Google mentioned at their annual I/O conference this year that they would be releasing a Google Play Edition Samsung Galaxy S4. That launch has officially been made, and retails for as high as $600 or more. And the I/O conference Google also announced an upcoming Android 4.3 operating system upgrade, and that Jelly Bean OS was officially leaked for the Google Play Edition Samsung Galaxy S4 this past week. On the Verizon network the 16 GB Samsung Galaxy S4 is offered for $149 on contract, and will probably get the Android 4.3 update sometime in the near future.
The Samsung Galaxy S 4 Black Mist is available for a reduced sale price now starting at .
Neither Google nor Verizon has announced a roll-out schedule for Android 4.3 for the carrier-sponsored Galaxy S4, but the recent release for the Google Play Edition S4 gives us an idea of what Android 4.3 offers. Visually quite similar to the Android 4.2 OS, the home screen, menus and many applications have not changed. Bluetooth support has been upgraded, a couple of new camera apps are on board and there are new permissions, but there are no large and noteworthy applications or updates delivered in this OS upgrade.
This is the first time that Google has released three consecutive updates under the same name, Jelly Bean. There is another good piece of news regarding carrier versions of the Galaxy S4 being able to handle the upcoming Android 4.3 OS update. The Google Play Edition device receiving Android 4.3 has a i9505G model number. The hardware on board is exactly identical to North American carrier-branded Galaxy S4 models, meaning that when the Jelly Bean 4.3 software is officially launched, it should move smoothly into handsets like the Verizon Galaxy S4.
The Verizon Galaxy S4 arrives in a slim and light form factor, measuring just 0.31 inches (7.9 mm) in thickness. The handset weighs 4.59 ounces (130 g), and boasts a large 5.0 inch display. That Super AMOLED screen spreads more than 16 million separate colors across the display at a rate of 441 pixels per inch, for an overall Full HD resolution of 1,080 x 1,920 pixels. A layer of scratch resistant Gorilla Glass 3 protects against everyday wear and tear, and the handset delivers up to 17.0 hours of talk time from a full battery charge.
The phone boasts a powerful hardware package, anchored by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 APQ8064T system chip. A quad core 1.9 GHz CPU is on board, as is an Adreno 320 graphics processor, 2.0 gigs of RAM memory, 16 GB of built-in data storage and a microSD slot. The phone is also offered in a 32 GB model, and the main camera on the Galaxy S4 is a 13.0 megapixel rear facing model. Video is recorded in 1,080P HD resolution, simultaneous HD video and image capture is possible, and a front facing chat cam is also on board,
