The first set of Android Oreo (Go edition) phones will be announced at 2018 Mobile World Congress, and soon after they will be available for purchase, Google has said.
Today, Android powers over two billion active devices from 1,300 brands across 24,000 unique products. Last year Google introduced Android Oreo (Go edition), an optimised version of Android Oreo tailored for smartphones with 1GB of RAM or less. With a smaller amount of storage and processing power, these phones are less expensive for manufacturers to produce and can be sold at affordable prices, in some cases less than $50.
With Android Oreo (Go edition), these phones are able to provide a high-quality experience, with the latest version of Android, Google Play Protect, and dedicated areas in Google Play highlighting apps optimised for Go edition.
Android Oreo (Go edition) phones also include a set of apps from Google that are designed to use less memory and storage space, but still offer excellent experiences. For example, Google Go is built specifically to help new smartphone users find the information they want, YouTube Go is optimised for limited connectivity, and the Google Assistant for Android (Go edition) lets people quickly send messages, make calls, set alarms, and more with their voice and a single touch of the screen.
Android Oreo (Go Edition) is a part of Google’s Next Billion Team to bring on board mobile users in emerging regions such as India, Southeast Asia and Africa with a more modern operating system.
At MWC 2018, the company will also announce new Android One phones. Android one programme is aimed at providing people with three key things: faster access to the latest Android OS updates and Google innovations, regular security updates, and an easy-to-use software design that’s intuitive and streamlined.
