This isn’t even an Android One thing, but this post made me nostalgic for my Nexus 6. That was my first android phone, and I had a lot of fun tinkering with rooting and custom ROMs. The codename for the device (used for ROM stuff) was shamu.
I miss my magnificent whale
The Nokia X20 I’m typing this on is part of the Android One program and the handset is still going strong, so much so that I bought another one.
HMD, the spiritual successor to Nokia, still produces the odd phone (latest being the HMD Fusion) that is close to stock Android in feeling. The author mentions that folks looking for stock Android are well served by Pixel A series of phones but they are still overwhelmingly expensive, Atleast in emerging markets.