There are some great black editions around. The muted stylings of the Audi A5 Black Edition or the carbonfibre interior of the Mercedes SLS Black series. Now Samsung is getting in on the act with the Samsung Galaxy S4 Black Edition. 

Ok it's perhaps a tenuous link, given that the Black Edition is really just a small restyling of a phone that's waiting to be replaced by the recently-announced Samsung Galaxy S5.

READ: Samsung Galaxy S5 preview

However, as soon as we saw the SGS4 Black Edition we were drawn to it. It's a minor refresh which brings a new look to the great 2013 device.

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There are the neat black wallpapers - which admittedly you could install on any device, as well as a couple of ringtones - but we really like the leather effect on the back.

That's something that's spreading across a range of Samsung devices. It was first seen on the Samsung Galaxy Note 3, but has since found its way to the TabPro range, as well as Chromebook. 

We prefer that leather mottling and stitching on the small scale, as it is on the Samsung Galaxy S4 Black Edition, so we'll admit to liking the effect here.

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There's also the blackened bezel, meaning there's less gloss, less chrome trim, giving a slightly more serious and stylish look. Moving away from the glossy plastic of the original makes it feel better in the hand too. Importantly, if you're looking for a new handset and don't want to be walking around with the familiar existing SGS4 models that have been around for a year, then the Black Edition may appeal.

READ: Samsung Galaxy S4 review

It's the same phone, in reality, with a 5-inch 1920 x 1080 pixel display, a 1.9GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon chipset and the 13-megapixel rear camera, as well as coming with all of Samsung's fancy software features. 

The Samsung Galaxy S4 Black Edition is available in the UK, and elsewhere, now. Phones 4u are offering the SGS4 Black Edition for free from £29 a month on contract. There is also a Black Edition of the SGS4 Mini.

Click through to the gallery below for a closer look.