Nowadays, Android Go is a topic on everyone's lips. Whether due to its relevance in the social sphere, its impact on the economy or its influence on popular culture, Android Go has captured the attention of a large number of people around the world. This phenomenon is not surprising, as Android Go possesses a number of characteristics that make it worthy of study and interest by academics, experts, and enthusiasts alike. In this article, we will explore in depth some of the most prominent facets of Android Go, analyzing its importance today and its potential impact in the future. Through a rigorous and exhaustive analysis, we will seek to shed light on this highly relevant topic and offer a comprehensive vision that allows readers to better understand its scope and significance.
| Android Go | |
|---|---|
Android Go 14 home screen with Pixel Launcher | |
| Developer | Various (mostly Google) |
| OS family | Unix-like (modified Linux kernel) |
| Working state | Security updates only |
| Initial release | 8.1 (Go Edition) / December 5, 2017 |
| Latest release | 16 (Go Edition) / November 7, 2025 |
| Marketing target | Low-end/ultra-budget smartphones (with 3 GB and 4 GB RAM) |
| Supported platforms | arm64-v8a (64-bit) armeabi-v7a (32-bit) |
| Official website | www |
Android Go, officially Android (Go edition),[1] is a stripped-down version of the Android operating system, designed for low-end and ultra-budget smartphones (but also used by some tablets[2][3][4]). It is intended for smartphones from 2GB to 4GB[5][6] of RAM and was first made available with the release of Android Oreo.
The first phone pre-installed with Android Go is the Alcatel 1X, which was released in February 2018.[7] Android 16 Go Edition released on November 7, 2025.
Android Go has platform optimizations designed to reduce mobile data usage (including enabling Data Saver mode in Google Chrome by default), and a special suite of Google Mobile Services designed to be less resource and bandwidth-intensive. The Google Play Services package was also modularized to reduce its memory footprint.[8] The Google Play Store will highlight lighter apps suited for these devices.[9][10]
The operating system's interface differs from that of stock Android, with the quick-settings panel giving greater prominence to information regarding the battery, mobile-data limit, and available storage; the recent apps menu using a modified layout and being limited to four apps (in order to reduce RAM consumption), and an API for allowing mobile carriers to implement data-tracking and top-ups within the Android settings menu.[8] Some system services, such as notification access, split screen and picture-in-picture mode, are disabled to improve performance.[11]
Most devices running Android Go use Google's "stock" Android GUI, although there are several manufacturers that still use customized GUI.
| Version | Android version numbers |
Minimum RAM required |
Android Go release date |
Android release date |
Days after release |
End of support |
Ref. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8.1 Oreo (Go edition) | 8.1 | 512 MB | December 5, 2017 | December 5, 2017 | 0 | October 4, 2021 | [12] | |
| 9 Pie (Go edition) | 9 | August 15, 2018 | August 6, 2018 | 9 | March 7, 2022 | [13] | ||
| 10 (Go edition) | 10 | September 25, 2019 | September 3, 2019 | 22 | March 6, 2023 | [14] | ||
| 11 (Go edition) | 11 | 1 GB | September 10, 2020 | September 8, 2020 | 2 | March 27, 2024 | [15] | |
| 12 (Go edition) | 12 | December 14, 2021 | October 4, 2021 | 71 | March 31, 2025 | [16] | ||
| 13 (Go edition) | 13 | 2 GB | October 19, 2022 | August 15, 2022 | 65 | 2026 | [17] | |
| 14 (Go edition) | 14 | December 15, 2023 | October 4, 2023 | 72 | Current | [18] | ||
| 15 (Go edition) | 15 | 3 GB | March 21, 2025 | September 3, 2024 | 199 | [19] | ||
| 16 (Go edition) | 16 | November 7, 2025 | June 10, 2025 | 150 | ||||
|
Legend: Unsupported Supported Latest version | ||||||||