What’s the Go with Android?
Choosing your next Android device could be a tricky affair, regardless of whether you have a rocks or diamonds budget. Darren Yates explains why.
According to market analysts Gartner, worldwide sales of smartphones topped 1.5billion for the year in 2017 – more than 1.3billion of those were Android-powered ( tinyurl.com/
yay5cc2y). It’s a staggering number, covering a broad array of devices from top-drawer phones to modest pre-paid cheapies. In fact, for every 512GB Samsung Galaxy Note 9 phone you can buy for $1,799, you can grab 26 of Alcatel’s new $69 1C prepaid phones from discount stores and supermarkets. The spread of processing power in those devices is almost as diverse, which makes running the latest fully-loaded Android OS increasingly problematic. Phone makers have long solved this problem by simply loading up older, less-demanding versions of Android onto budget hardware, but that’s led to a ‘comet’s tail’ of aging Android devices, many of which no longer receive security or OS updates. However, there’s now a growing set of Android options and programs for device makers to play with – each with consequences for you. Here’s how these options stack up and what they may mean for your next Android device.
ANDROID GO EDITION
Android Go edition ( tinyurl.com/ yc2gjpwy) is the brand for Google’s cut-down version of its latest operating system, which we expect to be dubbed ‘Android 9 Pie (Go edition)’ by the time you read this. It’s come about because running the latest full-version Android OS on budget hardware is an increasingly difficult proposition – phone makers have to spend more to provide sufficient storage and, in particular, RAM to run the OS’ fastgrowing features list, affecting price-points. Added to that, the budget CPU chips inside many of these devices will likely struggle even more handling those growing OS demands without enough RAM.
Now, budget phone makers have options and Alcatel’s new 1-series shows this nicely. The new cheaper Alcatel 1C runs MediaTek’s modest MTK6580 chip and Android 7.0/Nougat OS, yet manages to include 2GB of RAM. The MTK6580 is a quad-core chip based on ageing Cortex-A7 core tech that first popped up back in 2011, yet it’s cheap enough to also allow the 2GB of RAM giving the OS room to stretch its legs.
Meanwhile, the slightly up-rated Alcatel 1X packs in the faster MTK6739 chip, the newer Android 8.1 Oreo (Go Edition) OS, but only 1GB of RAM. The MTK6739 has four considerably-faster Cortex-A53 cores, however, running the full Oreo OS with only 1GB of RAM would have been a stretch. So, Android Go Edition is designed for devices like this running 1GB of RAM or less.
What gets stripped out to make a ‘Go Edition’? For starters, with only 1GB of RAM to play on, Go’s suite of Google Apps are said to be half the size as those in the full OS. The OS also receives a special ‘Go’ version of Google Assistant designed to run on low-RAM devices. You still get full access to Google Play, with no restriction on the apps you can install, other than those
“It needs to be at least IP64 ingress protection-certified and drop-test rated to MIL-STD-810G spec.”
that are device or component-related. What’s more, Google is encouraging app developers to reduce app size and optimise memory usage.
ANDROID ONE
If this all sounds a bit familiar, you’re probably thinking of ‘Android One’. This was a Google initiative announced a few years ago to bring a standardised budget Android platform to emerging countries. Today, Android Go Edition sort-of replaces that initial concept, with Android One now taking on a broader set of goals.
The Android One platform ( android. com/one) now advertises ‘AI-powered innovations’ and ‘security protections’. Drill down and there are specific additions locked in, such as monthly security updates for a minimum period of three years after the device’s initial release (although the fine print says contact your device manufacturer for exact support duration). You’re also guaranteed two years of Android OS updates.
However, Android One offers no prescribed minimum hardware levels and according to reports, the program is more a joint-partnership specific to each device between Google and the manufacturer, rather than a stone- carved playbook. Still, there are tighter rules regarding add-on software, which means Android One devices look more like a stock Android Open-Source Project (AOSP) release – sans unwanted bloatware.
NOT MUTUALLY-EXCLUSIVE
But while Android Go and Android One are not the same thing, they can co-exist. For example, the new Nokia 2.1 phone runs Android 8.1 Oreo (Go Edition) OS, but is also Android One-compliant. As a result, you cannot rely on the ‘Android One’ logo to ensure a phone includes a full-version OS, especially at the budget end of the market.
You also won’t be able to tell the OS just by the phone model generation – for example, the Nokia 2.1 runs the Android 8.1 (Go Edition) OS, yet the Nokia 3.1, which is also Android One-compliant, only runs Oreo/8.0, albeit the full version. What’s more, phone makers can still add their own software onto an Android Go Edition device. Throw in the fact that these two Nokia phones have sold for the same $199 price in recent times at major retailers and you can see how complicated your choices have become.
The other important factor is that although Google has said it plans to offer future ‘Go edition’ updates, Android Go Edition alone is not a guarantee you’ll receive any – something to remember, for sure.
ANDROID ENTERPRISE RECOMMENDED
While Android Go and Android One are essentially ‘consumer’ in focus, Android Enterprise Recommended ( tinyurl.com/y8a5hfmu) is clearly centred closer to the big end of town. This new program was introduced in February 2018 and has similar goals to Android One, but this time, includes minimum hardware targets split into two different device categories – ‘rugged’ and ‘knowledge workers’.
To get the Enterprise Recommended tick, a rugged device has to have at least Android 7.0/Nougat OS, 2GB of RAM, 16GB of storage and a 1.1GHz 32-bit CPU (interestingly, there’s no mention of CPU core count). It needs to be at least IP64 ingress protectioncertified and drop-test rated to MIL-STD-810G spec, or four drops from a 1.2-metre height.
Knowledge worker devices need 32GB of storage, 1.4GHz clock speed with 64-bit CPU tech, at least eighthours of active battery life and twin cameras (10MP on the rear). IPcertification and MIL-spec droptesting requirements are removed.
More interestingly, rugged devices must receive security updates within 90 days for five years from launch date, plus one major OS update within 18 months of the OS release. Given these