New “Android Go” phones show how much you can get for $100

https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2018/02/new-android-go-phones-show-how-much-you-can-get-for-100/

by hpaavola • 8 years ago

99 101 8 years ago

andrepd2• 8 years ago

These seem underwhelming compared to what the Chinese manufacturers are doing. For example, 100$ can get you one of these: https://www.gsmarena.com/xiaomi_redmi_4_(4x)-8608.php

jdietrich2• 8 years ago

You won't get a 4x for that price, but you can get a 5A for under $100. For that price you'll get a Snapdragon 425, 2GB of RAM, a surprisingly bright 720p display and a non-awful camera. I can only assume that these devices will sell for vastly below the listed price in their target markets, otherwise they're going to flop miserably.

https://www.banggood.com/Xiaomi-Redmi-5A-Global-Edition-5_0-...

tudelo2• 8 years ago

These phones seem like really good deals... too good to be true? I'm in the market for a cheap phone coming from a moto E 1st gen and these seem like promising options.

taoistextremist• 8 years ago

Isn't Xiaomi subsidized by the government? Hard to compete against that in price.

bitL• 8 years ago

You have other manufacturers like Ulefone, Doogee, Leagoo, Wiko, Bq, Archos, Zoji, ZTE, Bluboo, Cubot, Oukitel, Fantec, HomTom, Kazam, BlackView, Elephone, Umidigi, Wieppo, GigaSet, HiSense, Gretel, Nabo, Siswoo, Hafury, Coolpad, STK, Keecoo, Meizu etc. offering better specs than any Go phone. Go just seems like a rebranding of what couldn't sell and got outdated.

gruez• 8 years ago

source? a google search turns up nothing

StudentStuff10• 8 years ago

Even compared to a $5 Android Tracfone you can get at any Safeway, these are pretty underwhelming. Why would I pay 12x more and only get double the RAM & LTE compared to a $5 Alcatel Android phone?

Essentially the only reason is for modern Android, but its not as though any of these Android phones (except the Nokia) will ever see multiple years of software updates.

ktpsns• 8 years ago

Can you provide a link to a shop where to buy a smartphone for $5?

pezdeath• 8 years ago

Or just what Motorola has done with their E series

jklinger410• 8 years ago

Every American phone is underwhelming compared to what Chinese manufacturers are doing.

They make all of the phones, actually. You have to pay hella licensing to get a cell chip that works in the west. Then, they sell that phone to the company wholesale. Then the American company upcharges for retail.

You can get a Samsung S whatever for 1/3 the price if you don't want to connect to a cell network and don't mind waiting 3 months for it to ship.

bebna• 8 years ago

Can one "downgrade" a normal android to go? Would be interesting to see what it does to your battery runtime, for people like me, who use their phones mainly for different forms of text messaging, some news browsing and some once in a while google maps routing.

StudentStuff10• 8 years ago

Doubtful, this seems to just be another soon to be orphaned Android variant (like Android One). Uninstalling Google Play Newsstand and most of the other Google Crapware should get you close, perhaps replace Google Play Services Framework with microG to save a few hundred megs of space?

Grazester• 8 years ago

Go apps are stripped down version of their normal counterpart. These stripped down versions are smaller in size and maybe be optimized for slower internet services. Android Ones is still going well in places like India but Google usually has a say in what hardware is used on Android One phones as they push the updates for these devices. With Android Go any hardware can be used.

bsimpson• 8 years ago

There's an open bug in Chrome to put it in Go mode on regular hardware (crbug.com/747143).

Not sure if that would help though. The performance constraints on low-end hardware are different than on others. For instance, you want as many layers as possible on regular hardware (so transitions are smooth). However, those layers eat up RAM that low-end hardware can't afford.

leke• 8 years ago

Will these phones still run the regular android apps like Duolingo, Memrise, Telegram, Brave, BaconReader...?

StudentStuff10• 8 years ago

That is the idea, but with only 8GB of internal storage, using Progressive Web Apps for things like Reddit would be best.

tudelo2• 8 years ago

Hah. I have a phone with 5GB (probably marketed as 6 but I don't remember) and you really can not have many apps installed at once. Add to it the fact that if you run something like Spotify it will cache like 1GB of data over a few days. I have something different every week. As a bonus, it keeps my home screen free of almost any icons...

bruceb2• 8 years ago

Not sure what the point of this article is. There are plenty of Quad core, 2gb ram, 16gb phones for under $100 already available in the US. Of course some are initially locked but they are locked to MVNO that have relatively cheap plans $20-$40 a month.

This configuration (Quad,2gb,16gb) seems like a good minimum that you can use most apps without major problems and have enough space to not uninstall stuff all the time.

Plus now the used market has many high quality phones that are available. A used Samsung S5 should meet most people's basic needs. The difference between a 2018 phone and a 2015 phone is much smaller than 2015 and a 2012 phone.

As for place like India, there are plenty of phones in the $80-$99 range that meet these specs. And many that are at the $40-50 price points that have worse specs but still usable.

amiga-workbench4• 8 years ago

I'm pretty much through buying "flagship" devices due to the pathetically short software support lifetime they have, I bought a second hand Xperia Z5 Compact for £150 about 6 months ago and loaded Lineage OS onto it.

Even my old Xperia Z3 has a port of Oreo available, and its perfectly functional.

pishpash3• 8 years ago

Flagship is just companies trying to emulate Apple to fleece unsuspecting price-taking fools.

criddell2• 8 years ago

I'm not buying any phones anymore unless they come from Google or Apple. Even manufacturers that do update their phones can be very slow getting security fixes out.

BoorishBears3• 8 years ago

The iPhone is a flagship with excellent software support, it just so happens it’s also Apple's only phone line

datguacdoh• 8 years ago

The difference isn't just the price. It's that all of these phones are also running an optimized version of Android that is going to run on the lower specs better than anything else. It doesn't matter if the specs seem the same between devices, if the vendor adds a bunch of crap or just drops aosp without optimizing for the hardware, the phone is going to run terribly. This is the current state of most low end android phone's which they appear to be addressing with Android Go phones.

rb808• 8 years ago

I wonder if these are a good solution to phone addiction, ie can still let you use maps, uber and check email without being good for FB & games. If only they had a good camera...

pishpash3• 8 years ago

How about not installing dumb apps

radix07• 8 years ago

Yes of course any modern smart phone can do this by just not installing apps. But there is absolutely a need for a minimal or 'dumb' smart phone. Just having Google Play with everything available is enough to get you distracted enough to go into a never ending pool of distractions and wasted time. Yes, I should certainly have the control to stop myself and I even do an application detox occasionally when I get the will power. But if I couldn't get into that useless stuff in the first place, I wouldn't need to worry about it.

I have seriously considered going straight to a dumb phone and had one much longer than most of my friends, but then I need to carry a GPS, MP3 player, and a not shitty camera. I just want a phone that actually fits in my hand with email, a light weight web browser, Spotify/Pandora, Maps, maybe some health/fitness trackers, and a half decent camera. And of course the actual phone functions to text and call when needed.

timlod3• 8 years ago

This also means the battery is—get this—replaceable! When you take off the back you can actually pull the battery out and—if you have an extra on hand—replace it with a fully charged battery. Amazing.

Not sure if this is meant to be a joke... My understanding that most lower-tier phones have replacable batteries, at least my last phones (from the Moto G series) had.

diggan2• 8 years ago

I've been a Moto G fan since the first one, but the current one I have (3rd Generation, falcon) does not have replacable batteries. But instead it has space for a sd-card. I was not sure which one was best to have, but after having the phone for a while and the battery loosing it's juice, I would definitely be happier with a replaceable battery compared to upgradable storage.

timlod3• 8 years ago

I have the recent one (G5), and it has both. 2 Sim card slots, SD card slot, replacable battery. The first one also had a replacable battery. Didn't know the 3rd Generation didn't! In that case I'm glad they reverted their design in that regard.

MarcScott2• 8 years ago

I'm now on my third "budget" phone, my last previous premium phone being a Nexus 4. I used a Moto G4 until I broke it, a Moto G5 until I broke it, and now have a new G5, which given my history will last me about 6 months. I break phones too often to fork out anything over about £150.

If I can get a sub £100 phone, that will run Google maps, an email client, a web browser and give me the ability to tether then sign me up.

BugsJustFindMe7• 8 years ago

I break phones too often

Could you stop doing that? Or get insurance that covers accidental damage. The premium will cost less than £150 every 6 months.

MarcScott2• 8 years ago

Could you stop doing that?

No, I'm fairly clumsy and get through phones, laptops, e-cigs etc at an alarming rate.

My phone costs me the equivalent of £25 a month plus an additional £10 for 4G from my provider. After 6 months, it's just the £10. This is far cheaper than the £50/month 2 year contracts on most premium phones.

BugsJustFindMe7• 8 years ago

As far as I'm concerned, the only question that matters is "What is the chain of responsibility for making security updates get to my phone?"

If the answer is "Google-Carrier-Me" or "Google-Vendor-Carrier-Me" and not "Google-Me", then fuck it sideways. I'm so done with Android until the update model stops being garbage.

r3vrse• 8 years ago

I completely agree.

I do find it interesting though, as someone who through work has deployed a lot of cell phones for field ops - the situation seems to be kind of, sort of getting better in that respect.

We bought a ton of Moto G4s and G5s in last 18 months, and for the first year, I saw maybe one OS update and a couple security patches?. In the past six months, it's been noticably different (and these phones are only getting older, mind).

I'm writing this on a Moto G5+ which has 7.1.1 and the January security patches, including fix for KRACK vulnerability. G4 models have the same patch level and 7.0. Updates have been deployed fairly regularly lately (if still not quite on a monthly cycle).

This from Lenovo, who have historically been terrible for issuing updates in a timely manner.

I wonder if the message is finally getting to these OEMs that they can't afford to let current models wither on the vine in this IT security climate, even if only for their own selfish ends (e.g. avoiding bad press).

I really hope so. It's way overdue.

Disclaimer: total anecdata, handle with gloves.

BugsJustFindMe7• 8 years ago

I'm writing this on a Moto G5+ which has 7.1.1

Well my G5+ says it's still on 7.0, and 7.1.1 still isn't the 8 update that was promised many months ago.

and the January security patches

If you want to sleep at night, don't count the number of critical severity CVEs fixed in the February and March updates that you don't have.

e12e2• 8 years ago

I'd prefer a more classical model of having a group of volunteers work with semi-independent groups of vendors - along the lines of Debian Gnu/Linux. Rather than some semi-closed Linux + Google+hw-vendor Android.

I like the direction Google one + lineage Os seem to be taking us; even if the baseband are still a problem / back-door.

madez• 8 years ago

Devices with LineageOS are still stuck on old kernels and can't run mainline Linux.

cpncrunch2• 8 years ago

That's why I only get google/nexus devices now, as they get fast updates (I assume the pixel is the same). I've given up on Samsung.

saghm2• 8 years ago

I had a Pixel XL and now have a Pixel XL 2; both get monthly security patches (including the XL, although it isn't hooked up to any carrier), generally on the 5th of each month.

UncleMeat• 8 years ago

Okay. If you only have $100 to spend, what other option exists?

BugsJustFindMe7• 8 years ago

None. The state of smart phones in 2018 is complete bullshit. You either get fucked in the wallet or you get fucked in maintenance. It's extremely frustrating if you aren't wealthy.

The closest right now is maybe a used iPhone SE? Or maybe something old that happens to be well supported by LineageOS, if ADB is your idea of a fun time. Neither seem like great options to me. I don't have a good answer.

mindslight• 8 years ago

Distribution (eg LineageOS) -> you.

If the option of installing your own OS isn't available, eg due to insufficient community interest or DRM-based fraud, then don't buy the brick in the first place.

srhngpr• 8 years ago

You should consider Android One [1] phones. There's plenty of them now, including all the latest Nokia released ones. They have vanilla Android and receive all updates directly from Google.

I personally own a Xiaomi Mi A1[2] that I purchased from Amazon for under CAD$320. Solid phone and overall great specs for this price range. The only thing missing is NFC, but I don't miss it too much since the rollout of Android Pay (Google Pay) in Canada extends only to few financial institutions.

[1] https://android.com/one

[2] https://www.amazon.ca/Xiaomi-Android-Cameras-Unlocked-Versio...

BugsJustFindMe7• 8 years ago

I had Android One phones back when they were called Nexus 4 and Nexus 5, and they stopped getting updates after 18 months. I know that things have gotten a little better on paper, but Google really has to prove itself to me now. They've been dicking around too much for too long. Fool me once, etc.

Android One says "two years of upgrades", but I see no promises about patch schedule reliability. Motorola also promised to bring Android 8 to the G5+. Maybe it will happen in 2018. We'll see. That's just not good enough.

Also...2 years is an impoverished standard compared to the 5 years that iPhones get.

FussyZeus• 8 years ago

New “Android Go” phones show how much you can get for $100

Not a lot, as it turns out, unsurprising to most.

eof• 8 years ago

having used androids and always getting frustrated at them getting super laggy, i finally took my friends advice and bought a used 5s for $80. runs like butter for the last year.

unbelievable to me we still can't keep garbage processes and excessive ui down enough to have a budget phone run like crap

on_and_off• 8 years ago

It is too bad it was a private conversation, I would love to be able to point to a published form, but I discussed with one of the Googlers in charge of optimizing Android.

He did not exactly have nice things to say about how OEMs are optimizing their phones.

Basically they optimize in order to get higher benchmark score but it very often goes against general smoothness.

In the end he published a detailed article detailing how his team had optimized the pixel phone rendering pipeline so OEMs could try to do it correctly as well.

And that's for a high end phone.

However, I have got to say that after using iOS phones recently, I have not exactly been impressed with their smoothness either. Even system apps miss frames.

That's not shocking in itself, mobile computing is pretty hard, you can't even table on a stable cpu frequency (thermal throttle) but not what I expected due to the reputation of apple phones.

mastax• 8 years ago

I was confused by some of the comments here before I realized that I was confusing "Android Go" (for low-ram devices) with "Android One" (stock android with guaranteed updates, usually for budget devices). For all the folks asking for a good cheap phone that gets Android updates, look at Android One devices.

jstewartmobile• 8 years ago

I remember the Treo from 2004 where my contacts and appointments opened immediately. Now we have these things where you wait a second for it to do a little dance before you can dial the number.

That, and considering the amount of information they're scraping, Google should be paying me to use their awful phones.

hajile• 8 years ago

I don't get the RAM requirements here. I can buy a 1GB DDR3L chip for around $6.20 (and closer to $5.50 per 1000). Another layer on the PCB (if even necessary) would only add a couple dollars more. I think even people without much money would pay an extra 10 for 2x the RAM and 1/2 the frustration because things like web pages can't really be optimized too much no matter Android Go's aims.

This smells of companies making phones because certain Google execs recommended they do so.

New “Android Go” phones show how much you can get for $100

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