What’s the difference between Android One and Android Go?

Android One and Android Go: The difference explained.

By Nilakshi Pathak

| Published: Friday, February 9, 2018, 1:52 [IST]

In 2014, Google announced phones called Android One, and three years later they announced Android Go. Both the smartphones are low cost and have low-spec but what is the difference between both of these smartphones?

Know More About Android One

If put in simple words, Android One is a hardware spec smartphone which is specifically designed for the growing market by Google. The heart of Android One lies in the following three key ideas:

1.Unmodified Android: Any manufacturer who wants to produce their smartphones as a part of the Android One program cannot change the operating system with their customized version of it. Android One is available only for stock Android.

2.Regular security updates: The manufacturers have to provide the users with regular security updates.

3.Specific hardware requirements: Google gets to decide the hardware for the smartphones which would be using Android One.

In short, Google will be controlling everything right from the hardware to the software updates of the smartphones that will be running on Android One. These smartphones are like the cheaper version of Nexus and Pixel.

Through Android One, Google is trying to bring affordable and usable smartphones in emerging markets of the world. Now that you know about Android One let's see what Android Go is.

Know More About Android Go

Android Go is everything about good software experience. It is a custom version of Android Oreo. What makes it different from Android One is that can run on very low-end hardware. Highlights of Android Go are:

1.Customized operating system: Though Android Go is Android Oreo, it has been customized to run smoothly on lower-end hardware.

2.It comes with specific apps.: Google has released a set of "Go" apps that can run on low hardware. Examples of such apps are YouTube Go and Files Go.

3.A new Play Store: Android Go comes with curated Play Store. Though this Play Store is not different from the Play Store that runs on other Android devices, it has its feature. It highlights the app that will work smoothly on limited hardware.

WhatsApp live location sharing feature to Android and iOS

Wrap Up

Android One is basically a line of phones that will have defined hardware and software and will be controlled by Google. Whereas, Android Go is based on pure software and it can run on any hardware, including the low-end hardware. Android One is more rigid when it comes to hardware and software while Android Go is explicitly designed for running on any hardware which the manufactures decide. `