The Android L race continues, but it looks like Samsung is well on its way toward a January 2015 release date for the Android 5.0 Lollipop update in the U.S. -- with the Galaxy S5, Note 4, Note Edge, Note 4, and S4 at the top of the OTA roll out list -- if a recent purported leak on Reddit turns out to be genuine.

Over New Year's week, a Reddit user named "SamsungRep2015" posted a screenshot purportedly from Samsung detailing its Android L update rolling out to Samsung Users in 2015.

The post was "verified" by the Reddit thread's moderator and seemingly shows Samsung might beat HTC, LG and other popular Android OEMs in the race to upgrade their top 2014 smartphones to Android 5.0 Lollipop in the U.S.

According to the post, Samsung's top Android devices will "begin receiving Lollipop OS updates" some time soon, "beginning in January 2015." The email appears to be for "SES" employees, which has been taken by sites like PhoneArena to be shorthand for "Samsung Experience Store" -- aka the kiosks you see in retail stores like Best Buy.

The Reddit user went on with details, including that the Samsung Galaxy S5, Galaxy Note 4 and Galaxy Note Edge were all slated to get the first Android Lollipop updates, followed by the Samsung Galaxy S4 and Note 3.

Is This Real?

While the month-early Android 5.0 release date for Samsung devices in the U.S. is new and buzzworthy, the actual order of the Android L update releases are pretty much in line with what everyone would expect, and there are several reasons for both trusting the "leak" and taking this rumor with a grain of salt.

First of all, the "SamsungRep2015" account has been deleted from Reddit after being up for two days along with his replies posted purportedly detailing specs, features and confirming rumors about the upcoming Samsung Galaxy S6.

But the Android L update post is still on Reddit and still marked as "verified," and as we previously mentioned, the since-deleted status of the SamsungRep2015 account could point toward the leak's veracity, if it was used as a temporary burner account to cover the source's tracks.

Add to that the fact SamsungRep2015 introduced himself as "employed by Samsung," according to BGR; working in SES stores is a rather tangential relationship to the manufacturer compared to that claim.

However, it stands to reason Samsung would alert in-store employees to update their retail models well before the Android 5.0 Lollipop update hit any devices activated with U.S. carriers, which is exactly what the email says.

One last consideration needs to be made for anyone expecting an OTA Android L update notification in January on their Samsung devices: Even if the email is genuine, it actually doesn't confirm any consumer Samsung devices -- that is, smartphones activated with U.S. carriers, which normally take four to six weeks extra to test and verify that a new Android update will work with their respective networks before any OTA OS update rollout begins -- will get their Lollipop in January 2015.

Specifically, the email states that the "Android Lollipop Update Coming to Samsung Users in 2015" and that "Beginning in January 2015, Android devices will begin receiving Lollipop OS updates." There's actually no specific confirmation any Samsung users' Android devices will begin getting Lollipop OS updates in January.

Parsing wording that exactly, especially in an internal company-wide email, might seem insanely precise, but when it's all we have to go on, you have to pay attention to exactly what's being said -- and what's not.

Perhaps you'll see Lollipop in SES retail models in January but still have to wait for your carrier to release the Android L update by February, which is currently the most realistic update release date window available. And that's if the leak is genuine.

Android L Update Momentum is Building

But there are still reasons for hope: Android 5.0 Lollipop has been spotted in the wild on Galaxy S4's, Galaxy S5's and a leaked downloadable Android L update is currently available right now for download from XDA for the Samsung Galaxy Note 3.

All of those Android Lollipop updates are for developer or international models, but a leaked test build of the Android L update for Sprint's Samsung Galaxy S5 in the U.S. has also been spotted and posted for download on XDA this week.

And going back to the source of the most recent excitement, Sprint's progress on the Galaxy S5 Android 5.0 Lollipop update would be in line with SamsungRep2015's claim that "Samsung is whipping carriers and getting directly involved to ship updates faster. It's already had somewhat of an effect on the S5 and Note 4."

Stay tuned for more updates as the Android 5.0 Lollipop update begins to roll out for top Android devices in the U.S.

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