The Google Play edition of the Samsung Galaxy S4 was created mostly so that the devices could get Android and other software updates far quicker than if they had to wait for Samsung to add its own interface to the new operating system. For Samsung Galaxy S4 Google Play edition owners, that just paid off: Android 4.3 is on the way.
According to the tech heads over at AnandTech, the much-anticipated Android 4.3 update has started to roll out for the Google Play edition Samsung Galaxy S4. It's also on its way to HTC One Google Play editions. Late Friday, the site posted an update saying that Google Play edition Samsung Galaxy S4 owners were getting OTA (over the air) notifications to upgrade to Android 4.3.
The site says that the Android 4.3 update is about 150 megabytes for the Samsung UI-less Samsung Galaxy S4 (and 180 MB for the HTC One Google Play edition). The update comes as build JWR66V.
This update comes about a week after Google's Nexus devices started to receive OTA notifications for Android 4.3, meaning that Google has really come through on its promise to treat the Google Play edition of the Samsung Galaxy S4 as a "pure android" device.
Here's what the Android 4.3 update notification looks like on the Google Play edition Samsung Galaxy S4 and what it looks like after it's installed:
Some of the major tweaks coming in the Android 4.3 update for the Samsung Galaxy S4 include Open GL ES 3.0 for far better quality graphics in videos and games, support for restricted profiles (ideal for people with kids, but also interesting for businesses), and Bluetooth Smart Ready support.
AnanTech also has already spotted another new tweak for the Samsung Galaxy S4 Google Play edition: Bluetooth internet tethering. "What's so great about that?" you may ask. Bluetooth tethering is necessary to run some cool new peripherals with your Samsung Galaxy S4 - one of those being Google Glass. That's right, getting Android 4.3 on your Samsung Galaxy S4 Google Play edition makes it ready to work with Google Glasses. So why don't you ask a friend to invite you to the program?
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