Android Go branded devices could surface soon, Micromax to lead the pack

The Indian smartphone market’s numbers are still dominated by feature phones and budget smartphones — a category that Google wants to be a part of with its Android Go programme. Android Oreo Go was made available to manufacturers last month and it was promised that we will be seeing Oreo Go devices pretty soon. Now, rumours have suggested that India might see the first Android Go device by the end of January.

According to a report from Factor Daily, we might be looking at an Android Go smartphone by 26th January, which also happens to be the Republic Day of India. While unnamed sources haven’t given out anything on the specifications front, it is known that the first Android Go smartphone will be from homegrown brand Micromax and it could come with a price tag of approximately Rs 2,000. Therefore, it could be one of the few smartphones that will compete directly with fancy feature phones from established players.

However, the report also states that other Indian firms such as Intex, Lava and Karbonn will also be coming up with Android Go devices in the coming months — these brands were also the first ones to bring Android One devices to the market. However, no information on the price and availability of these devices is yet known.

When Android Go was announced last month, Google made it clear that the OS has been optimised for phones with low-end specifications. Android Go Oreo will run on devices with less than 1GB of RAM, cheaper chipsets and onboard storage of around 8GB. Android Go apps are lightened versions of the full-blown apps, taking up less space. Even the PlayStore on these devices will be more optimised with apps that utilise resources optimise. Overall, the focus for Android Go apps stays on efficient storage and performance.

The thing that remains to be seen is whether extremely cheap Android Go smartphone offer any threat to feature phones that offer similar features? Only time can tell.