Micromax Android Go smartphone to arrive this month at Rs. 2,000

Usually, the low-end devices hardly get a chance to get updated to the latest iteration of Android. In order to change this scenario, Google came up with the Android Go initiative so that the entry-level devices also get the latest Android updates and is meant especially for the emerging markets.

Given that the Android Go was recently announced along with a slew of other India-first products and services, it looks like a large wave of Android Go smartphones will be launched in the country in the near future. We already saw that Lava could be prepping to launch an Android Go phone. Now, Micromax seems to have been added to the list. Notably, the Android Go smartphones will have 1GB RAM or less as these will be entry-level devices.

Taking the clue from a report by Factor Daily, it looks like Google has teamed up with some of the India-based smartphone brands such as Micromax, Intex, Karbonn, Lava and others to launch the Android Go (Android Oreo) smartphones. It is believed that these smartphones will be priced around $30 (approx. Rs. 2,000) and could be launched starting from this month.

The Android Go smartphones in question will feature the most recent version of the platform and will feature less than 1GB RAM. These smartphones will be preloaded with the Go (lightweight) version of Google apps such as YouTube, Play Store, Maps, Google Apps, Google Assistant, Gmail and more.

The report cites an unnamed Google official claiming that the Android Go smartphones will be launched early this year. It is tipped that Micromax will be the first brand to launch one such device in India. The Micromax Android Go smartphone is believed to be launched around January 26. Following this one, the other brands are likely to come up with their smartphones in the later weeks. It is believed that the Android Go smartphones will arrive with 4G LTE connectivity.

As mentioned above, we have come across reports that Lava will join hands with Google to launch an Android Go smartphone. Also, it looks HMD Global is prepping to launch the Nokia 1, an Android Go smartphone sometime in March this year.

Google is focusing a lot on the Android Go smartphones as the company's CEO Sundar Pichai announced that the $30 price point is the best one for smartphones in the country during his visit in 2017. It is believed that the Indian brands those had lost the ground to the Chinese companies can increase their market share with the Android Go devices.