The Google Play edition smartphones have begun shipping as of today. This includes the HTC One and Samsung Galaxy S 4 which are both available from the Play Store. These handsets originally went on sale back in late-June, however as of today they are actually available to ship. As had been, the HTC One is priced at $599 and the Galaxy S 4 is priced at $649.
These handsets are both running Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean and will be arriving with familiar specs in terms of the hardware. The HTC One is sporting a 4.7-inch 1080p display, 32GB of storage and a 2300 mAh battery while the Galaxy S 4 has a 5-inch 1080p display, 16GB of storage, micro SD card slot and a 2600 mAh battery. Both handsets have a Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 processor with 2GB of RAM.
Perhaps the more important part here is about the updates and the bit about how both are unlocked and contract free. According to details coming from the Play Store listings, these handsets will have the “latest in Android.” Google notes how;
“The Google Play edition phones automatically receive updates of the latest Android software. Optimized for the latest apps, more storage for your content and a fast, clean user experience all come standard.”
Otherwise, as a result of these handset having already made their way into the hands of some users — we have begun seeing apps and ROMs come available. The Camera app and the wallpapers arrived back on June 27th and they all remain available for download at this time. The Camera app leak is interesting in that it will allow non-Nexus users to capture Photosphere images.
While the Camera app is easy enough for anyone to load up and begin using, we also have the ROMs available for those looking to dive in a bit deeper. An HTC One ROM leaked that allowed users to take their handset to a stock Jelly Bean experience. The same can also be said for those sporting a Verizon Galaxy S 4. More recently we also saw something called MoDaCo Switch that allows HTC One users to switch between Sense and Google.
SOURCE: Google Play Store
Are they going to be available in Canada too? How do you purchase these?
I was hoping Google Play Store may be selling them, but I was wrong.