Earlier today HTC finally announced its 2014 flagship. The All New HTC One a.k.a HTC One M8 is out in all its glory. Its going to take some time before the smartphone hits shelves, fans of the device would probably be itching to get their hands on one right now. Last year a few months after the company launched the original HTC One, it also launched a Google Play Edition variant. It appears that an All New HTC One Google Play Edition is one the cards as well this time around.
HTC launched some new applications on the Google Play Store today, HTC Gallery is one of the apps that were launched. This app contains a reference in its description clearly pointing at the GPE variant. “Support for HTC One(M8) Google Play Edition is limited to HTC Photo Edit.”
For those who don’t know, a Google Play Edition device is sold unlocked and off contract through the Play Store. The best part about these variants is that they run vanilla Android, meaning that the core OS doesn’t get modified by the OEM, HTC in this case. Moreover, GPE devices are next in line after Google’s own Nexus crop whenever a major Android update is released.
Developers tend to prefer these variants since they offer the same build quality and design as their carrier locked counterparts, but don’t come with any of the bootloader restrictions.
It warrants mentioning here that at the event, HTC didn’t officially say anything about the All New HTC One Google Play Edition. Despite the reference found in the app’s description, we’ll have to wait for official word from the company. Its likely that HTC may hold off on the GPE variant for a few months.
UPDATE: All New HTC One Google Play Edition has been confirmed. Product page has gone live on Google Play Store. Pre-orders are being accepted as of now. No word on the release date.
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