While the fight over smartphone anti-theft legislation continues in the California State legislature, Samsung has announced its new Galaxy S5 devices will come with the so-called "kill switch" app that law enforcement and government prosecutors have been calling for.

Samsung Electronics said users will be able to activate (for free) two security apps for the Galaxy S5, in an effort to deter smartphone theft, according to the Associated Press. The two anti-theft apps for the Galaxy S5 are "Find My Mobile" and "Reactivation Lock." The latter of the two is a form of a "kill switch" app -- long lobbied for by law enforcement as an effective deterrent to rampant smartphone theft -- which allows owners to render the phone completely unusable, remotely, or otherwise "bricks" the phone if would-be thieves attempt to reset it.

"Samsung takes the issue of smartphone theft very seriously, and we are continuing to enhance our security and anti-theft solutions," wrote the company in a statement to the AP.

However, don't expect every Samsung Galaxy S5 to have the ability to activate anti-theft features for free, as only Galaxy S5s sold by Verizon Wireless and U.S. Cellular will allow it.

That's because, while smartphone manufacturers like Samsung generally support the security feature with few reservations, wireless carriers in the U.S. -- and their trade association CTIA -- have strongly opposed making kill switches commonplace.

Two government prosecutors, San Francisco District Attorney George Gascón and New York Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman, have been at the forefront of the call for smartphone kill switches. Last year the two launched an initiative called "Save our Smartphones" or S.O.S.

And as we previously reported, Gascón sponsored a bill introduced in the California State Senate early this year by San Francisco State Senator Mark Leno that would impose fines of up to $2,500 for every smartphone sold by wireless companies without a kill switch feature. Similar legislation is also being considered in New York, other states, and the U.S. Congress.

Responding in a joint statement to Samsung's announcement, Gascón and Schneiderman expressed approval, but said they still had some concerns.

"The decision by Samsung, Verizon and U.S. Cellular to provide Samsung's Find My Mobile and Reactivation Lock features on Galaxy S5 smartphones and to allow those features to be activated for free is a step forward in our effort to ensure the industry makes effective theft deterrents available on every smartphone sold in America," read the statement.

They went on to say that simply "allowing" users to access the anti-theft apps is not exactly what they've been pushing for:

"While we are concerned that consumers will need to opt in to the system, thereby limiting the ubiquity and effectiveness of the solution, the fact that Samsung and these carriers have agreed to work together to make Find My Mobile and Reactivation Lock available sends a strong message that all participants in this industry can indeed work together to make their customers safer. More work needs to be done to ensure that these solutions come standard on every device, but these companies have done the right thing by responding to our call for action."

Just this week, as we reported, a Creighton University study on "kill switches" and smartphone theft was released estimating that installing the software on devices would save Americans up to $2.6 billion per year. Part of those savings would come from not having to buy smartphone insurance, though, which is the entire reason the wireless industry isn't happy about the idea. However, part of the study also included a survey, which revealed that 99 percent of smartphone users felt they should have the "kill switch" option.