The biggest highlight of the update is more internal storage out of the box. Google says Android 9 Pie (Go edition) will take 500MB less space than Oreo which might not sound a lot but when you’re dealing with 4 or 8GB of onboard memory, it is. In addition, the update adds a new dashboard which will let users monitor and manage data usage, similar to what we’ve seen on Google’s Datally app. Android 9 Pie for Android Go phones also promises quicker booting times and brings verified boot which when enabled, asks for authentication on startup. Google is updating a bunch of its Go lightweight apps as well — Google Go now comes with the ability to read aloud web pages, managing offline content on YouTube Go is easier with an inbuilt gallery, Maps Go gets turn-by-turn navigation, the default Phone app can now detect spam calls and more.
Android 9 Pie update will begin rolling out for Android Go phones sometime later this year. Google claims that there are now over 200 phones running Android Go in about 120 countries including India, South Africa, U.S., Nigeria, and Brazil. However, the company seems to have failed to address the performance issues which have led to a poor reception for several Android Go phones such as the Nokia 1. By spending about Rs 1,000 or Rs 2,000 more, buyers have the option to invest in more capable devices with much better hardware. It will be interesting to see how Google handles Android Go in the coming months.
