Owners of the popular HTC One S handset have just received a death sentence from HTC itself: the smartphone will not receive Android 4.2.2 or the new Sense 5 user interface.

HTC One S users around the world will simply have to settle for Android 4.1 Jelly Bean and Sense 4 just 15 months after the phone's release.

An HTC spokesperson had the following to say:

"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."

Although disheartening, this isn't the first hint we've gotten that HTC won't be upgrading the smartphone anymore.

Well-known HTC insider and modder LlabTooFeR took to Twitter saying, "Update will be canceled with 95% probability," when responding to a question about the One S receiving Android 4.2.2 and Sense 5. It was then revealed that Sense 5 would not be ported over the One S. An HTC executive then basically said that without Sense 5, there would be no Android 4.2.2.

All in all, the move comes as somewhat of a surprise, as HTC has provided decent support to its devices in the past, and the company is in a bit of a rough spot against competitors. Rivals Samsung, Sony, and Motorola are all trying to bump up their devices to Android 4.2.2 in order to keep up with Google's pace, and HTC's lagging sales could certainly benefit from higher operating system versions.

Are you an HTC One S user? What does this mean for you? Will you look for another smartphone to purchase or are you happy with the One S experience as it is?