Bharti Airtel has collaborated with Google to launch low-cost 4G smartphones powered by Android Oreo (Go Edition) in India.
With this, India will become one of the first countries to commercially roll-out smartphones running on Android Oreo.
Android Oreo (Go Edition)
It is a configuration of the android operating system specifically optimized for devices with RAM of 1GB or less.
Airtel Mera Pehla 4G Smartphone
As part of the collaboration, entry-level 4G smartphones under Airtel’s Mera Pehla 4G Smartphone programme will be shipped with Android Go as standard operating system starting from March 2018.
The first set of 4G smartphones having Android Go will come with a new range of apps designed to run faster while using less data & are expected to play an important role in further expanding internet adoption.
Basic specifications of upcoming smartphones
These low-cost 4G smartphones powered by Android Go will be manufactured by the Indian handset makers Lava and Micromax. These smartphones will also come pre-loaded with Airtel apps including MyAirtel App, Airtel TV and Wynk Music.
Furthermore, the handsets will have apps like Google Go, Google Maps Go, Gmail Go, YouTube Go, Google Assistant Go and Files Go.
The handsets running Android Go will also come with twice as much storage out of the box.
Lava Z50: First Android Go Smartphone
On 27th of Februay, Lava has announced to launch its first Android Go powered 4G smartphone Z50 by mid-March 2018 in two colour options – Black and Gold.
However, the company haven’t revealed the price of the 4G smartphone.
The Lava Z50 will run on Android 8.1 Oreo (Go edition) & sports a 4.5-inch display, 1.1 GHz quad-core processor, 1GB RAM, 8GB internal space, and 5MP rear and front camera with flash.
Statement regarding pact
Vani Venkatesh, Chief Marketing Officer – Bharti Airtel, has stated that this partnership is a major milestone for the Mera Pehla 4G Smartphone initiative.
Android Go will provide a massive boost to our efforts to bring affordable smartphone options to the market and potentially enable hundreds of millions of feature phone users and unconnected people to get online.
We are excited to collaborate with Google and our device partners to work towards this shared vision of bringing smartphones within the reach of more people.
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