The Galaxy S4 Google Edition will not get updates through Google

As we told you earlier today, the Galaxy S4 Google Edition is now available for order on the Play Store here in the US. It will offer a pure Nexus experience to all those who want stock Android while still showing off all of the Samsung high-end’s qualities.

While this version of the S4 forgoes the TouchWiz overlay and all associated features, there is a significant upside to this slimmed-down version: updates.

With this announcement, many thought this meant the device would be in sync with the other Nexus handsets with regards to updates, but this does not appear to be the case anymore.

Indeed our peers over at AnandTech have gotten their hands on the Google Edition (reference number GT-I9505G) source code on Samsung’s Open Source website. This likely means the manufacturer will be the one to issue updates to the Google Edition S4 devices and not Google.

And while the Mountain View firm offers this stock version of the Galaxy S4, it seems they are reluctant to add it directly to the Nexus lineup. As the Nexus brand is meant as a tightly Google-controlled showcase of stock Android’s abilities, each new iteration in the product line is designed under close scrutiny by software giant, which they cannot do with Samsung’s handset. Thus there is no “Google guarantee” of product performance or quality, despite the overwhelming critical success attained by the S4.

On top of this, Samsung, despite being Google most influent partner in the Android and more generally mobile ecosystem, is still a competitor — much the same way Apple buys many of the displays equipping their iPhones and iPads from Samsung and yet wage a ferocious legal battle against them. Google’s reluctance to dub the S4 Google Edition a “Nexus”, therefore, comes as no surprise.

Bottom line: it is likely users will still have to suffer a delay before getting each update, though that delay will probably be much shorter than the current waiting time for run-of-the-mill Galaxy S4 devices which tend to depend not only on Samsung’s release schedule but also on mobile providers whims.