Google has finally launched the first public release of Android Go.
Announced way back in May 2017 at Google I/O, it took the company seven (7) full months to stage a release. However, it’s only available for manufacturers and developers for now.
Google’s aim in developing a toned down version of its mobile OS is to encourage OEMs to go with the latest software available instead of sticking with outdated Android versions with security risks.
Android Go is for devices with 1GB or 512MB of RAM — handsets who struggle running the heavy releases from Google. The base ROM is actually half of the size of a full Android 7.0 Nougat ROM when installed on the same hardware.
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The standard Go apps suite also replaces the typical Google apps suite, which is quite large in itself. It is also half the size, saving precious storage space and memory of budget smartphones. According to Google, it doubles the available space out of the box of devices with 8GB of storage.
There will also be a section for applications specifically tailored for low-end devices to make it easier to for users to find ‘Lite’ versions of popular apps.
Another added bonus is the inclusion of Google Assistant which was previously limited to devices with at least 1.4GB of RAM.
But since everything is still in the hands of the manufacturers, we expect Android Go to debut early next year, when new low-end devices with Android 8.1 ships out.