
Android 8.1 Oreo - sohkamyung
https://www.blog.google/products/android/introducing-android-oreo-go-edition/
======
biztos
So there is android-go[0], which is a Goland thing; and Go Mobile[1], which is
a Golang thing; and now there is also the _other_ Android Go[2], which has
nothing to do with the Go programming language.

Right?

[0]: [https://github.com/xlab/android-go](https://github.com/xlab/android-go)
[1]:
[https://github.com/golang/go/wiki/Mobile](https://github.com/golang/go/wiki/Mobile)
[2]: [https://www.android.com/versions/oreo-8-0/go-
edition/](https://www.android.com/versions/oreo-8-0/go-edition/)

~~~
Uplink
I for one was wondering if they spoke to their Google Go (Golang) team when
they named the Go edition 'Google' app 'Google Go'. There will be some very
confused users when they search for 'google go' from now on.

~~~
_sdegutis
It's probably intentional: "Go" is a great word for marketing, it's simple and
short and easy to remember and implies getting stuff done or being active,
it's the first two letters in "Google", it's overall a good fit for this use-
case, and these probably all outweigh the fact that some programmers already
have a different idea of what it means, given most Android users aren't
programmers, and this is a user-facing word (if I understood correctly,
"YouTube Go" will be the name of the YouTube app on the home screen, etc).

~~~
carlob
Definitely better than the more logical goo (which is half a google). It just
doesn't sound as fast :)

~~~
bitwize
Hey, Gwyneth Paltrow has a highly successful beauty-product brand called GOOP.

------
Zenst
So Android GO is Android lite - a non bloat, cut down version of android that
will run upon phones with specifications artificially obsoleted by previous
versions of android and yet will we now see it released for these `old` phones
to make them usable again? Probably not.

For me the first NExus 7 tablet was a prime example of what happens, released
- ran fine, Android update and became darn near unusable, and then dropped.

Android today needs 2 gig of ram to work, less and the cracks show. Tomorrow
it will be more.

This is always a repeated cycle in operating systems, they bloat up, then
eventually have a cycle of removing the fat. Windows been thru this cycle many
times.

But calling it Android Go Edition, may sound cool as a marketing buzz, but
utterly distracts from what it is as well as confusing given GoLang. More so
as todays entry level phones where only a couple of years ago, premium
specifications. Things move on and progress, but the amount of artificial
obsoletion of mobile phones today by Android at a consumer level is frankly
scary and avoidable. Two years from new to being forgotten is a recent change
in mobile phones and without custommade roms, unavoidable as you effectively
get forced to buy a new phone, just to stay secure.

Why can't they have LTE editions for phones.

~~~
inlined
> This is always a repeated cycle in operating systems, they bloat up, then
> eventually have a cycle of removing the fat. Windows been thru this cycle
> many times.

I worked at Microsoft during Windows 7 & 8\. There was a strict edict that
minimum hardware requirements would not be increased and we were expected to
improve performance on the same hardware.

Have you actually seen windows get worse over the last ~9 years since vista or
is this an impression that's just too hard to shake?

~~~
mrpippy
I generally agree that Windows has done a good job of getting faster on the
same hardware (particularly boot time) over the last 10 years, but the
hardware requirements have changed.

Disabling desktop composition (the Desktop Window Manager/Aero) was a
supported option on Windows 7, but is not an option for W8 and above. Windows
8 also requires NX and SSE2 support, which leaves out 2003/2004-era P4 and
Athlon XPs.

~~~
TazeTSchnitzel
Even if Windows 10 still supported non-SSE2 CPUs, few software packages would.
Most software is compiled to use SSE for floats now.

Interestingly, disabling compositing doesn't mean increasing system
requirements, because Windows 8 can do it in software. A GPU will improve your
experience, however.

------
thisisit
Damn it Google. Stop releasing more "editions" in an already fragmented OS
market.

OEMs are refusing to push updates specially to the lower end phones. So stop
giving them reasons to keep releasing new phones.

~~~
Fnoord
That's what Android One and Project Treble are for.

Android Go is meant for low end, slower connectivity devices aka "upcoming
markets". I wonder if Android Go does less profiling etc. Android Go was
announced half a year ago on Google I/O 2017. Here's a few sources: [1] [2].
Quoting:

"Android Go will be launched with Android O, but will be an integral part of
every Android version in the future. Every Android device with 1 GB of RAM or
less will be able to use Android Go. Several key points of the operating
system will be optimized and tweaked to take changed specs into account:

* Android Go will have a new data counter, which will allow for better monitoring of data consumption.

* Data Saver will be enabled by default.

* The Play Store will be included with all available apps, but Android Go customized apps will be highlighted.

* Gboard, Google's keyboard app, will have new translation features.

* Google apps will be optimized for weaker chipsets and slower networks."

Keep in mind 1 GB or less means according to the article on Google Blog: 512
MB - 1 GB. So anything less than 512 MB RAM won't fly.

Data Saver [3]:

"To optimize for Data Saver mode, apps should:

* Remove unnecessary images

* Use lower resolution for remaining images

* Use lower bitrate video

* Trigger existing “lite” experiences

* Compress data

* Respect metered vs. unmetered network status even when Data Saver is off

Conversely, to work well with Data Saver, apps should not:

* Autoplay videos

* Prefetch content/attachments

* Download updates / code

* Ask to be whitelisted unless background data is truly part of core functionality

* Treat whitelisting as a license to use more bandwidth"

I'm not sure whether Data Saver mode uses Google proxies.

The article on Google Blog is actually a decent read as well. It explains how
on 8 GB flash storage, 50% is available with Android Go, and apps are 50%
size.

Its unclear to me how Google benefits from Android Go apart from happy
customers. I'm giving some hints throughout my post but nothing conclusive.
The name is also confusing given _their_ programming language, Go.

[1] [https://www.androidpit.com/what-is-android-
go](https://www.androidpit.com/what-is-android-go)

[2] [https://www.androidauthority.com/android-
go-773037/](https://www.androidauthority.com/android-go-773037/)

[3] [https://source.android.com/devices/tech/connect/data-
saver](https://source.android.com/devices/tech/connect/data-saver)

~~~
AdmiralAsshat
Google made a disastrous decision to make Project Treble an optional
framework. The end result is that even though supporting it would allow phones
to get faster updates, the _vast_ majority of OEMs who updated their phones to
Oreo don't support it.[0]

Basically, Google said, "With this awesome new thing, you the consumer can
continue to easily get updates for years without having to wait for the OEMs
to push updates!" and the OEMs said, "Yeah...we don't think we want to support
that."

[0][http://www.androidpolice.com/2017/11/26/phones-updated-
suppo...](http://www.androidpolice.com/2017/11/26/phones-updated-support-
project-treble-continuously-updated/)

~~~
Ajedi32
IIRC, all phones shipping with Oreo are required to support Treble.

Also, Treble doesn't allow you to get updates "without having to wait for the
OEMs", it just makes it easier for OEMs to update Android, since they no
longer have to rely on chip manufacturers (e.g. Qualcomm) to provide updated
drivers for the new OS version.

~~~
AdmiralAsshat
> IIRC, all phones shipping with Oreo are required to support Treble.

"Shipping" is the keyword. So OEMs can get around that trivially by shipping
the phone with Nougat and promising to update to Oreo very shortly thereafter,
thereby bypassing the requirement. Look no further than the recently launched
OnePlus 5T:

[http://www.androidpolice.com/2017/11/21/oneplus-confirms-
won...](http://www.androidpolice.com/2017/11/21/oneplus-confirms-wont-project-
treble-current-devices-including-oneplus-5t/)

I would not be surprised if they intentionally did it this way just to get
around the Project Treble requirements.

> Also, Treble doesn't allow you to get updates "without having to wait for
> the OEMs", it just makes it easier for OEMs to update Android

This is true, but it could also allow one to more easily flash ROMs onto the
device without the usual unlocking the bootleader process, which would in
theory let people then put a ROM onto their phone that's still getting
updates, a la LineageOS. OEMS, predictably, probably see that as a drawback.

~~~
Fnoord
Yup, so the best thing to do now is only buying phones with Android Oreo
installed at launch. If that means not buying a phone, so be it. Or, if your
situation demands a phone, buy a temporary, cheap 2nd hand.

------
dotancohen
The Go Edition seems to be a lower-resource build of Android, with fewer
installed apps and even those spec'ed for low-end machines.

I would love this on my Note 3.

------
traspler
So except for the new, reduced applications and some changed defaults in the
settings it does not seem to be any different than the normal 8.1? Or am I
missing something?

The "tuned Play Store" looks like it just has a new featured pane but if it
actually ships with performance enhancements I can't understand why they would
not ship them to the defualt Play Store. Mine is terribly laggy on my Nexus
6P.

~~~
dannyw
It looks like there are a number of OS level optimisations that make it
faster; not just tuned lighter apps. It would be nice if this was a setting
for all devices...

------
bonsai80
When saw post my first thought was "I knew it! Google's been working on
avoiding Java/Oracle and planning to let us write apps in golang all this
time. Here it is!" Wrong "Go" it seems.

~~~
jorgemf
Go doesn't seem to me as a good choice to develop apps. Why do you think they
would move to Go? I would go to kotlin instead of other language if I needed
to replace java

~~~
bonsai80
I assumed Go would be high on the list due to the fact that they have full
control over it (avoiding Oracle and their lawyers) and it has good
performance. I agree that Kotlin is probably a better language for writing
Android apps. Having done a ton of Java, I was pleasantly surprised at how
lovely it is to work with.

~~~
deburo
Golang doesn't seem a good choice for native apps because it lacks a UI
framework.

It seems to me that if you want to make apps for users with Golang, you would
make webapps. If you're making webapps, you don't need to put Go on Android.

------
Already__Taken
I presume standard android rules apply and I'll never see this on my current
handset (Moto C, 6mo/new)

~~~
H1Supreme
Most likely. This was the most jarring thing when I came over to Android. The
lack of available updates is embarrassing. Not just talking about $40 walmart
specials either.

~~~
whyagaindavid
Mediatek is very bad in releasing kernel source. See XDA/lineage os before
buying next phone.

------
tn_
Personally, I look forward to the stackoverflow questions tagging Android Go
specific problems and being redirected to Golang issues.

------
donclark
Would it be possible to download and flash this on my phone (Samsung Galaxy
S3(d2spr)) - which currently has LineageOS installed?
[https://lineageos.org/](https://lineageos.org/) And if so, is there a
download link for the ROM or an ETA for when it will become available?

------
givinguflac
Here I thought android couldn’t possibly become more fragmented. Kudos Google.

~~~
izacus
The OS and API surface is the same. Why did you comment without even checking
what the article is about? What's the point except the useless ignorant snark?

~~~
tn_
Because it's valid snark and at this point an on-going joke. Fragmentation
seems to be very much part of the Google culture.

~~~
zhengyi13
Serious question: what's the difference between fragmentation, and really
extended A-B testing in different market spaces?

------
hultner
Renaming everything with the added suffix of Go seems like a bit of an odd
choice to me?

Wouldn't it just make sense to optimize the original version? Having multiple
naming conventions seems like an invite to confusion.

~~~
cptskippy
Yes, and creating a new product with a familiar name has some benefits. To the
consumer it gives them familiarity without expectation, they know from the
name what it does and what to expect in limitations (e.g. Go = minimalist). On
the developer it gives them the freedom to ignore or abandon unpopular,
limited use, or difficult to implement features in the name of stream lining a
product.

------
ausjke
I spent 10 minutes looking up and down to make sure the GO has nothing to do
with Golang. Why picking such a name?

Thought Android is trying to replace Java with Go...especially they keep call
this a Go Edition.

------
jagermo
So,if I pay for a more expensive phone, I get bloatware?

~~~
bsimpson
> ...you’d think that you’d want that for every Android phone. But in this
> case, that’s not necessarily true; optimizing an app to take up less storage
> can also mean it takes a little longer to launch. On phones where storage is
> at a premium, you optimize for that. On most high-end phones, however, you’d
> rather get those milliseconds back.

> [https://www.theverge.com/2017/12/5/16736260/google-
> android-o...](https://www.theverge.com/2017/12/5/16736260/google-android-
> oreo-go-edition)

Facebook has Messenger Lite in these same markets. It doesn't do all the stuff
Messenger does (like video chat), but it's a better experience for people with
worse devices or worse connectivity.

------
mxuribe
I'm torn here...

On one side, I'm thankful that slimmer versions of platforms (seemingly like
this Android Oreo) emerge to help bring in "entry-level" or even lower-powered
devices to leverage modern-day (digital) benefits. I believe this helps avoid
needing to constantly buy ever-newer devices, because the older devices can
still be used effectively, for longer. I saw this with MS Windows: it used to
be absolutely necessary to have a pretty beefy machine to run the minimalist
of MS Windows Vista. But recently, can now run Windows 7 or 10 on more modest
machines...leading to a bit more longevity of machine usage, savings on
hardware purchase costs, and hey, yes, a tiny less negative impact on the
environment (by reducing constant new "junk" tossed into junk yards, etc.).

...But on the other side, I wonder why didn't these platform producers -
Google and Microsoft alike - create these slimmer platforms to begin with? The
benefits of a slimmer platforms are nothing new, and don't seem like some
weird set of concepts. That is, i don't think its unfair of me to ask these
Googles and Microsofts of the world: why didn't they think of this sooner, why
don't they always think of this sooner? A slimmer, more optimized platform
that allows for broader use among that many more devices...duh! Then, I
wonder, well, there's got to be some incentive for why these companies fill
some versions of their platforms with ungodly amounts of bloat, right? Is it
some shady alignment with other partners, where ideal performance for
consumers is only a secondary goal (to say, the higher goals of benefiting a
partner)? Is it some sort of dark, planned obsolescence, to get people to buy
a new device every couple of years? Is it simple incompetence of key leaders
of relevant platforms, who could common sense into the near-future? Or, some
tangled combination of all of the above?

I think the answer lies somewhere above my pay-grade.

~~~
Cthulhu_
> ...But on the other side, I wonder why didn't these platform producers -
> Google and Microsoft alike - create these slimmer platforms to begin with?

They did, mobile OSes started about ten years ago for devices whose power was
but a fraction of what we have today. Stuff just got added over time. One
could argue iOS had the more efficient approach in that their OS and apps were
made in a native language instead of on the JVM (and it took about five years
for Android to catch up in terms of performance and UX), but the main thing is
that Android used to be slimmer.

At one point you have to either strip out 90% of the features that were added
over time, or start from scratch. It's an example of feature creep, bloat,
bitrot, all that stuff.

------
sandGorgon
Google Go - the app

Google Go - the language

Android Go - the OS

I really wish Google had thought of this name better. The best name that
Google has ever come up with for India is Tez, the payments app.

It means "fast", so has good recall. And there is literally no SEO
competition.

------
andridk
For a search-company, they sure don't like to use good keywords for their
products.

"google go" can now mean: \- Go, the programming language \- Alpha Go, an AI
playing Go, the game \- Android Go, whatever this is

Am I forgetting something?

~~~
kibwen
YouTube Go: [https://www.engadget.com/2017/11/28/google-youtube-go-
beta/](https://www.engadget.com/2017/11/28/google-youtube-go-beta/)

------
bonsai80
This sounds nice. I have an older phone and don't care about shiny things.
Does anyone know if this will be available to install on regular Android
phones (not just those from "partners")?

~~~
jowsie
If it's like most android releases, you're either going to have to pray your
carrier releases a version (not going to happen) or wait for someone from the
android community to build a ROM specifically for your device.

------
revelation
So is this a release-release or just a "limited to our partners" release?

------
dcomp
I suspect this has some runtime tradeoffs. Probably apps are optimized for
space and not performance.

Which is probably better for a non tech user. Nothing worse than, I can't take
more pictures where is all my space gone.

~~~
izacus
As far as I've checked the main difference is in the prepackaged more
lightweight apps. The only other difference is that data saver is on by
default (available for awhile) and that the notification monitor service is
disabled to prevent apps from starting in the background.

------
TheCoelacanth
Wow, the design of this blog site is horrid. The top and bottom bars take up
at times nearly half the screen, much of it just covering up the content with
empty space.

------
gaurav-gupta
Are there any specifications to create a flavor of Android apps to
specifically target Android Go Edition (similar to the Go version of Google
apps)?

~~~
dotancohen
Of course, directly from Google:

Building for billions [https://developer.android.com/develop/quality-
guidelines/bui...](https://developer.android.com/develop/quality-
guidelines/building-for-billions.html)

~~~
gaurav-gupta
Thank you for the link!

------
jadbox
I'd rather they bake many of the Android Go space improvements into the core
Android platform, rather than fracturing the OS/apps.

------
tushar-r
I wonder if it will run on a Nexus 4 or HTC Wildfire. Would be nice to see if
I can do without a new phone after my current OPO breaks.

~~~
Zenst
Indeed, has potential to rejuvenate older phones, albeit from custom roms. But
I'm still trying to find the minimum specifications for this flavour of
Android. Anybody have any ideas?

~~~
cptskippy
It's probably going to be a feature present on the latest low end SoCs from
Qualcomm not present on SoCs prior to 2016.

------
wlkr
I hadn't heard of this before and was expecting some kind of Golang support
rather than just a lightweight Android version. What's with Google appending
and prepending product names with 'go' willy-nilly!?

~~~
Pharylon
Reminds me of late 90s Microsoft calling everything .NET

~~~
delecti
Or their trend of naming new devices "Surface".

~~~
pxndx
Or the trend Apple follows of naming their devices Macs /s

