Android Go

Android Go, officially Android (Go edition),^[1] is a stripped-down version of the Android operating system, designed for low-end and ultra-budget smartphones (but also used by some tablets^[2][3][4]). It is intended for smartphones from 2GB to 4GB^[5][6] of RAM and was first made available with the release of Android Oreo.

Android Go
Android Go 14 home screen with Pixel Launcher
Developer	Various (mostly Google)
OS family	Unix-like (modified Linux kernel)
Working state	Security updates only
Initial release	8.1 (Go Edition) / December 5, 2017; 7 years ago (2017-12-05)
Latest release	16 (Go Edition) / November 7, 2025; 11 days ago (2025-11-07)
Marketing target	Low-end/ultra-budget smartphones (with 3 GB and 4 GB RAM)
Supported platforms	arm64-v8a (64-bit) armeabi-v7a (32-bit)
Official website	www.android.com/versions/go-edition/

The first phone pre-installed with Android Go is the Alcatel 1X, which was released in February 2018. Android 16 Go Edition is expected to released in November 2025. ^{[needs update]}

Features

Android Go has platform optimizations designed to reduce mobile data usage (including enabling Data Saver mode in Google Chrome by default), and a special suite of Google Mobile Services designed to be less resource and bandwidth-intensive. The Google Play Services package was also modularized to reduce its memory footprint.^[7] The Google Play Store will highlight lighter apps suited for these devices.^[8][9]

The operating system's interface differs from that of stock Android, with the quick-settings panel giving greater prominence to information regarding the battery, mobile-data limit, and available storage; the recent apps menu using a modified layout and being limited to four apps (in order to reduce RAM consumption), and an API for allowing mobile carriers to implement data-tracking and top-ups within the Android settings menu.^[7] Some system services, such as notification access, split screen and picture-in-picture mode, are disabled to improve performance.^[10]

Most devices running Android Go use Google's "stock" Android GUI, although there are several manufacturers that still use customized GUI.

Versions

Version	Android version numbers	Minimum RAM required	Android Go release date	Android release date	Days after release	End of support	Ref.
8.1 Oreo (Go edition)	Unsupported: 8.1	512 MB	December 5, 2017	December 5, 2017	0	October 4, 2021	[11]
9 Pie (Go edition)	Unsupported: 9		August 15, 2018	August 6, 2018	9	March 7, 2022	[12]
10 (Go edition)	Unsupported: 10		September 25, 2019	September 3, 2019	22	March 6, 2023	[13]
11 (Go edition)	Unsupported: 11	1 GB	September 10, 2020	September 8, 2020	2	March 27, 2024	[14]
12 (Go edition)	Unsupported: 12		December 14, 2021	October 4, 2021	71	March 31, 2025	[15]
13 (Go edition)	Supported: 13	2 GB	October 19, 2022	August 15, 2022	65	2026	[16]
14 (Go edition)	Supported: 14		December 15, 2023	October 4, 2023	72	Current	[17]
15 (Go edition)	Supported: 15	3 GB	March 21, 2025	September 3, 2024	199		[18]
16 (Go edition)	Latest version: 16		November 7, 2025	June 10, 2025	150
Legend: Unsupported Supported Latest version Preview version Future version

See also

• Comparison of Android Go products
• Android One, a version of Android originally designed for entry-level and budget devices
• One UI Core, a similar software developed by Samsung for entry-level Galaxy smartphones from 2019 to 2023, Full One UI 6 with limited features will getting for low-end Samsung phones after updating to Android 14.