Asus may launch an Android Go smartphone at MWC 2018

Google had announced the launch of Android Oreo (Go Edition) OS for budget smartphones, in December last year. Android Oreo (Go Edition) carries the same features as Android Oreo, but it is specifically optimized for smartphones with memory between 512MB and 1GB. Brands like Nokia, Reliance Jio, and Micromax are said to be working on Android Oreo (Go Edition) smartphones.

And it seems like Taiwanese manufacturer Asus will follow suit. We say so as an alleged Asus handset with model number X00RD has been spotted on Geekbench. The benchmark listing has revealed the smartphone runs on Android 8.1 Oreo but it packs just 1GB of RAM. To be specific, the smartphone is listed with Android version 8.1.0.

While there is no confirmation on if the Asus X00RD will be an Android Go smartphone, we don't think a regular phone will feature Android Oreo with just 1GB of RAM. The company itself though has not made announcement on this regard.

Besides this, the benchmark listing shows the Asus X00RD is powered by a Snapdragon 425 SoC. Snapdragon 425 is an entry-level quad-core processor from Qualcomm which offers support for 800×1,280 pixels resolution. Unfortunately, the Geekbench listing has not revealed anything more. That said, the smartphone has scored 640 and 1,664 in single-core test and multi-core test respectively.

We expect the Asus X00RD to get unveiled at the upcoming MWC in Barcelona. Asus has already sent out invitations for its event at MWC 2018. The company is also speculated to launch the ZenFone 5 series, which is likely to include several models. The ZenFone 5 series of smartphones are expected to ship with the trending 18:9 display.

Talking about the ZenFone 5, the smartphone is likely to be powered by an octa-core Snapdragon 430 processor clocked at 1.4GHz, coupled with at least 3GB of RAM. The handset is further tipped to arrive with dual-SIM functionality, a large 4,000mAh unit battery and Android 8.0 Oreo out of the box, with the brand's ZenUI skin on top.

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Moreover, the ZenFone Lite could be announced as well. It will reportedly feature a FHD+ display, and quad cameras.