ZTE – that’s right, the Chinese brand the U.S. security chiefs are discouraging Americans to buy from – is the first company to bring smartphone powered by Android Go to the U.S. market.
Dubbed the ZTE Tempo Go, the phone cost just $79.99. While there are no beefy specs to write home about, it has all the basic functions you could ever want from a phone. It comes with a 5-inch display with a 480×854 resolution. A huge bezel (seems huge now that leading OEMs are producing them slim), 1GB RAM, and 8GB ROM.
The phone is obviously not that beefy with resources, but then again. Android Go was designed to run with just minimal resources and run relatively seamlessly. The mobile OS runs well with limited hardware, takes up less space, uses minimal data, and is big on offline usage. Though that does not (under any condition) guarantee you a great experience, it will be much better than similar hardware running on a smartphone with the regular version of Android.
Related: Do not purchase Huawei, ZTE, and other Chinese phones warns U.S. intelligence chiefs
ZTE was among the first OEMs to announce they are launching the Android Go. While Android Go was meant for markets where the average selling phone fetches lower prices for the OEM, ZTE is among the companies testing the waters in the U.S. market. Alcatel is another company that announced it is launching an Android Go powered smartphone in the U.S. market costing less than $100.