Apple's Phil Schiller has slammed the forthcoming Galaxy S4's "year-old" Android software, pointing out that customers will have to wait for an upgrade.
In a fairly un-Apple-like outbust, Schiller has fired criticism at the S4, which will be unveiled at Samsung's Unpacked event in New York on Thursday.
In an interview with Reuters, Schiller pointed out that only 16 per cent of Android users are on the latest Android version.
"And that extends to the news we are hearing this week that the Samsung Galaxy S4 is being rumored to ship with an OS that is nearly a year old," he added. "Customers will have to wait to get an update."
Under pressure
Some would suggest that Schiller's statement is indicative of the pressure that Android has piled on Apple's iPhones.
Google's mobile operating system has already outstripped Apple's in terms of sales - which is fairly inevitable given that most of the main manufacturers use it as their primary OS.
Schiller's views, ahead of the launch, serve to show just how important a phone the S4 actually is, representing the flagship of the Android market.
And we'd lay a bet that you won't hear Samsung having a pop on the day of the Apple iPhone 6 launch when it arrives.
We'll be at the event in New York with all the latest details, so stick around to see just how impressive the Samsung Galaxy S4 proves to be.
