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 4GB 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] There's no plan for the release of Android 16 Go Edition as Android 15 Go Edition was the final version of Android Go Edition
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