the stock Android camera)

Android 4.3:

• Bluetooth smartready (requires hardware that the S II does not have)
• Dial-pad autocomplete (We've had this since Gingerbread in Touchwiz)
• Notification Access (and understated but nice feature, restricting accesst to the notification shade on a per-app basis)
• OpenGL ES 3.0 (requires hardware that the S II does not have)
• Bluetooth AVRCP (again, hardware limitations)
• Wifi location scan now has the option to work even with wifi turned off
• Keyboard changes - you can download this keyboard off Google Play if you want it.
• New camera UI - for stock Android only, no affect on Touchwiz camera.

Android 4.4:

• improved memory management - nice feature, but I almost never filled the 1GB on my S II. The most drastic memory management tweaks were done on a per-app basis by Google, and you reap those benefits by using the latest GAPPS from Google Play.
• Improved Google Now - Nexus 5 exclusive for now
• Hangouts was upgraded - and you can download this separately!
• Smarter caller ID - This is part of the dialer, and wouldn't be part of the Toucwiz dialier anyway.
• Immersive mode - apps have to request this. For S II users, it's just the notification bar as we don't have on-screen home/back buttons anyway. Doesn't affect us as much.
• Cloud storage integration - I'm not going to lie, this is nice
• Printing - Google's cloud print app is now built in. For my S II, I had to download it from the Play Store.
• Support for more sensors - the S II doesn't have these hardware sensors.
• System-wide closed captioning (this is useful for some)
• Lock-screen album art - Samsung would never let you use a non-Touchwiz lockscreen by default (and third party apps would override this anyway)

Here's my conclusion. The majority of those changes were changes that helped stock Android catch up to Touchwiz/Sense in basic features (dialer auto complete), or require new hardware. It would be nice to see KitKat if only for the improved memory management, but that's just about it. It's really not worth upgrading the S II any further.

Oh, and one last thing. There's a storage partition that the user cannot see, and this is where the firmware resides when downloaded. It's what your phone "restores" off of during a wipe. It has a set size limit. Base KitKat MAY fit into it. KitKat + Touchwiz will not. The most recent 4.1.2 packages for the S II were approaching 800MB, which is near the limit for this device. 4.4 for the Note 3? Damn near 2GB. It's not happening.

Well, there is a lot of other people thinking the same thing as me. Android will either lose sales or gain sales, but their devices will also be more widely rooted/ROM'ed. If Android is happy with that, then you're right. It might not happen.

 

[Medion]

Well, there is a lot of other people thinking the same thing as me. Android will either lose sales or gain sales, but their devices will also be more widely rooted/ROM'ed. If Android is happy with that, then you're right. It might not happen.

You didn't read that entire post THAT quick.

And you didn't answer my question, which was

What, specifically, from Android versions 4.2, 4.3, and 4.4 do you want that is actually possible on your device?

Just an FYI, the improved memory management doesn't really apply to S II users. On my S4, I went from typical RAM usage of 750Mb to a typical usage of about 650MB. Unused RAM is wasted RAM, and my S4 still has plenty of room to grow. I rarely topped 600MB on my S II. KitKat's improved memory usage was to allow for a modern version of Android to run on newer budget phones. Google was sick of seeing these devices still shipping with Gingerbread.

Your S II was released in 2011 and has a modern version of Android (4.1) with some excellent complimentary Touchwiz features. You're not truly behind and there are some features that I miss from my S II since I'm now running a device with stock Android.

 

[SelfElevated2]

I hear you guy. And I would agree except I have an S4 and we haven't even got a official release of 4.4. We have a leaked tw build and loads of aosp kit kat builds. So I guess im saying no point complaining yet when samsungs "flagshipl hasn't even got it yet. The international version doesn't even have a official release yet.

And you can't compare other phone brands boost has with Samsung. Bc Samsung is just ridiculously slow at releasing updates for anyone. It's not boost that chooses what firmware to release. It's all the phone manufacturer

 

[dibblebill]

I just got rid of my Galaxy S II. It served me well for over two years (I had the international i9100 model). It was released on Android 2.3.3 and finished on 4.1.2. You'll find no other handset released in 2011, other than a Nexus, with that kind of support.

With that said, you're asking for something but you don't even know why you want it. Ignore the Android version number for a second. What, specifically, from Android versions 4.2, 4.3, and 4.4 do you want that is actually possible on your device?

Here's a list of what that software provided:

Android 4.2:

• Settings shortcut in notification bar (Touchwiz has this, this was a new feature to stock Android users)
• Developer options are now hidden
• Lock-screen widgets (S II lockscreen uses shortcuts, which many prefer)
• Improved photo editing (in the stock application, which Touchwiz does not use)
• Daydream
• Photosphere (this is still exclusive to the stock Android camera)

Android 4.3:

• Bluetooth smartready (requires hardware that the S II does not have)
• Dial-pad autocomplete (We've had this since Gingerbread in Touchwiz)
• Notification Access (and understated but nice feature, restricting accesst to the notification shade on a per-app basis)
• OpenGL ES 3.0 (requires hardware that the S II does not have)
• Bluetooth AVRCP (again, hardware limitations)
• Wifi location scan now has the option to work even with wifi turned off
• Keyboard changes - you can download this keyboard off Google Play if you want it.
• New camera UI - for stock Android only, no affect on Touchwiz camera.

Android 4.4:

• improved memory management - nice feature, but I almost never filled the 1GB on my S II. The most drastic memory management tweaks were done on a per-app basis by Google, and you reap those benefits by using the latest GAPPS from Google Play.
• Improved Google Now - Nexus 5 exclusive for now
• Hangouts was upgraded - and you can download this separately!
• Smarter caller ID - This is part of the dialer, and wouldn't be part of the Toucwiz dialier anyway.
• Immersive mode - apps have to request this. For S II users, it's just the notification bar as we don't have on-screen home/back buttons anyway. Doesn't affect us as much.
• Cloud storage integration - I'm not going to lie, this is nice
• Printing - Google's cloud print app is now built in. For my S II, I had to download it from the Play Store.
• Support for more sensors - the S II doesn't have these hardware sensors.
• System-wide closed captioning (this is useful for some)
• Lock-screen album art - Samsung would never let you use a non-Touchwiz lockscreen by default (and third party apps would override this anyway)

Here's my conclusion. The majority of those changes were changes that helped stock Android catch up to Touchwiz/Sense in basic features (dialer auto complete), or require new hardware. It would be nice to see KitKat if only for the improved memory management, but that's just about it. It's really not worth upgrading the S II any further.

Oh, and one last thing. There's a storage partition that the user cannot see, and this is where the firmware resides when downloaded. It's what your phone "restores" off of during a wipe. It has a set size limit. Base KitKat MAY fit into it. KitKat + Touchwiz will not. The most recent 4.1.2 packages for the S II were approaching 800MB, which is near the limit for this device. 4.4 for the Note 3? Damn near 2GB. It's not happening.

An excellent point I bring up whenever anyone asks me about my phone, OmniROM, rooting, etc. I point out that, unless your device DOESN'T do something that you want to do, don't root it, don't put on a custom ROM, and don't necessarily upgrade, unless you're a cutting-edge tech junky or willing to put up with potential problems.

EDIT: Disclaimer: I'm one of those cutting-edge junkies, and sometimes, that edge is so sharp I bleed.

 

[Kyle1836]

You didn't read that entire post THAT quick.

And you didn't answer my question, which was

Just an FYI, the improved memory management doesn't really apply to S II users. On my S4, I went from typical RAM usage of 750Mb to a typical usage of about 650MB. Unused RAM is wasted RAM, and my S4 still has plenty of room to grow. I rarely topped 600MB on my S II. KitKat's improved memory usage was to allow for a modern version of Android to run on newer budget phones. Google was sick of seeing these devices still shipping with Gingerbread.

Your S II was released in 2011 and has a modern version of Android (4.1) with some excellent complimentary Touchwiz features. You're not truly behind and there are some features that I miss from my S II since I'm now running a device with stock Android.

It should EASILY be able to run 4.2,4.3,4.4.

 

[Medion]

It should EASILY be able to run 4.2,4.3,4.4.

You're not getting it. Re-read my post, then answer my question.

 

[Kyle1836]

You're not getting it. Re-read my post, then answer my question.

Well, I am getting it maybe i'm not saying it right. I want android 4.4 because of the UI is much cleaner and appealing to the eye then the current update. I attempted to put a Slimrom on it not realizing it was for an international version, and I had SPH-D710. I soft-bricked my phone and then rewritten the code from the Sprint rom and customized it to Boost Mobile and everything worked fine. But the point is we should at least have 4.2/4.3.

 

[ocnbrze]

It should EASILY be able to run 4.2,4.3,4.4.

the point some are trying to make though is what is it do you want from kitkat on your phone? why do you have the need to run the latest os? is it just because it is the "latest and greatest"?

i have the note 3 and it has not recieved the kitkat yet and i have no need for it at the moment.....i'm sure i will get it at it some point officially....but why wait? some devices now are getting it in the form of cm11

and i doubt that samsung will ever be forced by the consumers to release updates to more advanced os's anyways.

 

[Medion]

Well, I am getting it maybe i'm not saying it right.

I explained, in technical yet easy to understand reasons, why the phone cannot run the latest OS. You, with no information to back it up other than RAM, state that it can. So no, you're not getting it, no matter how many times you restate it.

I want android 4.4 because of the UI is much cleaner and appealing to the eye then the current update.

This would not affect your phone in the least. Samsung's Galaxy S series runs a UI called "Touchwiz." You could run Android 4.2, 4.3, 4.4, 5.0, 6.0, 99.99, it wouldn't matter, you would not get the stock look of Android from Samsung.

But the point is we should at least have 4.2/4.3.

4.2/4.3 adds literally NOTHING to the phone. 4.2 was an update to add features to stock Android that Touchwiz already has. 4.3 was an update to add API support for newer hardware and is not compatible with the chipsets in any version of the Galaxy S II. I'm sorry, but there is literally no point in adding this software to the Galaxy S II. There's a reason that many OEMs outright skipped 4.2 and/or 4.3 en route to KitKat.

You'd have a point about KitKat if the S II had the partition large enough to store it, but it doesn't, so it's a moot point. The S II cannot run it without a new .PIT file, which Samsung won't do because the average user would brick their devices (can't do .PIT over the air or via KIES).

Now, I've provided all the information that you would need. If you wish to question me, please re-read my posts, as I will not respond if you ask a question that I've already answered. If you have any technical reasoning as to why your phone should run 4.2/.3/.4, I'd be open to that discussion as well. But if you continue to state "My phone should run Android x.y because I WANT IT!" then I simply won't waste any more 1s and 0s in the AF database

 

[CMNDR]

I second everything that has already been said by Medion and add to that the point that android sales are not impacted by any noticeable amounts by a phone that has had arguably 4 flagships succeed it in Sammy's product lines alone. Also, the bottom line for Samsung is better off with the customer buying a new phone as opposed to them keeping their old ones.

Edit: grammar

 

[Slug]

In fact, there is no reason at all to not receive the update [...]http://www.knowyourmobile.com/andro...itkat-review-good-bad-and-whats-still-missing

There are several good reasons why the S2 won't receive any further updates..... the S3, S4 and Note 3.

No manufacturer can support devices indefinitely, especially not one with such a broad range of current handsets. The S2 was supported past its second anniversary and received the JB 4.1.2 update, but it's a question of diminishing returns.

 

[mikedt]

Thanks for you're input! I agree custom ROMs are usually the way to go with outdated phones, but still. People are just gonna use ROMs on their device or be mad at Android and maybe switch over. It's mostly a loose, loose situation.

Mad at Android? Don't you mean mad at Samsung? They might switch over to another brand like LG, HTC or something. Although much more likely most won't be mad at all. Probably think I've had this S2 for two years now, my contract is up for renewal, I fancy a new phone let's see what deals I can get.

ROMs is not something something I think most regular phone users are likely to be doing, they just use phones as they come and are not geeks. Almost certain my sister or father or anyone in my office, never heard of the words "CyanogenMod" or "Omnirom", yet they're using their smartphones quite happily with what the manufacturers provide. Probably to most members of the general public "Kitkat" is a chocolate bar, and "Android" what's on their phones. Where I am the Kitkat name is unheard of, manufacturers state the version numbers, e.g. 4.2, 4.3, 4.4.

 

[Codegerm]

I just don't see Samsung updating the GS2. It just does not make good business sense. The device is is already old in terms of electronics (over 2 years), and is now more than one step down from Samsung's flagship. I don't imagine it is being manufactured anymore. Samsung did well taking the phone all the way to Jelly Bean, considering it was not the flagship device by then. Many of the features that the further JB updates beyond 4.1.2, Touch Wiz already had. As with all other older devices, this one has reached its EOL with the manufacturer.

For those that like to do custom ROMs, there is already AOSP Kit Kat out for the E4GT/GS2 with CM11

 

[funkylogik]

All i can say is feel lucky that you have such an easily rooted phone with great 3rd party firmware support.
Root it, make a backup and try one of the kitkat roms if you can live without all the touchwiz features