Samsung I9505G Galaxy S4 Google Play Edition review: Purified

14 July 2013
We’ve got something special at HQ today. The perfect Nexus phone has arrived and it looks like a Galaxy S4. This shameless poser embodies everything worth admiring from both worlds – timely updates, the unblemished stock Android...

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  • g
  • goodchild
  • Nv$
  • 30 Apr 2017

samsung phones have the worst batteries ever

    • D
    • AnonD-531821
    • t7X
    • 30 Apr 2016

    I'm using galaxy s4 and this phone rocks. There are many phone coming out now like s7, but the bottomline the functionality where almost the same, there just only updates and enhancement happen. Best phone ive been using with.

      • ?
      • Anonymous
      • nFY
      • 21 Aug 2013

      Anonymous, 03 Aug 2013What are the chances of getting samsung galaxy s4 google ed... moreBought mine from the States using ebay! Noticeably faster and smoother than the touchwiz'd S4.

        • v
        • vij
        • upd
        • 11 Aug 2013

        No commands...

          • R
          • Roderzzz
          • wg0
          • 08 Aug 2013

          AnonD-77443, 15 Jul 2013The only advantage of "Pure" android is the quick... moreYeah Lot of features but who really uses them.. No matter how much ram and cores samsung romss always lag after a while of use.. Stock android never does and there's definately a market just look at cyanogenmod downloads...

            • R
            • Roderzzz
            • wg0
            • 08 Aug 2013

            Well this is what everyone has been really asking for. How many people out there flash an asop rom.. Now you have stock android officially out of the box without voiding warranty and all those headaches. I rekon good job samsung and google.

              • ?
              • Anonymous
              • B{2
              • 03 Aug 2013

              What are the chances of getting samsung galaxy s4 google edition in UK?

                • ?
                • Anonymous
                • jej
                • 29 Jul 2013

                Is this is google play edition, why is non of the touchwiz software a disadvantage? What would be the point of this phone if there was touchwiz.

                  • D
                  • AnonD-168882
                  • mEA
                  • 25 Jul 2013

                  The FM radio is still avaible?

                    • D
                    • AnonD-142391
                    • QAf
                    • 19 Jul 2013

                    You failed to mention 3 of the benefits of a phone that's not locked down to a specific carrier (regardless of whether you buy your phone outright).

                    1) No bloatware
                    2) Google Wallet works (not available on most carriers due to them, at some point, implementing a competitor)
                    3) So does internet hotspot (carriers block this feature unless you pay them a premium each month)

                      • s
                      • superdupercheese
                      • 9Cn
                      • 18 Jul 2013

                      Wait, so you praise the OS for it being a true Android experience, but then you go and list the same thing as a con? Is it really a con that its running a real Android and doesnt gave TouchWiz? If it had Samsungs crap installed, how it would be better from the regular S4?

                        • A
                        • Android Man
                        • nFK
                        • 18 Jul 2013

                        this is typical. and so frustrating. you go buy a phone a week later a better version comes. and so on. i wish all phones in uk/us/europe come as standard vanilla os. then if you a network version. you can ask for it.

                        the punter gets shafted each time.

                          • D
                          • AnonD-165528
                          • 4ZF
                          • 16 Jul 2013

                          No comment on using google wallet? Did you guys try it out?

                            • ?
                            • Anonymous
                            • Ybj
                            • 16 Jul 2013

                            AnonD-3678, 16 Jul 2013The JavaScript performance is lame compared to Samsung's cu... moreThis way you'll still get to keep features that google seems to think are unnecessary like smart-dialer, codec support, and color settings. Plus, a custom launcher gets rid of the couple places that stock TW slows down sometimes. Best of both worlds in every sense.

                              • D
                              • AnonD-3678
                              • txq
                              • 16 Jul 2013

                              The JavaScript performance is lame compared to Samsung's customized version. To feel stock Android, you better try to replace the launcher with stock launcher that you can take from Android SDK.

                                • D
                                • AnonD-165528
                                • 4ZF
                                • 16 Jul 2013

                                Nice job on the review. It is the most in depth I have seen.

                                I like touch wiz and vanilla android. I like to switch between them for weeks at a time. Also look forward to having Google Wallet again like I had with my Nexus 4. I am looking forward to my pair of S4's! I wish the GE S4 came in Black...oh well...I will be ordering as soon as I come off vacation.

                                  • D
                                  • AnonD-165528
                                  • 4ZF
                                  • 16 Jul 2013

                                  chocowii, 15 Jul 2013Nexus will always get the first updates. The 4.3 is just a ... moreYou obviously did not have a nexus when 4.2.2 came out. Some bugs for the Nexus 4 and lots for the Nexus 7...In fact the joke was it was still in beta when they released it...

                                    • D
                                    • AnonD-165528
                                    • 4ZF
                                    • 16 Jul 2013

                                    Anonymous, 15 Jul 2013Wow, I am really disappointed by the benchmarks of the stoc... moreOr those of us who want both models and can afford it...vanilla android has a very nice elegance to it. No crap that you do not want from the beginning.

                                      • R
                                      • RISHABH GUPTA
                                      • utB
                                      • 15 Jul 2013

                                      Hey! As You know this phone and phones like nexus have a special google photosphere.

                                      Its not available for other phones, though some "good" people have extracted it and now its available for any android device!

                                      I downloaded it too and it works like charm!!!

                                        • y
                                        • yeah
                                        • j8w
                                        • 15 Jul 2013

                                        AnonD-41144, 15 Jul 2013I keep being amazed by how the "full price" is se... morethank you!