MWC 2018: First Android Go Smartphone to Get Unveiled

The full launch of Google’s ARCore for Android took place on February 23rd, 2018.

If you have a new Pixel phone, you may have been able to play with Google’s AR Stickers that brought Star Wars and Stranger Things into the real world. Today the company announced that it will be unveiling the first Android Oreo (Go edition) smartphones next week.

So instead of it being about skimping out on the bells and whistles, Google is focusing on how to make frugal processors, with less storage, more efficient. But unlike the case with Apple’s iPhone, Google is not the only manufacturer of Android powered smartphones and tablets.

Not much is confirmed about the upcoming Android (Go edition) phones, except that the Micromax one is called Bharat Go.

Budget friendly Android controlled Smartphones have dependably been a two-edged sword. It is a toned down and highly optimized version of Android Oreo which is primarily meant for smartphones with 1GB of RAM or less.

As per earlier leaks, Nokia is expected to announce the Nokia 7 Plus with Android One and Nokia 1 with Android Go.

Although Google’s major push for ARCore won’t be arriving until next week, ARCore 1.0 is already being rolled out to some Android users.

The new phones will go on sale shortly after the MWC conference in Barcelona at “affordable prices”, as low as below $50, says Google’s Hiroshi Lockheimer, senior VP for platforms & ecosystems at Google, who reckons the handsets will offer a “a useful, high-quality experience”.

“Throughout 2018, we will also be applying the Android Enterprise Recommended framework to additional partner types, including OEMs of dedicated and rugged devices, mobile carriers, enterprise mobility management providers and systems integrators”, Still said.

With the new Enterprise Recommended program all vendors that want their products certified will need to ensure their devices meet specific requirements for hardware quality, deployment, enrollment, security updates and usability.

Google Lens is one of the search giant’s biggest investments in augmented reality, in which digital images are overlaid on what you normally see through a camera. Notably, Google in collaboration with Xiaomi brought the first Xiaomi Android One powered handset, Mi A1 in India a year ago. The Android Enterprise Recommended Program is just going a couple of steps farther.