While there’s no mistaking the HTC One’s superior hardware, because of Sense, it continued to take a back seat to my Nexus 4. We noticed major performance improvements in our full review of the new Samsung Galaxy S4 Google Play Edition running stock Android instead of Samsung’s clunky TouchWiz UX.įor these reasons, I’ve been toting LG’s Nexus 4, which up until recently was the only out-of-the-box, stock Android smartphone available on top of above-average hardware. HTC Sense, the company’s Android UX overlay it uses to help make its phones unique, unfortunately adds an extra layer that affects the overall performance of the hardware considerably. This is why I couldn’t be any more pleased that Google has decided to release a “Google Play Edition” of the HTC One running stock Android, giving us more hardware options for pure Android devices on top of its Nexus line that ships alongside major new releases. For me, however, there has always been one thing keeping the HTC One from being my go-to recommendation for the best Android smartphone out there – HTC Sense. When we reviewed it back in April, we called it “ a standout, breathtaking Android phone” and boasted about its above-average build quality and crystal clear display. There’s no denying it – the HTC One is one of the nicest pieces of Android hardware on the market. Its high-end Nubia Z7 was announced earlier this month, but it’s not yet clear whether it will make it to the USA.ĮXPANSYS is unloading retired Google Play edition devices, LG G Pad 8.3 starting at $225 ZTE says that it plans to launch further Google edition handsets in future, but that it will continue to use the MiFlavor overlay on others. The Chinese manufacturer says that it expects to sell around 20M smartphones in its home market this year, with a similar number in the US. “We are trying to give users more options.” “Some consumers may prefer Google Now Launcher,” said Zeng Xuezhong, ZTE’s head of mobile device business, in an interview Thursday. ZTE’s new Blade Vec 4G handset, though, is being supplied with the Google Now Launcher as the default interface, reports the WSJ. While those buying high-end handsets often get the option of Google Play editions that are free from manufacturer overlays, the same isn’t generally true of low-end ones, where manufacturer overlays rule.
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