It's been a few years since Android Go ("Android Go Edition" by its official name) has become the great alternative for low-end smartphones, with 2 GB of RAM or less. Its design is specifically designed to reduce mobile data usage and, in general, make smarter use of available resources. In this post we are going to talk about the benefits that Android Go can bring us.
We face a very basic version of Android. A solution for those users who simply aspire to have a mobile phone with basic functions and at an affordable price. If we are thinking about that specific product profile, without a doubt this is the version of the operating system that best suits it.
At first glance, an operating system without outstanding features for cheap mobile phones does not seem like a very attractive advertisement. However, when we stop to think about it, it is something that In many cases it can be really convenient. It is enough to ask ourselves a series of questions: How many advanced smartphone functions do we use in our daily lives? Is it worth spending hundreds of euros more on a cell phone that we are only going to use to call, receive messages, browse the internet and little else?
If we are the type of user who does not aspire to have large screen resolutions, who does not need to use numerous and complex apps, or who can live perfectly without using the latest model smartphone, the benefits of Android Go are evident. Resorting to the popular quote attributed to the architect Mies Van der Rohe, "Less is more".
An excellent option for basic devices
We tend to think that each new software update, whatever it may be, is always aimed at being bigger, more powerful, more complicated... Sometimes it's much smarter to go for a modest upgrade. This is the case of Android Go.
With this idea is how Android Go was launched in 2017. The goal of its developers was none other than to offer a way out for those users who prefer to use an inexpensive smartphone on which Android can run.
The key to everything is hidden in this fact: Android Go only needs 2 GB of RAM to work. This makes it an invalid option for most current mobile phones, whose minimum threshold is around 4 GB (and there are models that even reach 16 GB). However, a decade ago the phones that were manufactured would have been perfectly compatible with this version.
It must be said that Android Go was designed with customers in emerging countries, such as India, in mind. But over time its use has become widespread to a specific niche of users around the world.
Differences with other versions
Beyond the issue of RAM, there are some features of Android Go that are clearly distinguished from the line followed by other more modern and improved versions.
For example, Its interface moves away from that of the main Android line: In the quick settings panel, information on battery status, mobile data consumption, and available memory or storage takes center stage. In short, the fundamental aspects that should concern us in the daily use of a smartphone.
On the other hand, in the recent apps menu (in which numerous icons are displayed in other versions of Android) only four applications appear. As a curiosity, it should be noted that the applications that are installed by default are the same as those on any other Android phone, only with the addition of "Go" at the end, such as "Google Go."
Another point to highlight is that almost all mobile phones that use Android Go use the Google's stock Android graphical user interface (UI).
Android Go versions
In 2022, the latest version of Android Go was released to the market. The first three have already been discontinued (that is, there is no longer support for them), although the others are still valid. All of them have been baptized with a nice name that refers to a dessert or sweet. This is the list:
- Oreo – Android 8.1 Go (2017). For devices with RAM memory between 512 MB and 1 GB.
- Floor – Android 9 Go (2018)
- Queen Cake – Android 10 Go (2019)
- Red velvet cake - Android 11 Go (2020)
- Snow cone – Android 12 Go (2021)
- Tiramisu – Android 13 Go (2022). For devices with a maximum of 2 GB of RAM.
When buying a new mobile phone, you must look at the label on which the manufacturer specifies that the operating system is Android Go, with the name of the corresponding version. The possibility of updating, for example, the version Snow cone to version TiramisuIt will depend a lot on each brand.
Benefits of Android Go
To focus on the central question of the post, the advantages of Android Go can be summarized in four big arguments:
- It is faster software that takes up less space.
- Consume less mobile data.
- Its use allows us to extend battery life.
- There are more than 2 million applications available in the Google Play Store.
Is it worth buying a mobile phone with Android Go?
It is the million-dollar question, for which there is no single valid answer. The first thing to consider is that the number of smartphone models available for sale with this version It is much smaller than that of conventional smartphones. In other words: there is less to choose from
Apart from this, it is up to each user to assess the convenience of using a mobile phone with this system or not. We have already reviewed the benefits of Android in this article, and among them the most notable is the saving What it means for our pocket.
On the other hand, when making the decision to purchase a mobile phone with Android Go we must also be aware that we are giving up a lot of advanced features that other smartphones do have. In the end, it all consists of putting all the elements on the scale, including our habits and needs, and choosing the option that best suits our user profile.