A few days ago, users were reporting that the KitKat update for the Galaxy Note 3 disabled some unofficial accessories. Third-party S-View cases, which trigger a special screen mode when closed, were no longer recognized by the Note 3 after the update. At the time, Samsung claimed that "[a] correlation between the Android version 4.4 and the supposed incompatibility of third-party accessories does not exist" and suggested that users buy official Samsung accessories. Today Samsung sent a new statement to Ars Technica:
We have currently identified a software compatibility issue with the Galaxy Note 3 update to Android 4.4 (KitKat) and select 3rd party accessories. A software update will be available shortly. We are committed to offering a diverse and reliable mobile experience for all customers, providing continued support and solutions for any issues that arise with product updates for both Samsung manufactured and third-party accessories.
Samsung now says that the update did indeed break some third-party accessories, and an update is on the way to fix it. As we noted when we initially reported on this issue, it didn't make sense for the problem to be due to a malicious act by Samsung—the company doesn't gain much by intentionally sabotaging third-party accessories. It's good to see Samsung acknowledging and addressing the problem.
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