When can we expect an upgrade of SageMaker's R kernel to version 4.4.0?

Question

On SageMaker, the current R version in the R kernel is `4.3.3`. However, one fundamental R library is `MASS` and its most recent release requires R version `4.4.0`.
```r
install.packages("MASS")

## Warning message:
## “package ‘MASS’ is not available for this version of R
## ‘MASS’ version 7.3-60.2 is in the repositories but depends on R (>= 4.4.0)
```

There seems to be no way to mitigate the problem, except for upgrading the R kernel's version to `4.4.0`, which was released on 2024-04-24. 
1. Is such upgrade something I can do independently as an end-user?
2. Otherwise, what's the expected timeline for such upgrade by AWS team?

I know the R kernel version is `4.3.3` from running `R.version` command as follows:
```r
R.version

## platform       x86_64-conda-linux-gnu      
## arch           x86_64                      
## os             linux-gnu                   
## system         x86_64, linux-gnu           
## status                                     
## major          4                           
## minor          3.3                         
## year           2024                        
## month          02                          
## day            29                          
## svn rev        86002                       
## language       R                           
## version.string R version 4.3.3 (2024-02-29)
## nickname       Angel Food Cake  
```

Answer

Unfortunately, as an end-user, you cannot independently upgrade the R version in the SageMaker R kernel. The R version provided in the SageMaker R kernel is managed and maintained by the AWS SageMaker team. The timeline for upgrading the R version in the SageMaker R kernel is determined by the AWS SageMaker team based on various factors, such as the stability and compatibility of the new R version with the SageMaker environment, the demand from customers, and the availability of resources for testing and validation. Since the R version 4.4.0 was released recently, it may take some time for the AWS SageMaker team to thoroughly test and validate the new version before making it available in the SageMaker R kernel.

Answer

The Sagemaker service team has the task of integrating new features based on customer requests. The more customer requests there are, the greater the chance that requests will be integrated in the shortest time possible. I recommend reporting the request either to the account manager, if the customer has one, or to the help desk.

When can we expect an upgrade of SageMaker's R kernel to version 4.4.0?

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