Some may remember that back in May earlier this year, Google had taken the opportunity to introduce a new project called Android Go during its yearly I/O conference. For those not in the know, Android Go is basically a stripped down and more light version of Android Oreo meant for low end handsets. When Google first introduced the project about seven months ago, the tech giant said that Android Go is capable of functioning with devices possessing less than 1 gigabyte of memory, not only supplying connectivity but also supporting mobile apps, especially those compatible with Android Go.
Well, this time around, Google is officially launching Android Go, but rebranding it as Android Oreo (Go Edition). The launch is done through the roll out of Android 8.1. The fact that the company has decided to make the launch announcement in India should be a big sign that Android Oreo (Go Edition) will almost certainly be deployed for Indian Android mobile users.
This makes a lot of sense, of course. According to a recent post on Google’s official blog, it turns out that India has more Android powered mobile devices than the United States. Also, Indian users are consuming more data. They are currently using up an average of 4 gigabytes of data on a monthly basis, and that is expected to increase to 11 gigabytes per month by 2021.
The release of Android Oreo (Go Edition) would allow mobile users in India to enjoy better access to what the Android ecosystem can offer, even if they own only entry level handsets with 512 megabytes to 1 gigabyte of random access memory (RAM). One of the things that make Android Oreo (Go Edition) useful is that it comes preloaded with a number of Google apps, including Google Go, Google Assistant Go, YouTube Go, Google Maps Go, Gmail Go, Gboard, Chrome, and Files Go, among many other Google branded services. It goes without saying that as Go apps, each one of them are made simpler and lighter than their usual counterparts.
With Google making Android Oreo (Go Edition) available to original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) via Android 8.1, we can reasonably expect the first few Android Go compatible mobile devices to debut in the market within the first six months of next year. As mentioned earlier, the focus is on emerging mobile markets and developing countries, but it is also possible that Android Oreo (Go Edition) will make its way to American shores some time in 2018.
