Android 9 Go means a $30 phone may get Pie before you do
Google says Android Pie will come to Android Go phones this fall. (No word yet on Samsung Galaxy phones.)
As of right now, Google's Pixel phones and the Essential Phone are the only devices that can run Android Pie.
Google is bringing its Android 9 Pie update to even more phones with Android Pie Go edition this fall, the company announced today. Ironically, that means a $30 phone might get it before you do!
Google's Android Go program is designed to bring fast and smooth performance to entry-level phones all over the world. But a side effect of the program is that Android Go phones are some of the first to get Google's latest OS updates, with Android Oreo Go edition launching late last year -- while the rest of us continue to mourn the idea of getting updates that quickly.
Android Go is available on more than 200 devices in over 120 countries (including India, South Africa, US, Nigeria and Brazil), but the devices are geared towards entry-level and budget-friendly phones. So that fancy flagship phone that you had to save up for probably isn't eligible.
Google lists some Android Go phones.
In addition to Android Pie's assorted features, Google says the Go version will also give entry-level phones faster boot times, free up as much as 500MB of extra storage, and add a dashboard for monitoring mobile data use.
Right now Android Pie is only available on Google's Pixel phones and the Essential Phone, with Motorola announcing today that it'll ship Pie to many of its flagships this fall. Android phones that were on the Android P beta program (see the list here) are said to receive the update by the end of this fall, but this list excludes devices from popular phone makers Samsung and LG. So you may have to wait even longer for those phones to get the update.
