Diggin’ the new HTC Onebut not a big fan of Sense? Just like last years HTC One (M7), HTC has partnered with Google to release a version of its latest flagship device with stock Android to be sold on Google Play. The HTC One (M8) Google Play edition is official.

Listed as coming soon for $699, the Google Play edition HTC One will come contract-free, totally unlocked and running a slightly modified version of stock Android to better suit the device. The specs are the same as the US modelof the One (2.3GHz Snapdragon 801) and will work on T-Mobile and AT&T.

Last year’s HTC One Google Play edition device ended up being somewhat controversial. In theory, the Google Play edition program is the answer to a lot of Android enthusiasts complaints. All the latest flagships running stock Android, doing away with nasty third-party skins? It’s a dream come true, right? Not quite. With the HTC One, Google Play edition felt more like Half Done Missing A Lot of Essential Features editon. HTC has put a lot of work into the special hardware included in the new HTC One, like BoomSound speakers and Duo Camera, and we don’t know how well that hardware will work with stock Android. Last year it didn’t go well. We can only hope this year will be different.

With HTC’s new announce and release strategyfor the One, we wouldn’t be surprised if “coming soon” on Google Play meant later this afternoon. We’ll keep you updated.