Among its many other announcements at its I/O developers’ conference in San Francisco this week, Google surprised a packed auditorium in announcing a special-edition version of the Samsung Galaxy S4. The handset will simply be called the Samsung Galaxy S4 Google Edition.
The handset is the same as the original Galaxy S4, except for at least two important details: it comes with stock Android 4.2 “Jelly Bean” without Samsung’s TouchWiz interface — for those those who want a pure “Nexus-like” Android experience — and will also come with its bootloader already unlocked. Users will receive system updates as they come in from Google, rather than relying on a carrier to approve and deliver them.
The SGS4 Google Edition will go on sale for $649 only on Google Play starting June 26. It initially will only be available in the US, and will be compatible with AT&T and T-Mobile USA. Google did not announce when it would be available elsewhere.
