HTC hasn’t actually confirmed the One Google Edition yet, but if recent rumors are to be believed, it‘s just a matter of time. Getting your hands on one when they finally do arrive, however, could be a little difficult.

According to “sources familiar with the matter,” supplies of the HTC One Google Edition will be extremely limited, and those who want one could be waiting a long time.

“Although our source doesn’t have an exact number on the number of handsets to be made available, our secret squirrel is saying that HTC will release “around 1 per cent of total sales of the device so far” as a tester to see what the uptake is like,” Pocket-lint reports.

HTC recently that the One surpassed 5 million units sold since it launched back in March. 1% of total One sales, then, is 50,000 units, which isn’t a lot to go around — particularly if HTC makes the handset available globally.

However, it seems more likely that the device would be limited to just one country with such a small number available. Like the Galaxy S4 Google Edition, which was announced at Google I/O earlier this month, the One will probably be available in the U.S. only initially.

If that initial batch sells well, however, then it’s likely HTC will increase the supply. After all, a struggling company can’t afford to ignore a product that sells well. But as I’ve mentioned before, the Taiwanese company will have to work with Google to ensure its hardware — particularly the One’s UltraPixel camera and BoomSound speakers — works well under stock Android.

• SourcePocket-lint