The Google Play editions of the HTC One and Galaxy S4 have just gone up for sale on the Play Store, and their reviews are out as well. While these handsets very much run stock Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean, they do have some differences. Here are some things that you should know about the Google Play editions of the HTC One and Galaxy S4, which should make your decision of buying them or not easier.
- The Google Play edition of HTC One and Galaxy S4 run on stock Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean with just a few minor differences. On the Galaxy S4, the lock screen is a bit different, and it can still take advantage of the S-View cover. On the One, there is toggle to enable or disable Beats Audio.
- There is a new camera app on both the devices. Gone are the thumb controls for a semi-circular options UI around the shutter button.
- The camera quality of both the devices are same as their Sense and TouchWIZ counterpart. This should come as a huge relief for potential buyers who were worried about the One camera quality suffering heavily without HTC’s under-the-hood tweaks and software.
- The 3-dot menu button still comes up on the HTC One on some older apps like Facebook
- The performance of both the devices running stock Android is pretty much the same as their Sense/TouchWIZ counterpart.
- HTC plans on releasing the stock ROM for its developer and unlocked HTC One variants.
- While the Google Play edition of Galaxy S4 features a microSD card slot, you cannot use it for installing apps or storing your photos clicked from the Camera app.
- The kernel for the Google Play edition devices are supplied by their respective OEMs themselves. It is only the Android software that Google has provided.
- The updates for these Google Play edition devices won’t be handled by Google directly. Instead, the OEMs will be responsible. However, the updates should arrive within days or weeks of a new Android version being released.
- Both the Google Play editions are being sold unlocked on the Play Store, and will work just fine on the AT&T and T-Mobile HSPA+/LTE network.
- Video HDR, Zoe, Highlights, Drama shot and all other camera features are missing from both the devices.
- The Galaxy S4 Google Play edition handset has 12GB+ of free internal storage compared to 8GB on its TouchWIZ counterpart.
- No, you cannot install either the TouchWIZ or Sense camera app on either of the handsets.
- The Galaxy S4 GPe edition lacks Bluetooth tethering. This will be added in a future software update.
That’s it for now. If I come across anything else about these devices, I will update this post accordingly.
Image Credit – AnandTech
