HTC is reportedly contemplating the idea of releasing a version of their flagship One smartphone that would ship with a vanilla Android 4.2.2 installation. The current iteration of the One runs the HTC Sense overlay which, according to many, heavily muddles the Android experience.
Of course, HTC's software plays heavily into the function of the phone's camera (HTC ImageSense) and audio system (BeatsAudio). Without the HTC software, could these two features still perform at the same level they do now? Or perhaps HTC would keep feature-necessary software while ditching the general overlay?
Such a rumor might otherwise be dismissed but considering Google recently announced a pure version of the Galaxy S 4 at the company's I/O conference, this seems much more plausible.
It remains unclear exactly how HTC would sell the phone to customers, however. One would think it would be available through the Google Play store but perhaps HTC would rather offer the handset directly to customers instead. For comparison, the Galaxy S 4 will be sold exclusively through Google Play starting June 26 for $649 without carrier subsidy.
Sources tell Geek.com that a pure HTC One will be announced within the next two weeks with a potential release lined up for sometime this summer. For what it's worth, the publication correctly pinned the Galaxy S 4 Google Edition ahead of its announcement so maybe they've got some solid intel on the One as well.