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Android 13 (Go edition) brings Material You goodness to budget phones
Low-end Android phones will also get support for Google Play System updates
Smartphones have come a long way in the last decade with powerful processors, dedicated chips for AI and ML tasks, ISPs with support for 100MP+ cameras, and more. Budget Android smartphones have improved over the years thanks to the trickle-down effect. But Android as an OS has also gotten heavier with time, requiring powerful hardware to run. And despite improvements, entry-level phones do not have the power to run the OS smoothly. This is why Google offers a Go edition of Android for low-end phones. Following the release of Android 13 in mid-August, Google has now announced the launch of Android 13 (Go edition).
Android 12 Go is coming in 2022 without that beautiful Material You theming
The wallpaper-based dynamic themes haven't made the cut, but they could be added later
Android 12 launched a few months ago, and the latest patch is finally available on the Pixel 6 and 6 Pro, too. What about entry-level phones, though? Android Go is currently left running the 11th version of the Google OS, but that’s about to change next year. While celebrating 200 million active Android Go users worldwide, Google has announced today that Android 12 Go is coming to entry-level phones in 2022.
The smaller, lighter Gmail Go hits a big milestone
500 million downloads is pretty impressive, without general availability
Google's "Go" app variants are a certified hit, even if a large portion of Android users can't actually use them. Gmail Go, the lighter and less resource-intensive version of Gmail designed for handsets running Android Go, has now secured at least half a billion downloads in the Play Store.
Google Go passes 500 million downloads on the Play Store
It's a good indicator of Android Go's success
Back in November 2019, we reported Google Go passed 100 million downloads on the Play Store. That success was fueled both by the fact that the app is pre-installed on Android Go devices but also thanks to its data-saving approach, which helps millions of users around the world limit their data consumption. The app just passed 500 million installations on the Play Store, which confirms its global success.
HMD Global, with its Nokia brand, is one of the only mainstream companies that still offer Android Go smartphones. Further expanding its lineup is the latest Nokia 1.4, which brings a seemingly decent experience without costing an arm and a leg.
Google's Camera Go app for Android Go edition phones is picking up the ability to shoot in HDR. The feature extends the dynamic range of a scene with some fancy computationl processing and a few different exposures, capturing photos that show more detail in challenging lighting conditions.
Google restricts the debloated Gmail Go app to low-end devices again
The expanded compatibility was just an oopsie
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Almost everybody uses essential Google apps like Gmail and YouTube, but not everyone has access to a high-end smartphone with top-of-the-line specs. To account for this, Google started creating "Go" versions of popular apps that are optimized to run on devices with less RAM and processing power. While a few of these apps are restricted to users with budget devices, Google decided that all Android users should be able to try out Gmail Go for themselves — at least for about 24 hours.
Google Camera Go update brings Night Mode photography to low-end phones
The dedicated camera mode will roll out to the Nokia 1.3 first
Google introduced Camera Go earlier this year as part of an effort to bring high-end photography to low-end devices. The app provides access to Google's AI-powered photography tricks while keeping the requirements for storage space and processing power at a minimum. Portrait mode was the main launch feature for Camera Go, and now it looks like another highly requested capability is coming: a dedicated Night Mode for shooting in low light.
Android 11 (Go edition) brings notification and privacy improvements to budget phones
Gesture navigation is also making its way to this stripped-down Android version
The full-fat version of Android 11 landed just a couple of days back with a ton of under-the-hood improvements, some visual facelifts here and there, and new privacy options. Google is now porting a few of those features to Android 11 (Go edition) — the latest iteration of Android’s stripped-down version meant to run on entry-level hardware without hiccups.
New devices with 2GB of RAM or less must run Android Go, according to leaked documents
The requirement could be finalized with the launch of Android 11
There are a plethora of cheap, low-power phones (and some tablets) out there running Android Go, a specialized version of Android tailored to weaker hardware. Its use is not mandatory, though, so there are also plenty of devices that can feel less optimized and might shine a bad light on Android as a whole for those who have never owned another phone with the OS. It looks like Google wants to change that, as a leaked document shows that starting with Android 11, any device with less than 2GB of RAM wishing to ship with Google software must use the easily updatable, low-power Android Go version.
Android 10 (Go Edition) comes to the entry-level Nokia 1
The update should rollout completely by July 12
Released back in 2018 for the low, low price of just $85, the Nokia 1 has been one of the most affordable Android options on the market. In our review, we found that it maybe made a bit too many compromises to reach that price point, but one area that Nokia didn't compromise on is software updates. Despite being a sub-$100 phone from over two years ago, the Nokia 1 is now receiving an upgrade to Android 10.
Android Auto recently passed 500 million installs on the Play Store, possibly thanks to its inclusion on most phones shipping with Android 10, and now two more Google-made applications have passed significant milestones.
Even with a global pandemic going on, HMD Global has continued updating its (very) large portfolio of Nokia phones to Android 10. The Nokia 3.2, 4.2, 6.2, 8 Sirocco, and 2.3 have all received updates this month, and now the low-end Nokia 1 Plus is next in line.
Google launches Camera Go app as Android Go usership hits 100 million active devices
Giving low-end smartphones some high-end photography capabilities
Hot on the heels of the Nokia event that brought us the new Android Go-equipped Nokia 1.3, Google has taken the opportunity to talk about the new Camera Go pre-installed on that phone. Similar to other Go apps, it has been created with low-end hardware in mind while retaining some of the features that make Google's image processing so great.
Android Pie Go-based Nokia C2 launches with removable battery
At least it can now connect to LTE networks
After MWC was called off, the Finnish smartphone maker HMD announced a separate event where a bunch of new mid-tier devices is expected to see the light of day. While there's no flagship model in sight until at least a few months from now, Nokia just introduced a new budget smartphone ahead of Wednesday's event — the Nokia C2.
The 2019 smartphone lineup from Nokia increasingly focused on the mid-range and the budget segment, with the clear absence of a worthy flagship model. Maintaining that pattern, the resurrected Finnish brand today announced the Nokia C1 — one of the cheapest Android phones in its current portfolio. The new handset and its preloaded OS target the entry-level market portion in developing nations of Africa, the Middle East, and Asia-Pacific, where Nokia will soon roll it out.
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- Another Go app has hit the 100 million install mark: Google Maps Go. It too can be installed on non-Go phones, but it's very limited in functionality compared to the main Maps app as it doesn't provide any navigation (which comes from a separate app). The odds of people using it instead of the main Maps app may thus be lower, which further corroborates the claim that Android Go phones have probably seen some decent sales.
We've only reported Google Go's 10 million download numbers last September, and today, the app has reached another milestone: it now boasts 100 million installs on the Play Store. Since it's pre-installed on all Android Go phones, this might indicate that Android Go is quite a successful endeavor for Google, as this would suggest that the amount of newly activated Go devices skyrocketed over the past half year.
The tech sector loves to talk about how the next billion smartphone users will come online. Google has backed one option, the feature phone-based KaiOS, as well as putting work into a modified version of its platform, Android Go edition. The company has been able to claim success with Go as over 80% of entry-level Android phone purchases in the last 18 months. Now, Google has given Android 10 its own Go edition, hoping to capitalize on recent performance improvements, feature additions, and size savings to its apps.
Video shows Nokia feature phone running Android 8.1
Recent rumors, though, have put Android as an double-blind alternative for feature phones.
The race to smarten up a billion phones in rural, developing regions has seen some significant progress so far, most of it coming from KaiOS and Google's massive eight-digit backing into the voice-forward flip phone software suite. Recent rumors, though, have put Android as an double-blind alternative for feature phones. Now, we have our first moving vision of said concept.
Easter eggs used to be a lot more frequent back when Google let its fun side show, but now that the company is trying to project a more serious image, these little undiscovered gems are becoming rarer and rarer. Or maybe we're not playful enough to discover them. However, I'm ready to scratch all of what I said and do nothing for the next hour except trigger this elephant easter egg in Google Go. It's that adorable.