Samsung Galaxy S4 Google Edition announced

We may not have seen an update to the Google Nexus 4 at Google I/O 2013, but the company did have something to share at the conference. Google announced the Samsung Galaxy S4 Google Edition, which brings the original Samsung Galaxy S4 hardware with the same software experience offered on Google's Nexus Series. This means you will be receiving the latest versions of Android directly from Google as it is released to the rest of the Nexus devices instead of the TouchWiz UI experience offered by Samsung.

The Galaxy S4 Google Edition will be sold through the Google Play Store, but it wont be offered at the same affordable Nexus 4 prices. Instead the Galaxy S4 Google Edition will cost $649 for its 16GB model.

We aren't sure if the higher pricing of this handset will allow it to garner the same demand the Nexus 4 saw, but we reckon the developer community will welcome the option of purchasing a Galaxy S4 will stock Android.

The fact that this device comes with LTE connectivity and a microSD slot is also a welcome addition as the current Nexus flagship doesn't feature either.

While it is extremely likely that the Galaxy S4 Google Edition will feature Snapdragon 600 processor which is being offered through other U.S. carriers. We cant help but hope the handset will feature the Octa core Exynos processor instead.

If you are interested in getting your hands on the Galaxy S4 Google Edition, you can do so after June 26th through the Google Play Store. It will be a GSM unlocked handset, which means it will work on AT&T and T-Mobile networks.