HTC One And GALAXY S 4 Google Play Editions Receive Android 4.3 OTA Update

The HTC One and Samsung GALAXY S 4 Google Play Editions feature pure Android sans the common Sense and TouchWiz interfaces, and for some users, that Android has been bumped to version 4.3 with an OTA update this evening. Though not all owners have received the update yet, reports are starting to roll in from those who have, and we've got the details on it for you after the jump.

The update is showing up as build JWR66V, with the Samsung GALAXY S 4 version being the larger of the two at 180MB, while the HTC One version is 150MB. Among the changes that are coming with the update are larger icons on widget panels, tethering via Bluetooth for the GALAXY S 4, and the menu background has been switched from black to a lighter gradient.

As we noted in our review, the Google Play Edition versions of the two devices feel snappier when being used than their conventional counterparts, though purely in terms of benchmarks the two varieties aren't much different. The GALAXY S 4's software size comes in around the 6GB mark, a couple gigabytes lower than what you get with TouchWiz. As far as hardware goes, however, the handsets are relatively unchanged.

As mentioned, the update is coming OTA, and not everyone is seeing it yet, so if you're still waiting, it should arrive shortly. Not familiar with Android 4.3? The latest Android version brings with it enhancements, improved rendering, and some changes for developers like On-screen GPU profiling. You can check out the entire gamut of what's new in our SlashGear 101.

SOURCE: Anandtech