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HTC's Droid DNA will get updated to KitKat this week, despite its age

Don't worry, Droid DNA fans -- HTC may have given the One series its first batch of Android 4.4 KitKat upgrades, but it still has plenty of love for Verizon's late 2012 flagship. Mo Versi, Executive Director of Product Management, announced that the DNA will get an over-the-air update to the latest firmware update (along with the Sense 5.5 interface) starting on April 24th. This is great news because the DNA, Verizon's version of the Butterfly, is quickly approaching its 18th month of life -- a milestone which is too often considered an expiration date by Android manufacturers. HTC recently announced its Advantage program, in which it guarantees its flagship phones will be updated for at least two years, but the DNA came out well before such a promise was given. Adding to our surprise is the fact that Verizon isn't exactly the quickest at pushing out phone updates.

The DNA, which launched on Android 4.1 and Sense 4+, will now offer Android 4.4 and Sense 5.5. While users currently enjoy Sense 5 features like BlinkFeed and video highlights, version 5.5 should make both of them infinitely better: provided the DNA gets the full benefits of the update, both features will be much more customizable, and you'll even be able to turn BlinkFeed completely off if you haven't found any use for it. There are also more options for quick settings, such as a Do Not Disturb mode.