HTC has been widely criticized for using its ‘UltraPixel’ sensor on the One M7 and M8. Regardless of the camera hardware, HTC’s camera app is top-notch and manages to provide a plethora of options in a very simple and easy to use UI. 

Up until now it was not possible to get the Sense camera run on the Google Play edition HTC One(s), because the GPe firmware lacked the necessary Sense framework. However, things have changed with the recent Lollipop update for the Google Play edition One M7 and M8 as the Sense camera app now partly works on these devices.

While the basic camera functionalities work just fine, advanced features like touch to focus, video recording and auto exposure are broken. Chances of the developer fixing these issues in the app are pretty bleak as it requires access to the original source code of the HTC Camera app.

With the new Camera APIs introduced by Google in Android 5.0, it is just a matter of time before we see some excellent camera apps making their way to the Play Store. Until then, the Sense camera app should be enough to get the job done when compared to the Google Camera app.

You can install the Sense Camera app on your Google Play edition HTC One M7 and M8 provided you have root access with the HTC Service Pack from the Play Store installed on the handsets.

Download: Sense 6 camera app for GPe HTC One