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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.
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- Google's latest Gallery Go update adds the ability to manually toggle the app's dark mode between on and automatic:
Google Photos is a fantastic app, but storing and accessing to all your images from the cloud can be a strain on your smartphone's bandwidth and storage, especially if it's a budget Android device. Last month, Google launched Gallery Go (along the lines of Maps Go and Google Go), a lightweight picture manager targetted at the hundreds of millions of budget devices being used in developing countries. Today, the app got an update that adds dark mode — something other apps like Messenger and Google Photos already have.
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Adding to its lineup of lighter apps for low-cost phones, Google has introduced Gallery Go — a photo organization app intended for offline use while taking up as little space as possible. Even so, it features some of the same machine learning capabilities and editing tools as its more advanced sibling, Google Photos.
Affordable phones will always be a compromise, but Google hopes it can make entry-level devices a bit better with something new: Android Go. It's the same Android platform you know and presumably love, but optimized for sub-1GB RAM environments. That way low-end hardware can have its own low-end version of Android, rather than suffering an OEM debate between shoehorning in the latest version to perform terribly, or an older version which won't be secure or feature-filled.Enter the Alcatel 1X. It's the second Android Go device to hit the US behind the ZTE Tempo Go—and the only one you can actually buy right now—at a mere $100.So how much does $100 get you? Simultaneously more and less than you'd expect. Alcatel manages to bring the budget space into the future with a TCL-made 18:9 screen, fingerprint reader, and Android Oreo (Go edition)—that's actually the name, I'm not kidding. But entry-level phones are by necessity a compromise, and the low-end panel, MediaTek chipset, and 1GB RAM reflect that.
Android Go was first introduced by Google at I/O in May 2017, so it's been a long wait for real devices running the slimmed-down Oreo experience. We hoped Mobile World Congress in Barcelona would be when OEMs began launching Android Go phones, and this was confirmed by Google last week.
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Back at I/O in May last year, Google announced the Android Go initiative; a less intensive version of the OS optimized for cheap phones with little RAM. This was launched in December and to go with it we've seen a number of Google apps get the Go treatment to make them smaller and less memory-hungry.
Launch of Android Go brings Oreo optimizations and features to low-end phones for developing markets
Google has made public the first release of Android Go—the optimized version of Android for low-end phones targeted toward developing markets, which was announced in May at I/O 2017. Rather than let OEMs stick to outdated Android versions when shipping budget phones, Android Go brings a full, up-to-date experience for devices which ship with 512MB or 1GB RAM.
Straight from the horse's mouth is always the best way to hear about updates, even if it's less-than-stellar news. Today, Sony confirmed its schedule for Jelly Bean updates on its line of phones. For starters, the recently-launched Xperia T and Xperia TX will be upgraded "from mid-Q1 2013." This will put the latest and greatest from Sony a solid six months behind Android 4.1's initial launch and, if our guess is correct, at least a few months behind the possible release of Android 4.2.
The team behind the awesome GO suite of apps have brought the functionality and style of GO Launcher to Android-powered tablets everywhere today (as long as they're running 3.0+), bringing GO Launcher HD out of beta. You may remember our beta coverage earlier this month, in which we got a sneak peek at GO's tablet launcher, and it looks like little has changed. For a launcher that aims to be minimally intrusive yet offer a ton of functionality, however, that isn't necessarily a bad thing.
The GO team is, by now, pretty well known - and for good reason. They offer an unbelievable number of ways to overhaul your phone - such as GO SMS Pro, GO Contacts, and GO Keyboard - not to mention dozens of themes for all of their apps. But they are perhaps most well known for GO Launcher EX, and the tons of widgets (and more!) Now, they've released a new one to go with the Launcher: GO Weather Widget.
As a fan of first Launcher Pro Plus, then ADW EX, and now GO Launcher EX (which is absolutely free, by the way), I wanted to show you guys a recent addition to the latter that made it stand out from the rest of the pack even more than it already does. Lately, LPP hasn't given me any reasons to continue using it whatsoever - the app seems to have been abandoned by Fede, and ADW EX, while a very worthy opponent, also fell victim to GO team's fine offering.
The unstoppable GO dev team keeps pumping out amazingly polished products seemingly almost every week - they've already won me over on the launcher side with the GO Launcher EX (and its gorgeous Calendar widget), and yesterday they've added Switch GOWidget to their arsenal.
Back in April of this year, we, consumers hungry for anything that legally streams full movies and TV shows, welcomed Android's first high-caliber streaming app done right - HBO GO. With the ability to watch the goodies on the go utilizing an existing HBO subscription, the HBO GO app suddenly made train rides and treadmills a whole lot more fun. Netflix and Hulu followed, but HBO GO still occupies a special place in our hearts as the pioneer encouraging others to push the limits and not be afraid of unleashing more content on mobile.
The same team that brought us GO SMS, GO Launcher, GO Weather, and a figurative myriad of other goodies are back again - this time with an offering for all the sports fans out there. The aptly titled GO Score brings almost real-time soccer and basketball scores to your mobile, with a multitude of others sports in the works.
The GO Dev Team, the people who brought you the popular apps GO SMS, GO Weather, and GO Launcher, are at it again, bringing you a contacts manager and dialer that is, quite frankly, stunning, both in functionality and aesthetics. It dropped into the market not 12 hours ago and is already getting very popular as well as garnering great reviews. Let's take a closer look, shall we?
Earlier today, Engadget broke an exclusive regarding Sony-Ericsson’s work on an Android gaming handset that is currently “in the late stages of planning.” There have been rumblings of a PlayStation phone for quite some time, and it seems like this device may be Sony finally delivering on those long-standing rumors.