HTC One and Samsung Galaxy S4 Google Play Edition Start Receiving Android 4.3

As many of you should be aware of by now, earlier this summer both HTC and Samsung have teamed up with Google in order to create and deliver the "Google Play" edition of their flagship phones. In other words, both the HTC One and the Samsung Galaxy S4 have received the Nexus treatment, meaning that their user interfaces (HTC Sense and TouchWiz) have been removed in order to deliver a vanilla Android experience. These "skinless" variants have been retailed exclusively through the Play Store, and the main attraction of these devices was that they were expected to be supported directly by Google.

However, after more digging for information, it's been revealed that neither the One nor the SGS4 in their Play Store edition will be supported directly by Google. In fact, the task of releasing future software updates has fallen in the hands of the OEMs. With that in mind, a lot of gadget enthusiasts have wondered whether or not the "Nexus like" treatment will actually include timely updates, or if both gadgets will be subject to the same delays when it comes down to new firmware releases, as any other regular non-Google smartphone.

Well, the good news is that we now have an answer to these questions. According to numerous HTC One and Samsung Galaxy S4 Google Play edition, both devices have starting receiving the recently announced Android 4.3 update. This actually makes the One and the SGS4 GE the first smartphones to receive the latest Android release, not counting the Nexus line-up, of course. That said, things look really promising for Google Edition owners, and hopefully the same support will continue to be offered in the future as well.

As to what the update brings new to the table, Android 4.3 arrives with a new auto-complete dialer, better tap recognition for the on-screen keyboard, improvements to how gaming accessories (such as gamepads or joysticks) respond (less delay), wider language support, extra tweaks under the hood, better Photosphere algorithms, Bluetooth LE support and more. In addition to these Android-specific goodies, apparently both Samsung and HTC have included their own improvements as well, specifically in regards to Boomsound (One) and Flipcover (SGS4) support.

Do you happen to own either one of these smartphones? Have you received the Android 4.3 update yet? If not, then don't hesitate to go into the settings menu >about phone and see whether or not you can download the update by performing a manual check.

Via: Android Central