HTC planning Google Play Edition of the new HTC One

We're en route to the launch of HTC's new HTC One flagship smartphone, but in advance of the big announcement is some equally big news that has caught our eye. The boys at Android Police have spotted evidence of a Google Play Edition of the new HTC One.

The confirmation comes via a Play Store app description from HTC. In preparation of the launch of the new HTC One, the company has been uploading Sense 6 apps to the Play Store so that the new HTC One software can be easily updated. The description for the HTC Gallery app reads "Support for HTC One(M8) Google Play Edition is limited to HTC Photo Edit." "M8" is the codename for the new HTC One (the old HTC One is the M7) so the app is saying it's incompatible with the Google Play Edition of the new HTC One.For those that don't know, Google Play Edition devices skip the skinned versions of Android that OEMs usually ship on their devices and replace it with stock Android. On the HTC One, Sense 6 would be removed, and you would get a software loadout similar to the Nexus 5. Updates on Google Play Edition devices also come directly from Google, which means they are updated weeks before their skinned counterparts.

This is the first we've heard of a Sense-less version of HTC's new flagship, so we don't have pricing or availability details. If you like the hardware of the new HTC One, you'll eventually have a choice of software—provided you can hold out an unspecified amount of time.

Update: Google has posted a listing for the new HTC One Google Play edition in the Play Store. The new phone is based on the 32GB version of the HTC One M8, will run you $699 unlocked, and will ship in two to three weeks. Last year's HTC One Google Play edition has been discounted to $499, presumably until stocks are deple