Kitkat for Moto G?

[frnc]

KITKAT is coming to Belgium "sometimes early 2014" for the Moto G (Moto X is and will not be available in Europe - sigh).
Should I wait until then to buy a Moto G, or are the differences with 4.3 not that relevant? Thanks.

 

[SiempreTuna]

Depends whether you buy the phone direct/outright or subsidised by a carrier (which I believe is now, finally, an option in Belgium).

If you buy direct, I wouldn't worry: the OTA update to 4.4 will come through and (in my experience with a Nexus 4) it's a fairly painless upgrade (so long as you're patient and don't do anything daft while it's happening). If you buy direct: go for it.

If you buy through a network, then you need to find out how good the network is at pushing through Android updates, particularly for low-end (price-wise - the G is a superb phone by all accounts) phones. I have to say that most networks are not very poor at getting updates out and when I lived in Belgium about a decade ago, the Belgian networks were particularly bad at just about everything, so if you do buy subsidised and you really want 4.4, might be best to wait.

The G is remarkably low priced: if you can afford to buy it outright, it's definitely the way to go.

Re 4.3 v 4.4: the upgrade has a few neat little touches that are very nice and it definitely makes some things quite a bit prettier, however 4.3 was perfectly good.

 

[frnc]

Thanks a lot!

 

[breadnatty08]

One of the biggest features of KK is that it helps optimize performance on lower end devices. It has sped up my G2 considerably, and hoping it does the same with my Moto G.
Moto execs have said we should see KK before the end of Jan. '14.
The difference between the two (especially since the Moto G runs a nearly stock version of Android), is considerable. You can look up reviews of the Moto X running KK to get a better idea of what to expect.

 

[frnc]

Thanks.
My understanding is that I will be able to update the Moto G 4.3 to 4.4.
What is your take about this?

 

[lanceg]

One of the biggest features of KK is that it helps optimize performance on lower end devices. It has sped up my G2 considerably, and hoping it does the same with my Moto G.
Moto execs have said we should see KK before the end of Jan. '14.
The difference between the two (especially since the Moto G runs a nearly stock version of Android), is considerable. You can look up reviews of the Moto X running KK to get a better idea of what to expect.

I don't know if I would call them considerable, post update the only difference I saw was the transparent status bar. No new settings, still can't remove google search bar, same wallpapers, looks just like it always did.

 

[Thom]

You can remove the Google search bar with an alternate launcher like Nova Launcher Prime. You could then adds a single widget back on one of the screens ... if you want it.

... Thom

 

[lanceg]

You can remove the Google search bar with an alternate launcher like Nova Launcher Prime. You could then adds a single widget back on one of the screens ... if you want it.

... Thom

I know, it just seems awkward installing something new on the phone in order to get rid of something. The customization of Android is it's whole schpiel, right?

 

[Thom]

I'm a bad person to ask. No I'm not on commission. I was beating on Android for years and about 8 months ago started using Nova Launcher Prime. It had REALLY improved over the years. It provides a user environment that is everything I want (including hiding pre-installed apps that are just plain annoying).

I found out about it from a recommendation on Android Forums.

... Thom

 

[MacFett]

I don't know if I would call them considerable, post update the only difference I saw was the transparent status bar.

The change from jelly bean to kit kat was mostly behind the scenes, like the way android handles SMS. That it is able to run more efficiently on much lower end devices. The main test device used in the creation of kk was a nexus 4 gimped to run at 512megs of ram and like half processing power.

The main cosmetic changes are flat icons and the afore mentioned gradient status and nav bars.