Android Go
Variant of the Android operating system for low-end devices
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Android Go, officially Android (Go edition),[2] is a stripped-down version of the Android operating system, designed for low-end and ultra-budget smartphones (but also used by some tablets[3][4][5]). It is intended for smartphones with 4 GB of RAM or lower[6][7] and was first made available with the release of Android Oreo.
| Android Go | |
|---|---|
.png){kind=logo} | |
 Android Go 14 home screen with Pixel Launcher | |
| Developer | Various (mostly Google) |
| OS family | Unix-like (modified Linux kernel) |
| Working state | Security updates only |
| Initial release | 8.1 (Go Edition) / December 5, 2017 |
| Latest release | 15 (Go Edition) / March 21, 2025 [1] |
| Marketing target | Low-end/ultra-budget smartphones (with 3 GB and 4 GB RAM) |
| Supported platforms | arm64-v8a (64-bit) armeabi-v7a (32-bit) |
| Official website | www |
The first phone pre-installed with Android Go is the Alcatel 1X, which was released in February 2018.[8]
Features
Android Go has platform optimizations designed to reduce mobile data usage (including enabling Data Saver mode in Google Chrome by default), and a special suite of Google Mobile Services designed to be less resource- and bandwidth-intensive. The Google Play Services package was also modularized to reduce its memory footprint.[9] The Google Play Store will highlight lighter apps suited for these devices.[10][11]
The operating system's interface differs from that of stock Android, with the quick-settings panel giving greater prominence to information regarding the battery, mobile-data limit, and available storage; the recent apps menu uses a modified layout and is limited to four apps (in order to reduce RAM consumption), and an API for allowing mobile carriers to implement data-tracking and top-ups within the Android settings menu.[9] Some system services, such as notification access, split screen, and picture-in-picture mode, are disabled to improve performance.[12]
Most devices running Android Go use Google's "stock" Android GUI, although several manufacturers still use a customized GUI.
Versions
| Version | Android version numbers |
Minimum RAM required |
Android Go release date |
Android release date |
Days after release |
End of support |
Ref. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8.1 Oreo (Go edition) | 8.1 | 512 MB | December 5, 2017 | December 5, 2017 | 0 | October 4, 2021 | [13] | |
| 9 Pie (Go edition) | 9 | August 15, 2018 | August 6, 2018 | 9 | March 7, 2022 | [14] | ||
| 10 (Go edition) | 10 | September 25, 2019 | September 3, 2019 | 22 | March 6, 2023 | [15] | ||
| 11 (Go edition) | 11 | 1 GB | September 10, 2020 | September 8, 2020 | 2 | March 27, 2024 | [16] | |
| 12 (Go edition) | 12 | December 14, 2021 | October 4, 2021 | 71 | March 31, 2025 | [17] | ||
| 13 (Go edition) | 13 | 2 GB | October 19, 2022 | August 15, 2022 | 65 | March 2, 2026 | [18] | |
| 14 (Go edition) | 14 | December 15, 2023 | October 4, 2023 | 72 | Current | [19] | ||
| 15 (Go edition) | 15 | March 21, 2025 | September 3, 2024 | 199 | [1] | |||
|
Legend: Unsupported Supported Latest version | ||||||||
See also
- Comparison of Android Go products
- Android One, a version of Android originally designed for entry-level and budget devices
- One UI Core, a similar software developed by Samsung for entry-level Galaxy smartphones from 2019 to 2023