Android 8.1 — complete with updated burger and beer emojis —is officially rolling out this week, and it's bringing with it a special version of Oreo called Go.
Android Oreo (Go edition) is launching alongside Android 8.1 tomorrow. The Go edition of Android Oreo aimed at devices with 512MB to 1GB of RAM and includes optimizations for that hardware.
One such optimization helps apps to run on average 15 percent faster on Android Oreo (Go edition) devices. Google is also working to optimize its preinstalled Android apps to take up 50 percent less space for Go devices, like reducing Google Go to less than 5MB in size. The list of optimized Google apps includes Google Assistant Go, Google Maps Go, Gmail Go, and Files Go.
Google will also activate its data saving features by default on Go devices, like the Chrome Data Saver that saves an average of 600MB per year.
Android Oreo (Go edition) users can download any app from the Play Store, but Google has created a new section of the store that recommends apps that are tuned to perform well on entry-level hardware.
Android has been big for entry-level devices for awhile now, giving consumers plenty of options for affordable smartphones. Sometimes Android and its apps don't run so well on those phones and their low-end specs, though, which is why Google is rolling out Android Oreo (Go edition). The goal here is to ensure that entry-level devices have a core of apps that run well and that users have enough storage to get by without having to constantly manage their apps.