Brits denied a scoop of vanilla Android goodness.
Eyeing the Samsung Galaxy S4 Google edition that showed up last week at the Google I/O event? You’re not alone.
If site-users’ searches on uSwitch Tech are anything to go by, a version of Samsung’s flagship kit without the phone-maker's Nature UX software customisations is in huge demand with UK smartphone fanatics.
However, today it has emerged that if you're planning to buy one from the get-go when the handset launches in June, you’re in for a disappointment.
A Google rep has told CNET UK that the Galaxy S4 Google edition will be exclusive to the US when it initially goes on sale. Worryingly for would-be owners, the search giant’s employee also doesn’t seem to have committed to a release in other territories at a later date, suggesting that there’s at least some chance it might not make it across The Pond.
However, given that there’s no technical reason standing in the way of a UK launch, we think Google probably just wants to test the water in the US first.
Demand for the phone is expected to be especially strong among rabid tech fans who appreciate that phones running vanilla versions of Android are first in line for updates to new versions of Google’s platform. The fact that Google's take on the smartphone packs all the same lavish high-end specs as the standard Galaxy S4 won’t hurt its appeal with that demographic either.
Priced at $649 (about £430) in the US, the Google version of the Samsung Galaxy S4 will be sold solely SIM-free through the Google Play store rather than on monthly contracts with networks.
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