HTC has recently confirmed that the developer edition of the HTC One will get the latest Android 4.3 Jelly Bean operating system instead of Android 4.2 Jelly Bean.
The HTC One released in April this year comes pre-loaded with the Android 4.1 Jelly Bean operating system, but some select international models have already started receiving Android 4.2 Jelly Bean software update. HTC One customers on various carriers are still waiting to get a software update.
The Taiwanese company also introduced a developer edition of the HTC One (64GB) in limited quantities in the U.S., which was exclusively available from HTC's website back in April 19 this year. The developer edition of the HTC One ships with an unlocked bootloader, which can be used for the development and installation of custom ROMs. The handset also supports most GSM networks, including AT&T and T-Mobile's LTE networks, but it doesn't support T-Mobile's AWS-based HSPA+ services.
"How is it possible that the Verizon One will launch with 4.2.2 when us Dev Edition buyers are still stuck on 4.1!? Frustrating!" a user recently asked HTC's president Jason Mackenzie.
"We definitely care and want you to have great experience. 2.2 is minor update so decided to go straight to 4.3," tweeted Mackenzie in response.
Google launched the much-awaited Android 4.3 Jelly Bean operating system along with the refreshed version of the Nexus 7 in July this year. Currently, only the refreshed version of the Nexus 7 comes pre-loaded with the latest Jelly Bean flavor and only Nexus devices and Google edition of smartphones have received the latest software update.
Mackenzie was also asked when the Android 4.3 Jelly Bean will reach the developer edition of the HTC One, but he didn't comment on a release date.
Even though Android 4.2 Jelly has started rolling to some smartphones, currently a majority of top-end Android handsets released in 2012 and 2013 are still running on Android 4.1 Jelly Bean. Customers will be more than happy to receive Android 4.3 Jelly Bean and skip Android 4.2 Jelly Bean altogether.
