Looks like the rumors were true. Sundar Pichai, head of Chrome, Apps and Android at Google, just revealed at the AllThingsD D11 conference that Google will begin selling an HTC One with stock Android next month. Pichai says that the device will be unlocked and will work on both AT&T and T-Mobile, just like the Google Edition Samsung Galaxy S 4. This new Google Edition HTC One will go on sale through Google Play on June 26 for $599.
HTC has offered up a few more details on this "Nexus experience" One in a post on its official blog. The company says that the device will come with 32GB of built-in storage and will be available in silver. Also included is 700/850/AWS/1900MHz 4G LTE connectivity, meaning that the vanilla HTC One will play nicely with AT&T and T-Mobile's LTE networks. On the HSPA+ side, the Nexus experience One will support the 850/1900/2100MHz bands. As our pal David points out, that means that the phone won't support T-Mobile's 1700MHz AWS network, only its refarmed 1900MHz PCS service.
Many folks have been clamoring for the option to buy flagship Android phones with a vanilla version of Google's OS for some time now. It appears that that option is finally becoming a reality, as both the Galaxy S 4 and One will soon be sold with stock Android. The devices will be given the "Nexus experience," meaning that they should receive timely updates from Google, just like a normal Nexus device. Considering that the skinned versions of the S 4 and One have had their software optimized by Samsung and HTC, though, it'll be interesting to see how these Google Edition phones perform compared to their TouchWiz and Sense-laden counterparts.
In addition to his announcement of the HTC One with stock Android, Sundar Pichai confirmed that these Google Edition phones won't bring the end of the Nexus program. "That will continue as well," Pichai said. That means that fans of stock Android will soon have a tough decision to make, as they'll soon have to choose whether they want to buy one of the Google Edition devices or wait until the new Nexus arrives, which is expected to happen this fall.
Finally, Pichai confirmed that Google is working to bring a Google Play Music All Access app to iOS. The music subscription service first launched on Android earlier this month, offering users the ability to stream as much music as they'd like from Google Play's catalog for $9.99 per month. Pichai said that Google is working hard on the iOS app, adding that he expects it to be released to the App Store in "a couple weeks."
UPDATE: Google's own Hugo Barra has posted an official render of the Nexus Experience HTC One to his Google+ page. You can find the image below. Additionally, Barra has revealed that the device will include Beats Audio support.
Via AllThingsD (1), (2), HTC Blog, +Hugo Barra
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