Checking out Samsung's Nexus-ized Galaxy S4 (pictures)
It isn't technically a Nexus phone, but Samsung is making a version of its Galaxy S4 flagship with the much loved Nexus OS.
Jessica Dolcourt
Jessica is a passionate content strategist and team leader across the CNET family of brands. She leads a number of teams, including commerce, performance optimization and the copy desk. Her CNET career began in 2006, testing desktop and mobile software for Download.com and CNET, including the first iPhone and Android apps and operating systems. She continued to review, report on and write a wide range of commentary and analysis on all things phones, with an emphasis on the iPhone and Samsung devices. Jessica was one of the first people in the world to test, review and report on foldable phones and 5G wireless speeds.
Jessica began her leadership role managing CNET's How To section for tips and FAQs in 2019, guiding coverage of topics ranging from personal finance to phones to home. She holds an MA with Distinction from the University of Warwick in the UK.
No, you aren't imagining things. At Google I/O 2013, Google announced a specialized, unlocked version of the Samsung Galaxy S4 that gets the full Nexus treatment. That means: bye-bye TouchWiz interface, and hello Nexus UI.
Tap into the notifications area and you'll see that differences are more than just start-screen-deep. The profile to the left of the quick access menu belongs to Hugo Barra, Google's vice president of Android product management. Although we weren't able to handle the device yet, Barra did show it off for us.
It isn't clear yet which of Samsung's software additives will drop off this "Nexus" version of the Galaxy S4, but developers aren't the only ones who will appreciate this lighter OS, modeled in Google's own image of how "pure" Android could be.
Beyond the OS differences, this Google Galaxy S4 comes with the bootloader unlocked and a promise of speedy system updates -- both a boon to developers.
The hardware components remain the same: a 5-inch HD AMOLED display with high sensitivity, a nimble quad-core Qualcomm processor, and a mighty fine 13-megapixel camera. On top of that, there's LTE support and the usual 16GB of onboard storage. You can read all about the Galaxy S4 hardware in my full review.
This GS4 variant isn't cheap, and won't ever show up in your local carrier store. However, a quick trip to the Google Play store on June 26 and $649 will get you the unlocked handset, which will run on AT&T and T-Mobile networks.
