The Samsung Galaxy S4 runs top-of-the-line Android software right out of the box, but Galaxy S4 owners interested in broadening their experiences outside of Samsung's TouchWiz user interface now have two options to consider: Android 4.3, and for those on Verizon, stock Android 4.2.2.
The Android 4.3 build was leaked last week by website SamMobile, a Samsung-centric website that has enjoyed a reliable history regarding Samsung firmwares. While the build was originally meant for the stock Google Play edition of the Galaxy S4, SamMobile was able to port it over to run on Snapdragon-powered Galaxy S4s model GT-I9505.
"We wanted to test out Android 4.3 but didn't had the Google variant of the Galaxy S4 with us, so we ported it to our standard Snapdragon-powered Galaxy S4 (GT-I9505) and got some outstanding results," writes SamMobile. "We haven't made any changes to the port, so it's 100% original with zero changes."
Verizon Galaxy S4 owners have another option they can choose from: the vanilla version of Android 4.2.2. Interested parties can head over to XDADevelopers and read all about it, but be warned: like all unofficial firmwares, it requires some know-how. Not knowing what you are doing can cause the device to brick, making it unusable on top of a voided warranty.
Both the firmwares are stock Android, meaning it's the version straight from Google. There is no Samsung TouchWiz layered on top, so those accustomed to Samsung's look and feel would do better off waiting for the manufacturer to roll out the official versions.
Still, let us know if you had a chance to try any of these Android builds out on your Galaxy S4 and what you thought of them in the comments section below.