Android has become the largest computing platform in the world, but the version of the OS most people use isn’t ideal for low-power hardware. That’s why Google debuted the “Go edition” of Android back in 2017. With Android 10 now rolling out to a few phones, Google has detailed the changes coming to the Go edition of Android 10. These phones will still be slow compared with a flagship device, but Google promises faster app launches and encryption.
The system-on-a-chip in your smartphone is probably more powerful than the best computers in the world from a few decades ago, but not all phones are created equal. Entry-level devices struggle to run modern Android, and there’s a market for ultra-cheap smartphones in many regions. Android Go exists to fill that niche.
Android Go is only for phones with 1GB of RAM or less, and Android 10 makes additional optimizations to ensure apps can load quickly. Google says apps open 10 percent faster in Android 10 Go Edition. The encryption framework is also revamped in Android 10. Encryption always adds some overhead, but that’s negligible on more powerful phones. For Android Go, Google built a new form of encryption called Adiantum that allows all Android Go phones to run encrypted storage without performance bottlenecks.
Android Go loses many of Android’s animations, background services, and premiere app experiences. Instead, Google uses stripped-down versions of its apps, some of which are little more than progressive web apps running in an app framework. However, the performance is much better on devices that have so little RAM. Google spent some time in the announcement detailing some new-ish features of Android Go like the read-aloud feature in Lens. However, none of these are new or unique to Android 10 Go Edition.
At launch, Android Go phones were too expensive to make a dent in the market, but prices have come down. Google says there are more than 1,600 device models running Android Go with prices as low as $27. Devices that cheap might not even have LTE, but they can run a modern version of Android and offer a passable smartphone experience thanks to Android Go.
Android 10 Go Edition will begin appearing on phones this fall. As with past versions, OEMs will target markets like India, South Africa, Nigeria, Brazil for Android Go launches. There are also a few Android Go phones in the US.
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