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.

With this 200-million-users stat in mind, Android Go can probably only be considered a success, especially given that it launched in 2017. In contrast to the regular Android experience, Go focuses on making things run as smooth as possible on low-end hardware, with Google going as far as offering special lightweight “Go” variants of its apps. This means that Go lacks a few features from the regular Android version, but the regressions are picked in a way that they don’t interfere with the core phone experience.

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For Android 12 Go, Google is bringing quite a few of the features we’ve grown to love over to the lightweight version of its OS. Go will support the SplashScreen API that allows apps to start just a little faster by streamlining their startup process, complete with a neat splash screen in the form of their icons. The company has generally improved the startup process, too, claiming that apps should be about 30% faster to launch than they used to. Like Android 12, Go will also gain the capability to hibernate apps you haven’t used for a long time. This will automatically strip them of their permissions and empty their cache, freeing up some storage and hindering them from using up your battery (or snooping on you).

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Android has received quite a few intelligent quality-of-life features, and some are making their way into the Go version. In the Recents overview, Android 12 Go will make it possible to tap buttons that automatically translate or read articles or other web content for you. For those markets where mobile data is limited and expensive, Go will also gain the ability to easily share apps with friends nearby, so they don’t need to use up any precious data to download that hot new app you’ve been talking about.

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Android Go makes it easier to share your phone with friends and family, too. A new profile switcher lets you open a guest profile on the fly right from the lockscreen so you don’t have to worry about giving out your personal information to others. The system update will also bring the Privacy Dashboard to entry-level phones. It gives you an overview of which apps have access to which permissions. Just like on regular Android 12, Go will additionally display little green chips in the top right corner whenever an app is accessing either your microphone or your camera (or both).

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Judging by the screenshots we’ve seen as part of Google’s blog post, Go is also receiving some of the new design elements introduced with Android 12. Google also confirmed to us that the wallpaper-based theming engine Material You isn’t on board (unless all of the screenshots we’re seeing here were taken with the same wallpaper) due to performance and memory requirements, but the company is considering to add it in the future. At least some design elements like the new notification shade, the redesigned lockscreen with its big clock, and the overhauled system settings have made it to the entry-level version of Android.

While it would be a shame if Android Go wouldn't receive Material You elements, it's still impressive how many advanced features Google managed to cram into the low-end version of its OS. Having translate and read aloud integrated right in the Recents overview seems like a neat placement that I wouldn't mind having on my Pixel 6, too.