Google unveils Android 12 Go for budget smartphones

Over a year later, Android 12 Go evolves and renews the contents of the previous version of the system for budget smartphones

Google has made Android 12 Go official, which like the previous generation is a version of the green robot designed for budget smartphones. This new edition comes more than a year after the previous one, and has been founded on three key concepts: speed, smart features and privacy.

The specific distribution for low and very low-end smartphones is made somewhat necessary by the fact that, usually, in order to keep the price as low as possible on this kind of products, the designers are asked to offer technical specifications lower than what is offered on average on more expensive products, so the "classic" version of Android could run out of steam or end up slowing down the phone prematurely. So here is Android 12 Go, a "lightened" version that makes Google's little green robot an operating system truly for everyone.

Speed and resource management in Android 12 Go

Talking about app opening speed with an operating system for smartphones with "meager" technical features may seem nonsense, yet Google has worked hard to optimize Android 12 Go as much as possible, achieving a 30% increase in app opening times, so much so that Google has raised expectations by talking about "instant opening".

When hardware resources are not many, then what really matters is to use them to the fullest. Google knows this well, and that's why it has equipped Android 12 Go with an algorithm capable of recognizing apps that haven't been used for a while and putting them into hibernation, a state that effectively "immobilizes" them to prevent them from occupying memory or consuming battery power without the user having any real advantage. From this novelty will derive a higher autonomy and a greater storage space available.

The saving perspective with which Android 12 Go was conceived has suggested to Google designers to introduce the possibility to share an app with nearby products, in order to save (and let others save) the precious "Giga" of the phone plan. And still on the sharing theme, on Android 12 Go, usage profiles have been added to the lock screen, so that it's easier and more immediate to share the smartphone between multiple people, or give it away for a set period of time to a family member or friend through the guest profile.

Smart features and privacy in Android 12 Go

Of the new features that affect content, the recent apps screen stands out, with a shortcut to Google Translator for convenient web page translation in just a few steps, as well as one for listening to the content displayed on the screen.

When it comes to privacy, Android 12 Go provides more precise information about which apps are using the user's data, thanks in part to the new privacy control center. An indicator on the status bar debuts that tells you when an app is using one of your smartphone's cameras or microphone.