Google is preparing to roll out Android 12 Go edition – the lighter-weight version of its latest mobile operating system – to assist owners of lower-powered Android devices.
Google says over 200 million people are actively using the Go edition software, which was first launched in 2017, and this year’s edition will build on those users’ favourite features. It won’t trouble users of the best Android phones, but for those owning cheaper devices, it sounds like a big step forward.
The company says the new Android 12-based version of the Go edition will help users budget data costs, improve support for multilingual users, while also “creating a faster, smarter and more privacy-friendly experience than ever before.”
Here are the highlights from the horse’s mouth ahead of the Android 12 Go launch, which will start hitting new and existing devices in early 2022.
Faster app launches
Google says your apps will launch almost a third faster (30%) once Android 12 Go is installed on your phone. The company says this’ll negate the blank screen effect, while users wait for apps to load. Users will also benefit from Android 12’s ScreenSplash API, which loads the app screen from the icon itself. You can see the difference below.
Battery life improvements
The new Go edition will hibernate unused apps in order to help optimise battery life and phone storage. It’s similar to the way Apple offloads apps that haven’t been used in a while, in order to boost those resources.
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Intelligence and efficiency
Google is adding translate and listen buttons to the recent apps multitasking screen, which will make it easier to enjoy the news without delving too deeply into the pages themselves. You can see an example of the translate feature below.
Super sharing
If you share your device with other friends and family members, profiles will now be accessible from the Lock Screen. That means Android 12 Go users will be able to switch to a guest profile from the Lock Screen before handing their phone over to a pal. Meanwhile, users will be able to count on data saving be able to save data “by sharing apps directly with nearby devices using Nearby Share and Google Play.”
Privacy focus
The Android 12 privacy dashboard is coming to the Go edition of the operating system, enabling suers to see which apps are accessing your data and for what purpose. That includes the status bar indicators when the microphone or camera are in use. The approximate (rather than precise) location tools are also coming into play.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
