Sense 5 not coming to the HTC One S

Are you a One S owner? If so, we’ve got some bad news for you – Sense 5 is not coming to the HTC One S. Our friends over at MoDaCo have got a quote from a HTC spokesperson on the subject, who said:

We can confirm that the HTC One S will not receive further Android OS updates and will remain on the current version of Android and HTC Sense.  We realize this news will be met with disappointment by some, but our customers should feel confident that we have designed the HTC One S to be optimized with our amazing camera and audio experiences.

Considering the One S was only released last year, the news will come as a sharp blow to those of you with the device. Whilst the attempt at mitigation from HTC is admirable, statements like “we have designed the HTC One S to be optimized with our amazing camera and audio experiences” are no excuse for not updating a relatively new, good specification device. It also does lead me to wonder if other devices designed with “amazing camera and audio experiences” will be updated a year from now.

If you do want the latest Android goodness, all is not lost – XDA-Developers does host a large aftermarket community for the devices. It isn’t Sense 5, but CyanogenMod 10.1 (based upon 4.2.2) is available – just be prepared to invalidate your warranty and, speaking from experience, remember to backup your data first. Also, make sure that you flash the right ROM for your device (there are instructions on the forums). As always…

Both Coolsmartphone and myself are NOT responsible if applying any of the software upgrades and/or tweaks mentioned in this article breaks any of your devices, kills your cat, sends the Earth on a collision course with Mars or does anything else untoward. This update may impair your ability to receive further OTA updates and may void your warranty.

Source: MoDaCo