Back at Google I/O this year, Google unveiled Android Go, an OS which is now available for device OEMs and developers starting from today. Android Go (Oreo edition) is primarily meant for low-end devices featuring 512MB to 1GB of RAM and up to 8GB of internal storage.
The OS has been optimised by Google to run smoothly on low-end devices. For this, Google is also launching a ‘lite’ version of many of its applications which are less resource intensive and occupy less storage space as well. This even includes a ‘lite’ version of Google Search and Google Assistant.
Additionally, to save data, Google has bundled some new data saving features in Android Go which are all enabled by default. This also means that Chrome’s built-in data saver mode is enabled by default on all Android Go devices and the company’s new Datally app is also there to provide one with a detailed overview of their data use.
As a part of its Go initiative, Google also formally released Files Go, a file manager and junk cleaning app. The app can automatically delete the “good morning” messages and dank memes you receive over time to free up storage space on your device. The app also features offline file sharing and universal search so that you can easily find the relevant file irrespective of where you have stored it on your device.
Android Go devices will start hitting the market within the next few months. Since the OS has been optimized for low-end devices, I’d expect Android Go devices to first launch in India, Indonesia and other emerging smartphone markets.
