HTC One runs $599, Samsung Galaxy S4 is $649
Today’s the day, and now’s the time. The Google Play edition — that’s the official name, by the way — Samsung Galaxy Galaxy S4 and HTC One are now on sale directly from Google Play.
These are full-price devices, each upwards of $600, running “stock”-ish Android 4.2.2, which is the latest version of Android released. We say “stock”-ish because, well, “stock” Android means all sorts of things. Anyhoo. You get the Android experience in the purest sense of the word with these devices, and with a couple extra thrown in. (Namely, Beats Audio on the HTC One, and the Samsung flip cover clock on the Galaxy S4.)
The 32-gigabyte HTC One costs $599, and the 16-gigabyte Samsung Galaxy S4 runs $649. You can order both from the devices section at Google Play. And it’s worth mentioning that Google Play has a pretty horrible track record when it comes to up-time during major device launches. So if your order starts to hiccup, hang tight, and be patient. It’s also worth a reminder that these are U.S.-only for now.
- HTC One Google Play edition ($599)
- Samsung Galaxy S4 Google Play edition ($649)
While today is the official order day, Google says phones will ship by July 9, so we’ll keep an eye for updates in our Google Wallet accounts. (Google has a habit of under-promising and over-delivering on that front, which is nice.)
We’ve got both devices already and are giving them the what-for. Check out our initial thoughts on the Google Play editions, and stay tuned for a more in-depth look.