Why Android Go is a Failure & Devices Like Redmi Go Won't Last Longer


Operating Systems are very important for our Devices. Whether its a Computer, Laptop, Mobile or Your Smart Band. Operating System defines & controls the Hardware so that you churn out every benefit from your device. But if an Operating System fails to do good, then having great Hardware means nothing.

From past few days, You might have heard about Google's new Android Operating System for Lower End Devices and its named as "Android Go", and there were some devices which was already launched like,
1. Alcatel 1X,
2. Nokia 1,
3. Nokia 2.1,
4. Moto E5,
5. Huawei Y3,
6. Asus Live L1,
7. Micromax Bharat Go,
8. Lava Z50, etc..
Yes, there are more devices.

But if you haven't heard the Models of Any devices listed above, Congratulations, You now know How Android Go is going to be a Failure.

But Why do I think that its a failure? Let me Explain it to you.
But to Explain this, I have to talk a little about the History.

First of All, the initiative taken by Google is not something new, this type of things are going on in the industry of Smartphones from more than a decade. So, Here are Some Operating Systems which did the Same, but failed due to Some Reasons.

1. S40 OS : You all have used Symbian OS, Which was widely used in Nokia Smartphones but as Nokia Smartphones weren't that Cheap, Nokia build another OS for budget devices named S40 OS or Series 40 OS. At that time (Early 2000) there were hardly any devices that gave competition to Nokia, and the result is a Success. S40 OS was running in almost 1.5Billion devices till 2012.
So yeah it was a Success, but eventually if you don't upgrade yourself, You're going to fall.
So, Yeah it fall pretty bad.

2. Nokia ASHA Platform : It's said by Sherlock "It's not the fall that kills, It's the landing", and it this case it came out to be true. Series 40 OS was build for feature Phones, but from early 2010 there were many smartphones available that people started buying other OS phones rather than S40, because all S40 devices were pretty much same from a decade. So Nokia decided to Upgrade it with their new ASHA Platform, Which was based on Series 40 OS, and it was budget friendly, but Nokia Said that its not only a feature phone but a Smartphone. But in reality, It was just a Feature Phone with a touch screen and a bigger screen. And all Asha Platform Phones fell pretty bad that Nokia had to discontinue as early as possible. So, they fall from S40 and Landed on Asha which gives them Nirasha..

3. Samsung Tizen OS : In the wake of new Android Phones coming out and ruling market in budget segment, Samsung decided to bring Tizen OS, Which will be for Budget Devices. At that time the Cheapest Samsung Android Phone was Galaxy Y, Which was then selling for Rs. 8999, and when they announce a Tizen OS Phone, they kept its price around Rs. 7999. Not only the price was high, but Tizen OS was a lack luster software, it was just an Upgrade of Bada OS without much significant changes. What happens then, Tizen OS for Smartphones failed.

4. Mozilla Firefox OS : Mozilla Firefox is one of my Favorite Internet Browsers, and its still is. But When they announced that they are working on a new OS for Mobile Phones which will be for Budget Segment. My hopes were Really high, I was excited to see an Open Source Platform in Action. And I was thrilled when some devices got launched. They were priced well under 50$ which means under Rs. 3000 (from currency rates of that time), I was like yeah this could run the market in cheaper section. But things gone totally wrong from there. Their OS started receiving negative reviews, their Company has their Own internal issues, and even it has the potential to do good, the Mozilla FireFox OS failed to live the expectations.

5. Android One : You might have been thinking, How could Android One is in this list when its a success? Let me tell you, its a success nowadays, but when it got launched for first time, It was totally failure. Karbonn, Micromax & Spice, they all launched their own Android One Phone at a price of Rs. 5999. Android One was aiming to bring Android Updates for lower end devices. But what happens is that all the devices that were launched did not had any specialties, and people were not really interested in buying them. So it failed totally until after 2 years, Xiaomi picked android One and Created Mi A1, then it gave it a Success.

Honorable Mentions : Sailfish OS, Nokia X OS & Kai OS
While Kai OS is a Success, Nokia brought up Nokia X OS for their First ever devices that could run Android. But they customized it so bad that Nokia X failed.
But Kai OS hit the right Spot, Reliance Jio, brought up a 4G Enabled device, under 2000Rs, while it was a feature phone, but having 4G with Jio Offers gives it a boost which made Jio Kai OS Successful. But if you dig deeper you get to know that Jio OS is based upon Mozilla's Firefox OS which was failed Earlier.
& Sailfish OS, It never hit any Spot.


BTW, With all these history, What Am I trying to say?
I am trying to say that Android GO will also Fail, How?

Look, Everytime some OS got released under a category for "Budget Devices, Cheaper Devices", the Smartphones that runs those OS have two common things,
1. Their Price did not Justify their Hardware
2. Their Hardware did not Justify their Price

Yeah, its all about the Price Factor.
I am not saying that the OS is Bad, or the OS going to be Awful. Nope.
I am just saying the history of Price to Hardware Ratio in these devices were always high.
And only phones that got success are the ones whose Prices were low.
Lets examine that.

1. S40 OS Phones were priced lower than Symbian Phones and both were Huge Sellers.
2. Nokia ASHA Platform, which was based on S40 OS, Priced higher than S40 Phones and also did not improved much in Software, resulting in Failure.
3. Samsung Tizen OS Phones were Priced more than Budget Android Phones but with lesser Specifications. Again a Failure.
4. Mozilla Firefox OS was Priced Lower than Any Android Phones, That's why Community liked it, but their failure story is more related to internal issue, rather than price factor. They might not have failed, but yeah they did.
5. Android One initial failure was just because their Price & Hardware wasn't justified, there were many phones like Redmi 1S, Redmi 2 which gave much better specifications at the same price.
6. Sailfish & Nokia X again failed but the Kai OS remained with Jio because of 4G Feature & Attractive Price.

In all of these the Price is a Game Changer.
The main set of mentality is that, When we hear an operating system is being released for Cheaper Budget devices, We start to compare it with Cheapest smartphones available today.
And if you look at the market, From Rs. 4999 to Rs. 7999, there are many great devices availaible which easily does all your job without cutting any features.

But looking at the devices that has been launched or is going to be launched under Android GO, their Hardware is much worse for the price. Again, Android GO Smarphones are being launched between Rs. 4999 to 5999, where many great Normal Android Devices sits.

If we talk about Redmi Go that got leaked, that device is also said to be priced under $100, which means under 7000Rs. Maybe its 5000, 6000, or something, but if you take a look at leaked Specifications, that is not really justified. Even 1.5 Years Old Redmi 4A & A Year Old Redmi 5A has better Specifications & Features Compared to Android GO edition of Redmi GO (based on leak).


So what is the point of Bringing "Android Go" devices when already we have got "Android" Devices in that same price category with better hardware?
The Answer is "Speed", Wait, What? Yes.
(Look, I didn't say it, but its the answer you will get from Google or Any other Smartphone maker).

But the Hard Truth is, Speed Comes with Sacrifices, And Android Go is no less in sacrificing many things to maintain the speed. But the first thing it sacrificed is the Hardware.
So Android Phones Give Better Hardware but Slower Speed. But,
Android Go Phones Give Worse Hardware but Faster Speed.
What????

So, From my Vision, The Future of Android GO remains in Under 50$ or 4000Rs. Category.
If any Android Go Phone is priced under 4000Rs. It will work.
Otherwise its a disaster.

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