Android 4.4.3 Update Rolling Out Now for the Nexus 5

It appears that the next iteration of KitKat, Android 4.4.3, is fast approaching. If the past is any indication, today's update to the Nexus 5 software changelog on Sprint's website tells us a new version of Android will begin rolling out within 24 hours.

Sprint has broken the news of a forthcoming Android release twice in the past. With 4.4.1 and 4.4.2, a mini-changelog was posted on the Sprint website about a day before Google began pushing updates to its Nexus devices.

Update: April 17, 2014

Well, looks like Sprint may have jumped the gun a bit and caused some undue excitement. After a couple of days of zero updates, Sprint has removed any mention of a forthcoming Android 4.4.3 update from their site.

This may be a little strong arming from Google, but it's hard to imagine that the update wasn't imminent based on past history. In any regard, we still expect the latest iteration of KitKat sooner rather than later.

Changes We Expect on the Nexus 5

Considering Google's acknowledgement of a battery-draining camera bug, we can expect this update to fix issues with Skype and other camera-dependent apps.

From the information Sprint has made available to us, we can also expect support for the U.S. carrier's new 50-Megabit data connection, dubbed Spark, as long as you're using a Sprint variant of the Nexus 5. This means that customers on the "Now Network" will be able to take advantage of the tri-band connectivity in their phones and should see a significant spike in their mobile data speeds, as long as your market has the technology.

How to Get This Update

The update will come in the form of a staged rollout, meaning only a few users will be given the update in the first day or two. After that, slightly more users will gain access to the update, and in a few days, even more users still. This process repeats until 100% of devices have received the update.

It is important to note that you cannot force this update to come your way. Previous methods involving clearing data on certain apps have been proven ineffective, so the only way to get this update directly from Google is to wait until it comes to you.

How to Check for the Update

Your phone will notify you when the update has been downloaded. For the hopelessly impatient (like myself), you can check for updates manually, but it's really only worthwhile to check every day or so.

From Settings, tap About Phone and head into System Updates. Hit the Check Now button, and see if the update has been made available to you.