Sprint Samsung Galaxy S4 Release Date: Retail Store Sales Delayed Indefinitely Due to Global Supply Shortage

Sprint has delayed sales of the Samsung Galaxy S4 in its retail stores indefinitely, citing supply shortages. Online sales will still begin Apr. 27 as expected.

"Sprint is excited to launch the new Samsung Galaxy 4. We had planned to launch this next generation of the award-winning Samsung Galaxy line-up on Saturday, April 27. Unfortunately, due to unexpected inventory challenges from Samsung, we will be slightly delayed with our full product launch. Sprint is one of Samsung's largest partners and we are working closely with them to launch in all Sprint channels as soon as possible. We expect to make GS4 available at www.sprint.com and Telesales (1-800-SPRINT1) as planned on Saturday with Sprint retail stores and other channels receiving devices as inventory becomes available," Sprint said in a statement.

"Due to overwhelming global demand of Galaxy S4, the initial supply may be limited. We expect to fulfill inventory to meet demands in the coming weeks," Sprint added, so hop online as soon as orders open if you want to grab a Galaxy S4. Sprint pre-orders are already sold out.

Samsung's supply issues are also affecting other carriers. T-Mobile pushed back its online sales to Apr. 29, but in-store sales will still begin May 1, though we'll be watching for an announcement in case that changes.

Supply issues were the reason Samsung said it was offering two different versions of the Galaxy S4 in the first place, so it's unfortunate Americans will still need to deal with the problem but won't get the faster processor.

The Samsung Galaxy S4 features a 1.6GHz eight-core Exynos 5 Octa processor or a 1.9GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 processor (depending on country), 2GB of RAM, a 5-inch 1920x1080 Full HD AMOLED display at 441 ppi, a 13-megapixel rear-facing camera with 1080p HD video, a 2-megapixel front facing camera, internal storage between 16 and 64GB, an SD card slot that can accommodate an additional 64GB, a polycarbonate body, Smart Pause and floating touch tech and runs Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean.

Check back for the latest info on the Galaxy S4 as it becomes available.