The Samsung Galaxy S4 Google Play Edition has officially joined the HTC One Developer Edition in getting the latest Android 4.4 KitKat.

Both Samsung and HTC had published their open source kernel files for the update to hit their respective handsets. The HTC One Google Play Edition was the first to start receiving the OTA update, and it was just a matter of time before the Samsung Galaxy S4 Google Play Edition received the same treatment. As it turns out, it only took a few hours.

In a post to the Android Google+ page late on Monday, Nov. 25, Google officially announced that Android 4.4 KitKat started to roll out to the Google Play edition of the Samsung Galaxy S4 as well.

"Starting today, Samsung GS4 and HTC One Google Play edition devices are getting an update to Android 4.4!" read Google's announcement.

It's no big surprise that the Samsung Galaxy S4 Google Play Edition is getting Android 4.4 KitKat, as the update was widely expected, especially once the HTC One Google Play Edition started receiving the OTA.

Each time Google releases a new version of its popular mobile operating system, it has its own ritual. The company launches each version along with a new device. For Android 4.4 KitKat, the launch vehicle was the new Nexus 5. The latest software then starts to roll out to other devices in Google's Nexus family, with Google Play Edition devices next on the list to receive the update. Only after these privileged handsets get their update, the new software starts to roll out to other devices.

In this case, however, the Google Play editions of the HTC One and Galaxy S4 are not the first non-Nexus devices to get the latest software. Motorola's Moto X smartphone received the update to Android 4.4 KitKat a few days ago. On the other hand, Motorola is now Google owned, so it's understandable.

Some Nexus 4 users have reported various issues following their update to the latest Android 4.4 KitKat. If you have the Google Play Edition of either the HTC One or the Samsung Galaxy S4, let us know how it fares after the update. Is everything working well or are you experiencing issues?