The Asus ZenFone Live comes bearing a Snapdragon 425 processor, unlike the MediaTek chipsets found on other Android Go phones.
Asus has ever so silently launched an Android Oreo (Go Edition) entry-level smartphone. Android Oreo (Go Edition) or Android Go is Google’s optimised operating system for low-end devices that have up to 1GB of RAM. While multiple other Android Go devices – like the Nokia 1, Spice F311 from Transsion Holdings, Alcatel 1, Moto E5 Play, Micromax Bharat Go, Lava Z50 and others – sport a MediaTek chipset, Asus has differentiated its offering by housing a Quad-core 1.4GHz processor Qualcomm Snapdragon 425 chipset within the ZenFone Live.
Other specs of the Asus ZenFone Live include – a 5.5-inch 720p display with an 18:9 aspect ratio, 1GB RAM, 16GB of storage which is expandable up to 2TB, a 3,000 mAh battery, an 13MP primary camera, a 5MP front camera, and support for two SIM cards. The ZenFone Live is available in a single Midnight Black colour priced at $109 (Rs 7,484). The device has already gone on sale in the US.
So what does Android Oreo (Go Edition) bring? We haven’t had the chance to really put an Android Go phone through its paces yet, but Google advertises it as a near stock Android experience (OEMs can slap their own UI on it) for low-end devices. We have seen a bunch of Android Go phones floating about with lightweight versions of Google’s apps such as Maps Go, YouTube Go, Assistant Go and others. Lesser storage uptake by apps means faster operation, quicker multi-tasking, and fewer lags, which is what Google promises on Android Go smartphones. Apart from lightweight apps, Android Go also brings dedicated data-saving features. For instance, Files Go and YouTube Go app will allow peer-to-peer files and video sharing between phones respectively, without the need of an internet connection. Chrome Go will also help you save data while you browse, while Google Go and Google Assistant Go are meant to give you bite-sized information without pinching your data wallet much.
Google says that the Go Edition of Android will be updated alongside each Android version, such as Android P (Go Edition), Android Q (Go Edition) and so forth. While we know almost all there is to about the upcoming Android P, not much has been said about a Go edition of the OS. We might hear more on this when Google officially rolls out Android P, or we might have to wait till the expected October 4 Pixel 3 launch to know more about the future of Android Go.
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