Google Edition Samsung Galaxy S4 Might Not Be Getting Its Updates Directly From Google

Planning on picking up the Google Edition of the Samsung Galaxy S4? Well for the Android user who prefer a more stock experience of Android but does not have the know-how to flash a custom ROM onto their phone, we’re guess that the Google Edition Galaxy S4 will do the trick, with the power of the original hardware minus the fluff that comes with the TouchWiz UI. However if you were thinking that you would be receiving Android updates in a timely manner akin to that of Google’s Nexus devices, well you might, except that it could be a couple of days or more later.

According to a review of the handset conducted by AnandTech, it was discovered that the kernel found on the Google Edition Galaxy S4 is by Samsung, versus Nexus devices whose kernel is from Google. What this means is that while you probably will get updates a lot earlier than regular Galaxy S4 owners, the updates might not come from Google directly, but from Samsung, and because of that it could be a few days after the official release. The exact time frame is hard to say at this point in time, and for all we know Samsung and Google have worked out some sort of deal that would allow updates to be pushed on the same day, but it’s definitely worth keeping in mind when trying to make up your mind.

Tyler Lee
Categories: Cellphones
Tags: Android, Galaxy S4, Google, Samsung