A report from the previous month had claimed that Micromax Bharat Go would be first phone Android Go (Oreo edition) in January. However, it did not come true. Google has now confirmed that it will be using the Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2018 platform in the coming week to debut some Android Go smartphones.
The search engine giant has refrained from revealing the names of the Android Go phones that will be announced next week. However, what is known is that some of those Android Go smartphones will be priced under $50.
Android Go that was showcased at Google I/O 2017 last year is a customized version of OS that has been designed to run phones with low specs such as 512 MB of RAM and 8 GB of internal storage. It will be running lighter version of Google apps such as toned-down version of apps for Play Store, Google Go, Gmail Go, YouTube Go, Maps Go, Google Assistant Go and so on.
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Android Go phones will be aimed towards emerging markets. The search engine company has promised that the Android Go phones will deliver a high-quality experience. This seems possible since the Android Go project has received support from various smartphone OEMs and chipset makers like Qualcomm and MediaTek.
Android One is other project from Google through which it releases mid-range phones in collaboration with different smartphone OEMs. Xiaomi Mi A1 and Moto X4 Android One are some of the Android One phones that were unveiled in the recent past. At MWC 2018, HMD Global is expected to debut the Nokia 7 Plus Android One smartphone. Moreover, Android One phones will receive faster software updates for two years. These phones will be treated with regular security updates and latest AI innovations from Google for three years.
Previous reports have claimed that Micromax, Intex, Karbonn and Lava branded Android Go phones would be unveiled soon. Recent rumors have claimed that Nokia 1 is an upcoming Android Go phone that will be announced next week. Huawei too is expected to launch an Android Go phone. The ASUS ZenFone Go 2 is also speculated as an upcoming Android Go phone.
(source)
