Samsung's Galaxy Nexus won't get an official KitKat update

The Samsung Galaxy Nexus, one of the older devices in Google's Nexus program, won't be updated to Android 4.4 KitKat. Google says the phone is outside its 18-month window for updates.

The Galaxy Nexus was released in November 2011 and debuted Google's Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich operating system. It has had constant updates since then and currently runs Android 4.3 Jelly Bean, but future official updates are out of the question.

In a FAQ on its support website, Google has released a very brief question and answer on the Galaxy Nexus. The phone won't be getting a KitKat update because at two years old, it's outside Google's support window for Nexus devices. The move has angered some owners — not least because the Galaxy Nexus remained on sale at various outlets until just over a year ago.

Engadget reports that sources "close to the company" have claimed that discontinued support from the chipmaker behind the Galaxy Nexus' processor, Texas Instruments, is to blame. Enterprising coders on the XDA Developers forums have ported the Android 4.4 KitKat OS to run on the Galaxy Nexus, though, but graphical glitches prevent it from being entirely usable.

Other Google devices are reaching the end of their officially supported lifespan soon, too; the Google Nexus 4 is currently a year old, and the first-generation Nexus 7 tablet has been available for just over 16 months.

Android 4.4 KitKat, which launched with the Google Nexus 5 last week, brings a raft of graphical and feature updates to the Android platform, including improved voice search and a unified instant-messaging and SMS app.