Most Android smartphone makers would usually ship their devices with their very own custom skin. Xiaomi has MIUI, Huawei uses EMUI while Samsung preloads their smartphones with Samsung Experience (previously TouchWiz). Lately, there are a couple of brands that have experimented with stock Android under the Android One program.
While Samsung is persistent in having its own unique Samsung Experience, it appears that the South Korean smartphone brand will be releasing its first stock Android device for the emerging markets.
According to Sammobile, Samsung is expected to release its first Android Go smartphone and it’s currently undergoing testing in several countries. To refresh your memory, Android Go is a lighter version of Android that uses less storage, consumes less data and it can work on devices with 512MB or 1GB of RAM.
It was reported that Samsung has been testing a device with the model number SM-J260, which is a new variant of the Galaxy J2 series. Initially, Samsung was said to be testing this new budget device in India, Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, but now it is reported to be tested in more markets including Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
The device had appeared on GeekBench and it was found to be running on Android 8.1, which is even newer than the Galaxy S9 which is currently on Android 8.0. The processor is said to be an optimised version of the 14nm Exynos 7570 and it’s listed with 1GB of RAM.
At the moment, the only official Android Go device available in Malaysia is the Nokia 1 which now retails for less than RM300. With so many budget smartphones priced under RM500, would you consider getting an Android Go device or spend a little bit more for a full fledged Android experience?
