Samsung Galaxy S4 Google Play edition no longer sold

The Samsung Galaxy S4 Google Play edition, after being out of stock for some time, has been officially retired from the Google Play Store. That leaves just the HTC One (M8) Google Play edition left to be sold. The Google Play edition phones are loaded with stock Android which means that they do not carry the manufacturer's UI. For example, the HTC One (M8) Google Play edition does not feature HTC's Sense UI.

The Samsung Galaxy S4 had been replaced by the Samsung Galaxy S5 since last March, and no Google Play edition of the newer model has been offered. We can only come to the conclusion that once the HTC One (M8) Google Play edition is no longer sold, the entire Google Play edition line will be allowed to die.

In addition to being powered by stock Android, Google Play edition models also have the benefit of receiving updated Android builds before carrier versions of the same model receive them. With the removal of the Samsung Galaxy S4 GPe from the Google Play Store, there are only four devices for sale in that market place. Those are the Nexus 5, Nexus 6, Nexus 9 and the HTC One (M8) GPe. The Nexus 5 and Nexus 6 are both currently sold out.

source: GooglePlay via AndroidPolice, AndroidandMe