Just a little over a week after Android 9 Pie got an official release, Google has announced Android 9 Pie (Go Edition), a successor to Android Oreo (Go Edition).
Last year, Google announced Android (Go Edition) for entry-level devices and first-time Android users. The first Android (Go Edition) smartphone, the Nokia 1 was announced at MWC 2018 and hit markets in April. Now there are close to 200 Android Go devices from other manufacturers such as ASUS, Motorola, Blackview, Doogee, Micromax, and Itel.
Android 9 Pie (Go Edition) will come with a bunch of new features and improvements. For example, Android 9 Pie (Go Edition) will take up less space on devices, providing an additional 500MB of storage right out of the box. Devices running the new version will also have faster boot times, verified boot as part of improved security features. It will also have a dashboard for tracking and monitoring data consumption.
All of the above features are expected to improve performance and security, provide more space, and make data management easier. Google has also redesigned the Go apps and added new features.
- Google Go: reads aloud web pages and highlights each word so users can follow along.
- YouTube Go: gets a gallery mode for downloaded videos and uses less data.
- Maps Go: provides turn-by-turn navigation
- Assistant Go: now supports Spanish, Brazillian Portuguese, and Indonesian. Users can also use it to control Bluetooth, camera, flashlight, and add reminders.
- Android Messages and Phone App: the size of the messaging app has been reduced by almost half and the phone app now has caller ID and spam detection.
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Google says the first set of devices with Android Pie (Go Edition) will arrive this fall. With the way Google puts it, it doesn’t appear as if existing Android Oreo (Go Edition) devices will be updated.
