What Is Android One?

According to Google, Android One is the "purest form of Android." Final year'southward HTC U11 carries the Android Ane designation, and Nokia (among other manufacturers) announced three new Android One phones at this year's Mobile World Congress. Unlike Android Go, which is a low-bear on version of Google's mobile OS designed to run smoothly on lower-end hardware, Android One refers to a stock Android feel, similar to what you get on Google's Pixel phones.

It wasn't e'er similar this. When Google launched the Android I initiative back in 2022, it was a very dissimilar concept. Every bit emerging markets grew and buyers' tastes shifted, Google changed Android One to reflect it. Let's look at what Android One was, how information technology changed, what it is today, and why you lot should care.

Android Ane: Years 1 and Two

Android I began in 2022, when then-senior vice president of Android, Chrome, and Apps (and now CEO of Google Inc.) Sundar Pichai announced it to the world at that year's Google I/O conference. The program then was to quickly reach emerging markets with affordable Android phones that met a certain standard and put "the same knowledge" at everyone'south fingertips. Four months afterward that assuming merits, the first Android One phones hit the shelves in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Republic of indonesia, and other Due south Asian markets, retailing for just over $100.

The plan to reach a billion extra buyers with Google devices had non paid off after just 1 twelvemonth. Google expanded the scope of Android 1 in 2022 with the Infinix Hot 2 X510, which showtime launched in Nigeria and later arrived in Cameroon, Egypt, Republic of ghana, Ivory Coast, Republic of kenya, Morocco, and Republic of uganda.

2016-2017: The Turning Bespeak

Two years after Android 1 launched, it started to shift. The plan had, in the words of Google's Jamie Rosenberg, been "expanded" to include "new partners, geographies, and price points," including Japan and Turkey.

After another yr, Android Ane was revamped with a new set of guarantees: no bloatware, the latest Google apps, security, and a guarantee of "timely upgrades to the latest Android OS."

The latest Android One phone, the Xiaomi Mi A1, went on sale in September 2022. Sporting dual cameras, USB-C, and a 5.v-inch Hard disk drive display, it was clear that the game was no longer most mass market feature phones, although that strategy appeared to finally be paying off.

2018: Android One Now

Fabian Teichmueller, who heads up Android partnerships at Google in the Britain and has been working closely with Nokia brand licensee HMD Global at a European level, explained Google's current vision of Android One. "In terms of the customer suggestion, there'south iii fundamental pillars of Android One. The first one is it's smart, so it'll take a really simple UI. Information technology'll e'er come with the latest version of Android and accept two years of updates, so it's very closely aligned to what the HMD value proposition is." He added, "It'south secure, so information technology'll always have security updates for the first three years, it has [Google malware detection software] Play Protect, and then what we in our consumer-facing language telephone call 'Only Amazing'.

Information technology's also nearly the hardware itself. According to Teichmueller, "Nosotros work very closely with our OEM partners to make sure that on a prepare of cardinal metrics, these devices [are rated] very highly on speed, on bombardment performance and on storage out of the box, so that over time, Android One becomes a seal of approving for consumers, that they can trust the immovability and the performance of these devices."

Android I, Android Get, and Pixel

Android Go, a scaled-down, less taxing version of Android 8.0 Oreo, appears to be picking upwardly the original mantle adopted by Android I. Nokia'south ain Android Oreo Go Edition telephone (the Nokia 1, pictured above) will exist available in sure markets for around $85, and other vendors will offering their own versions, similar ZTE's Tempo Get.

Meanwhile, Google'south ain Pixel line superceded Google'southward Nexus range to serve as the company'southward ain flagship phones. They're first-party devices at least in proper name and branding, while Android One will offer Pixel-like functionality from third-political party manufacturers. Jeff Yee, ZTE's vice president of product marketing and strategy, mentioned that Android Ane is, "Like Pixel but non on Pixel hardware."

By that he ways you get a very like, uncluttered UI, Google Assistant, and two years' worth of guaranteed updates, along with solid battery life, durable hardware, and all those other niceties Teichmueller mentioned above.

Don't expect in that location to be any difficult rules about what does and doesn't constitute Android Ane. There's no apparent spec requirement, other than the phones must fit a vague definition of being good. Information technology also appears to be more than collaborative in spirit than the Nexus range was, with OEMs working with Google, rather than just handing down the commandments.

"Android Ane is more most branding," Yee said. "Android One is a brand that ways it'due south Google-certified Android."

If that means Android phones will receive software updates in a more timely mode, we're all for it, no matter what it'due south called.