I can't call this an outright review, but here are my thoughts on the device. I'm coming from a Galaxy S II GT-i9100 (international, factory unlocked) running Android 4.1.2 with Touchwiz. While I have done ROM development, in the roughly two years I've had the S2, I've never even rooted it. Never had to as it did all that I needed and came with no carrier bloatware or restrictions.
But I wanted something more this time. I wanted a Nexus, but didn't like the restrictions on recent Nexus devices, namely; limited storage with no expandable option (I'm ok with internal only if there's enough); no removable battery; no LTE support (yet). The recently announced Google Play Editions (GPE) hit the nail on the head for me. While no device is perfect, and the S4 certainly has its flaws (build materials, OLED burn-in), it's the ideal device for a nerd like me.
First things first, there are a lot of people out there who state that stock Android is good enough and that manufacturer overlays are outdated and unnecessary. The majority of these people who state this have never used a vanilla Android device, and many of them think that Cyanogemod = vanilla Android. CM is a custom overlay, just like Sense and Touchwiz. It's merely made to stay consistent with Google's UI design guidelines. But, CM has MANY enhancements not found in pure Android.
Going from the S2 to the S4 GPE, the first thing that I noticed was how barren and clutter-free the S4 was. It's like the iPhone with an application/widget drawer. It's not bursting at the seams with frivolous UI elements like the Touchwiz S4 is. I immediately missed the lockscreen shortcuts of my S2, the ability to have the phone's front camera track your face to prevent the screen from turning off, and some of Touchwiz's other minor elements. Also, the device lacks Touchwiz's developer options (CM has this), which are a Godsend in some cases. The developer options allow you to force hardware accelerated UI rendering, a necessity to eliminate lag in outdated, poorly designed apps (like Redbox). My S2 on 4.1.2 runs the Redbox app like my wife's iPhone. The S4? Runs it like a web browser on Gingerbread, with a poor framerate. However, these apps are quickly becoming the exception, not the norm, and Redbox is the only app that I run that has this issue.
However, the tradeoff for these minor benefits is huge. First, the device is snappy throughout. Every element of the interface is MUCH smoother than the S2 I'm accustomed to, and the Touchwiz S4 I compared it to. Areas of lag are rare (though Chrome is a culprit). Even minor touches, like rotating a video, have that iPhone-ish smooth transition that lacks in most Android devices. And the storage? Out of the box, the phone comes with 12.65gb storage visible to the user and nearly 12GB available. The Touchwiz S4, by comparison, has 9.72GB visible and just over 8GB available. It's a roughly 3.5GB difference in available storage between the two 16GB models.
Conclusion: Compared to the Touchwiz Galaxy S4, the S4 GPE is a more streamlined, more efficient version. If you you're the kind of person who would prefer to not alter a device through rooting and ROMing, it comes down to performance and stability (S4 GPE) versus features (S4 Touchwiz). There is no wrong answer, just a right answer based on your individual needs.
