HTC One could join Google's Galaxy S4 with stock Android

The HTC One could be next in line after the Samsung Galaxy S4 to get pure, unadulterated stock Android.

Last week, Google announced a Google Edition of the S4, with all Samsung's extra apps and features stripped away to leave you with basic stock Android software.

HTC has no official plans for a Google Edition of its flagship phone, the excellent One. But an influential HTC developer claiming to have the inside track reckons we'll see the One running stock Android software before the summer is out.

The One, like all HTC Android smart phones, adds HTC's own user interface, called HTC Sense, on top of the basic stock Android setup. Sense adds features such as a homescreen that shows giant pictures based on different feeds such as news or your social networks.

The downside to these extras is that they take up more space on your phone, and use more of your phone's brain to keep them running than just the basic no-frills Android. Samsung recently came under fire for filling half the S4's advertised memory with firmware and extra software. 

Up until now, the only way to get pure, unadulterated Android straight out of the box is with Google's own Nexus 4, a fine phone at a darn fine price. But those options are widening with the Google Edition of the S4, the HTC One on the cards, and an official promise of more pure Android phones from Motorola.

Do you want the option of stock Android when you're choosing a new phone, or are the added extras part of the charm? Tell me your thoughts in the comments, or head for our pure and unadulterated Facebook wall.