Android O might not seem like the most
thrilling software update at first, but it just might be one of the most
important. Google has been on a quest to capture and delight billions of new
Android users for years with various initiatives. So far, scaling hasn't been a
problem -- there are now 2 billionmonthly active devices, and
with Android Go, Google's hell-bent on picking up even more in developing
and underserved markets.
When phone
makers install O on their low-end devices, they don't just get optimizations to
make everything run better. They also get a different set of stock Google apps
and a version of the Play Store that highlights apps designed for these limited
devices. To be clear, Go — or whatever it winds up being called — isn't
actually a separate version of Android, but a special configuration of Android
O meant for low-end devices. And the most fascinating part? It's just tucked
away in the regular O update, invisible to anyone whose phone has more than 1GB
of RAM.
"'Go' is
sort of a focus on the lower hardware specs and mak[ing] sure Android works
really well on it," Android engineering VP Dave Burke told Engadget. While
O promises to pack performance and battery enhancements, its Android Go side
might help it expand in ways earlier versions couldn't.
Just
look at the stats. Android 7.0 and 7.1 are collectively running on only 7
percent of devices worldwide. Last year's Marshmallow accounts for 31.2 percent
of Android devices out there, and Lollipop is just about even with that.
Meanwhile, Android 4.4 KitKat is still very widely used: meaning nearly 19
percent of Android devices are running software from over three years ago.
Needless to say, there's a wide variety in the experiences available to the
world's Android users.
That's
partially due to how new phones are produced. When companies like Qualcomm or
Mediatek cook up a new chipset, the next step involves figuring out what
version of Android they can run and tuning it for compatibility. When these
companies want to go after entry-level users, Android Go VP of product
management Sameer Samat told Engadget that they often dig into the past for
versions of Android that would run well without much horsepower. Sometimes,
that means a new phone, fresh off the assembly line in 2017, will run Android
4.4 KitKat. Google's work with Android O, however, could change that.
"What
we've been doing is working with some of our SoC partners very early with O to
get it brought up on entry-level chipsets," Samat said. In other words,
Google is working with chipset makers to make sure they're aware that Go makes
brand new Android available on even modest hardware, removing the need for
those companies to scrounge around for versions of Android that would run well.
And when it
comes to keeping those devices up-to-date, Project Treble is here to
help. At its core, Treble keeps the Android framework separate from the
software chipset makers create to ensure compatibility and device performance.
The wall between the two means Android can be updated without chip makers necessarily
redoing all of their custom work. Long story short, this should make for
easier, more frequent software updates. Between Google's focus on getting
Android O and Go running on phones of all performance levels and Treble's
ability to make sure updates can happen faster than ever, we might see the O
experience spread like wildfire. The obvious upside is that people around the
world, from very different economic and technical circumstances, could share in
O's modern software foundation.
To be clear,
I'm just extrapolating — Samat definitively said that Android O wasn't designed
to "solve fragmentation." Even so, this is very good news for anyone
who buys an entry-level phone in the near future. What's still unclear is what
happens to people out there who already have devices that fit the Go criteria.
On one hand,
Google seems unconcerned about the problem. Samat pointed out that many devices
that fit the Go spec are running much older versions of Android, so they
wouldn't necessarily get new updates anyway. "That is not something we've
historically focused on," he added. "We're focused on moving this
forward."
Even so, there
are devices — like the newly announced Moto C — that only have 1GB of RAM and run Android
7.0. What happens if that device, or one like it, gets an Android O update?
Will it get the Go experience or not? Samat says Google is in currently in
discussions with device makers, but nothing has been locked down yet. The issue
is that Android Go has multiple parts, like that specially modified suite of
Google apps. And therein lies the rub.
"The
problem is that once you have a phone with updates, we can't just change the
apps on you," Burke told us. "If you were to buy a new phone that was
Android Go, you'd have a different set of Google apps."
Samat and
Burke left the upgrade question on an uncertain note, but their willingness to
point at ongoing conversations with device makers offers some hope that
upgrades to Go-flavored Android O are possible. If nothing else, though, Samat
said Google is "likely to make the Google apps that receive the Go
treatment available to download" even if you don't have an entry-level
phone.
It's still early
days for Android O and Go, so it's no surprise that many questions are still
unanswered. While it may lack the whiz-bang features that get tech pundits
drooling, Android O has the potential to be a more impactful success than any
of its recent predecessors.
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