Google’s Sundar Pichai just confirmed at D11 what we suspected all along: a vanilla version of the HTC One is on the way. The handset, which will run on AT&T and T-Mobile’s speedy LTE data networks, is scheduled to debut on June 26 for $599 without carrier subsidy via the Google Play store.
In a blog post on the matter, HTC said the response to the handset has been phenomenal with reviews praising the phone’s design and innovative features. The company said they are now excited to offer HTC fans a new experience running on what they feel is the best hardware available today.
The smartphone will ship with 32GB of internal storage in silver and aside from the Android experience, everything else will remain identical. Additionally, Google will be responsible for issuing updates for the handset, not HTC. It will initially ship with Android 4.2.2 and an unlockable bootloader, we’re told.
How the pure experience will affect certain key features of the HTC One remains to be seen. For example, the phone’s camera and audio system are both software enhanced. Will these perform up to par without the software? Or perhaps HTC left some key software in place? I suppose we will find out soon enough.
HTC already offers a SIM unlocked version of the One as well as a developer edition on their website for $599 and $649, respectively. Both of these phones, however, run the HTC Sense overlay.
