On the fence about Android One?

Today saw the official launch of Android One in the Philippines, and while we’ve managed to pump out a lot of updates so far, there’s still some people who are unclear about what the initiative means and what it does for the local smartphone market. So in an effort to educate more people, we’ll be talking about what makes it special, what it means for you when you buy an Android one device, and what’s in store for the future.

It’s open to any manufacturer or brand that wants in

Google partnered with both Cherry Mobile and MyPhone for the initial launch of Android one, and many people assumed that Android One handsets will only come from these two brands. That’s not the case – Caesar Sengupta, VP Product Management, Google said that the initiative is open to any brand that wants in – both Cherry Mobile and MyPhone were quick on their feet and managed to be the first to join the initiative. That means that any local brand can release an Android One certified handset – they just have to abide by the rules that Google has laid down for the initiative.

The Android One initiative has ensured lower returns for phones

Before making its way to the Philippines, Android One was first launched in India in the middle of last year. Caesar said that since then, they’ve seen much lower return rates for Android One phones compared to other Android devices. It makes sense, as one of the main pain points for manufacturers and brands is trying to make software and hardware play nice with one another. That isn’t an issue with Android One, since all the hardware used (down to the display and speakers) are first certified by Google before they are used on devices that are part of the initiative.

Android One will see better, faster hardware in the next few months

The biggest concern that most people have with Android One is that the hardware that powers the devices aren’t exactly what you’d call the bleeding edge. It’s definitely a pain point, but it’s natural for a new initiative like Android One.

“The way it works is that we started with the 6582, that was a volume processor, and we intersected that processor line in the middle. Now what’s happening is that MediaTek and Qualcomm are starting to bring out Android One read reference designs at the same time when they do their new processor. So over the course of this year as new processors start launching, from MediaTek, and they have a whole host of processors coming, you’ll see Android one devices coming in the leading edge of those processors being available, similarly for Qualcomm,” Caesar Sengupta said.

“For Qualcomm we’re starting work for the newer processors as they keep coming out. Processors have a long lead time, so we’re starting out working with them full time and as the new processors come out they will come out with reference designs for Android one,” he adds.

Android One phones will be one of the first devices updated to Android M

While the current crop of Android One phones don’t have the latest processor, they’ll have something that most other, more expensive smartphones can’t brag about – timely Android updates. Specifically, Android One smartphones will be the first, alongside Nexus devices, to get the next version of Android, codenamed Android M. You can think of Android One devices as the more affordable versions of the Nexus series.

Google doesn’t have a cut of sales from Android One devices

We thought this was pretty obvious, but it seems it needs to be repeated: Google doesn’t get a cut of the sales of either MyPhone or Cherry Mobile, or any other manufacturer that it partners with for Android One or the Nexus program. They make programs like Android One to increase Android OS penetration, which then leads to more activations. More activations means a bigger reach for Google’s ad network.