The wait for the release of the hotly-anticipated Android 4.3 Jelly Bean OS may seem to be never ending, but there's a silver lining. The recently released Google Edition of the Samsung Galaxy S4 has now received the Android 4.3 update, albeit unofficially.
While Google is yet to push out the new Android 4.3 version of the OS, the update has now made its way to the Galaxy S4 Google Edition variant with stock Android.
According to an XDA Developers report, XDA Elite Recognized Developer Chainfire has apparently managed to adjust his SuperSU root app for Android 4.3, which is based on the firmware that leaked recently.
"A recently leaked Samsung firmware based on Android 4.3 (JWR66N for those keeping track) has been found to work pretty darn well on the original TouchWiz-laden Snapdragon-powered Galaxy S4," XDA Developers reports. "However it was not rootable until today, and therefore somewhat less viable of an option for those who can't live without their root applications. Cue XDA Elite Recognized Developer Chainfire and his modified version of SuperSU, which is specially adapted for use with 4.3," notes the XDA Developers report.
Chainfire made the announcement public via a Google+ post which explains why a modified SuperSU is essential.
"For this root, SuperSU is running in daemon mode (new feature), and launched during boot. The daemon handles all su requests, and while this should mostly work just fine, some apps may expect their su session to be running on the same branch on the process tree as the app that launched the session," says Chainfire when explaining the difference between a regular version of SuperSU and this one.
The developer also opines that currently it is unclear if the protections in place are courtesy of Samsung or come thanks to Android 4.3. He also observes that all features are "fully operational."
Rooting a device comes with the risk of bricking your gadget. Those who don't wish to take any chances should wait till Google officially pushes out the new update, which is likely to be sooner rather than later.
