Smartphone makers have been struggling to break into “emerging” markets for years due in a major part to their products’ relatively high prices. Even the most “affordable” handsets that cost between $100 and $200 were too expensive for entire categories of potential buyers. But “affordable smartphone” is getting a brand new meaning this year thanks to an initiative by Google and a series of smartphone manufacturers.
Android Oreo: Go Edition
Google has announced the release of a lightweight version of its latest mobile operating system last year. The OS, called “Android Oreo: Go Edition”, or “Android Go” for short, was designed to run on smartphones with limited hardware capabilities, bringing the features and security of the latest Google mobile operating system to entry-level smartphones. People use – or wish to use – their phones to do everything from betting at https://www.betway.com.ng/ to watching series on Netflix, and do so with the least fuss and the most security possible. And thanks to Android Go, they can do just that: the operating system includes all the security features of its full-size big brother but with less space occupied, consuming less data, and an overall lower cost.
… and manufacturers joined in, too
And the smartphone makers seeking to expand their reach beyond their traditional markets decided to join in on this initiative. The first Android Go smartphone to be released this February was built by Chinese smartphone maker ZTE. Called Tempo Go, the handset has a 5″ screen, 1GB of RAM, 8GB of internal storage, and a Qualcomm Snapdragon 210 System-on-a-Chip. The phone cost $80 at its release – not the cheapest, mind you, but the most affordable option for the latest Android operating system under its hood.
In the meantime, other smartphone manufacturers have decided to jump the Android Go bandwagon. The handsets released with this low footprint operating system range from Samsung’s Galaxy J2 Core, recently launched in India, to HMD Global’s Nokia 1 with a quad-core CPU, 4G LTE capability, a 5-megapixel main camera and a 4.5″ IPS LCD screen. This Nokia handset is a bit special, too, returning to the outer shell design the company used back in its Windows Phone days – this makes the phone easily customizable and pretty tough at the same time, an important aspect to keep in mind when shopping for an affordable handset. The Nokia 1 is currently available in India for around $85. The list of other Android Go phones set to be released this year includes Alcatel 1X, General Mobile GM 8 Go, LAVA Z50, and a yet unnamed Android Go-powered handset set to be announced by Chinese smartphone maker Huawei. Most of them are aimed at the emerging Indian market (which is absolutely massive, given the country’s population) but they will also make their way into other emerging markets, like most African ones, in the coming months.
“Affordable” has a brand new meaning in the world of smartphones. And this decrease in hardware costs will help African countries to catch up faster with the rest of the digital world.
