Android L could be coming to Galaxy S5, Note 4 as early as November

In the wake of iOS 8, the operating system that will power the soon-to-be-shipped iPhone 6, coverage of Android L has slowed to a crawl. Android L debuted over the summer to an overwhelmingly positive response, but as Google has been very deliberate about actually bringing the new OS to Android phones, many Android users have simply moved on with their lives. Thankfully, they might not have to

wait much longer.

According to SamMobile’s insiders, Samsung is planning to roll out Android L for the Galaxy S5 and Galaxy Note 4 some time in November or early December. The Galaxy S5 has been available since April and we now know that the Galaxy Note 4 will hit store shelves on October 17th. Even though the wait has been substantial, it would be a reasonably quick turnaround for an Android update.

Rumors have begun to spread that the Nexus 9 will be one of the first devices to launch with Android L next month. If Google does unveil a Nexus 9 preloaded with Android L in October, the timeline might just add up for Samsung.

As it stands, Apple has an opportunity to run away with the holiday season if Google doesn’t intervene. The iPhone 6 is already on track to break every record the iPhone 5s set last year. Android L could be one way for Google (and Samsung) to plug the leak.

Samsung Galaxy Note 4 preorders in South Korea sell out

High demand for the Galaxy Note 4 in Samsung's home country has completely exhausted preorder supplies for all major carriers (SK Telecom, KT, LG Uplus), and has helped reinvigorate a domestic smartphone distribution market that has been dormant of late.

For SK Telecom, Korea's biggest 
network carrier with 50.3 percent market share, preorder units sold out in 9 hours, while it took just three days for KT and LG Uplus to sell all of their preorder supply. All three carriers had set a limited preorder time span, from September 18 to September 25.

Samsung has also expedited the official launch dates of the Galaxy Note 4, deciding to hold a press conference on September 24 and launch on September 26. Many industry analysts have speculated that Samsung is hurrying for early entry in response to Apple's iPhone 6 and Watch, which garnered significant attention when it was unveiled earlier this month.

The Samsung Galaxy Note 4 is the company's latest phablet. Announced earlier this month at the IFA tradeshow in Berlin, the Note 4 brings about a new metal frame design while still packing in a stylus. It comes with a 5.7-inch Quad HD display with a super-sharp resolution of 2,560x1,440-pixels and a 16-megapixel rear camera. The Korean version of the Note 4 packs an Exynos 5433 octa-core processor, unlike the global version, which comes with a quad-core Snapdragon 805.



The Galaxy Note 4 has been marked with a list price of 957,000 Korean Won or $920. This price point is actually the lowest ever for any of the Galaxy Note iterations. Last year's Galaxy Note 3 cost 1,067,000 million won or $1,025 at the time of launch.

Korea's smartphone distribution market will likely see a substantial jump in sales with the launch of the Galaxy Note 4 and iPhone 6, a sigh of relief for Korean network carriers and retailers. Phone sales had been dropping consistently for the past year, in large part because of changes in handset subsidy regulations enforced by the government.