In a recent blog post, Google announced the minimum requirements for Android 13. That’s at least 2GB of RAM for the Go edition versus the 1GB requirement for the previous iteration. A Google Product Expert has also mentioned that storage needs to be at least 16GB.
Just for a refresh, the Go edition is a stripped-down version of Android especially designed to consume less resources and run well on low-end devices. You even get lightweight Go versions of some apps.
Android 13: What it Means for Brands
What this basically means is that manufacturers will have to stick by Google’s policy if they want Play Store licensing as well as access to the “Android” brand, which has been trademarked by Google. This may entail additional costs on both sides. Of course, they can still launch devices with a previous version of Android to take advantage of the lower requirements, but upgradeability will be an issue.
On the bright side, this will also be a bit of a remedy for the issues that users are having with some devices that offer less than 16GB of storage, which is well… lack of storage. We’re talking about devices other than smartphones – streaming devices, wearables, TVs, and more.
For Android 12 (though it wasn’t mentioned whether it’s for the Go Edition or not) Google announced that it has recently made improvements in certain areas such as app launch speed, battery life.
According to IDC’s Mobile Phone tracker, low-end phones accounted for 57% of global device shipments at the time when Android Go was first announced.
Emman has been writing technical and feature articles since 2010. Prior to this, he became one of the instructors at Asia Pacific College in 2008, and eventually landed a job as Business Analyst and Technical Writer at Integrated Open Source Solutions for almost 3 years.
