Samsung Galaxy S3 Update: Powered by Android 4.3 Jelly Bean, the Samsung Galaxy S3’s international variant will not be getting the much-awaited Android 4.4 KitKat. In a set of leaked documents by SamMobile, it noted that S3 models outside the United State would not get the upgrade to the new mobile OS.

The Samsung-focused website reached out to the South Korean tech giant for confirmation and the company acknowledged that since Samsung Galaxy S3’s international variant and Samsung Galaxy S3 Mini’s specs are not capable of running KitKat smoothly, it will not get an update. The official response below from Samsung U.K. sent to SamMobile noted that the handsets’ will not “effectively support platform upgrade.”

“In order to facilitate an effective upgrade on the Google platform, various hardware performances such as the memory (RAM, ROM, etc.), multi-tasking capabilities, and display must meet certain technical expectations. The Galaxy S3 and S3 mini 3G versions come equipped with 1GB RAM, which does not allow them to effectively support the platform upgrade. As a result of the Galaxy S3 and S3 mini 3G versions’ hardware limitation, they cannot effectively support the platform upgrade while continuing to provide the best consumer experience. Samsung has decided not to roll-out the KitKat upgrade to Galaxy S3 and S3 mini 3G versions, and the KitKat upgrade will be available to the Galaxy S3 LTE version as the device’s 2GB RAM is enough to support the platform upgrade.” – Samsung Mobile UK

According to SamMobile, the response from the Samsung confirmed fears that RAM would be the deciding factor if the Android units will be getting an update or not.

Android KitKat does support 512MB RAM for devices and it’s already running on some Android handsets with that much RAM. The issue lies in the fact that Android KitKat is able to run within those constraints but only if the phone is on stock Android and does not have any added features or bloatware that Samsung and other Non-Nexus devices offer.

Since the Samsung Galaxy S3 Mini and Samsung Galaxy S3 will not receive the Android 4.4 KitKat update many expects, it means that the Android 4.3 Jelly Bean is the last official update for the handsets.

As SamMobile notes, “Samsung won’t be extending any further update love to one of its best-selling smartphones.”