Soon, there will be no major difference between high-end smartphone, and entry-level smartphone. All thanks to the slimmed down version of Google’s mobile OS, Android Go. Guess where entry-level smartphones are popular; well, the developing countries.
Then, do you remember how Google has been singing all along that the next 500 million users will come from countries such as India (developing nations)? Well, with Android Go, Google is actually putting that fact into motion to becoming a reality. To Google, the huge number of potential users living in developing countries present a big growth opportunity.
Just so you know how serious Google takes the developing countries market, the company has a dedicated Next Billion Users team tasked with developing products and services just for the Indian market. The team is being led by Caesaer Sengupta, and has so far produced solutions like Tez, a payment services operating as a minimalist app that connects the user(s) to government’s UPI interface to facilitate seamless banking. The team is also behind Files Go, a lightweight application that helps users manage files stored on their phones, locate the best free public Wi-Fi out of the hundreds accessible in your locality.
Perhaps the best product yet out of the Next Billion Users team is the Android Go, a slimmed down, lightweight version of Android OS optimized to run smoothly on entry-level devices. Though this is not the first time Google is endeavoring to release a lightweight Android. The first attempt was with Android One, but Android Go is touted to have reimagined the budget users segment.
During his visit to India last year, Google CEO Sundar Pichai said his ideal budget smartphone should cost somewhere around $30. Something Pichai and team thinks will make the many millions of Indians considering to get their first smartphone, do so affordably and rapidly.
The major difference between Android Go and the regular Android is that the former has several tweaks to make it run smoothly in devices with less powerful hardware. Android Go is actually built on Android 8.1 Oreo but with much more advanced data management features at a system-wide level. Users using Android Go devices will have better control of their data usage.
The platform also comes with Google Play Protect right out of the box. A mobile security system that users machine learning to protect you from malicious apps on your phone; it regularly scans all your installed apps.
Android Go comes with an assortment of slimmed downs apps
The lightweight OS comes packed with equally lightweight versions of Google apps, including YouTube Go, and Maps Go. The OS is meant to run smoothly on phones with less than 1GB RAM.
For more information about Android Go, click here.