A Nokia XR20 that shows the logo of Android One on startup
Android One is a family of third-party Androidsmartphones promoted by Google. In comparison to many third-party Android devices, which ship with a manufacturer's customized user interface and bundled apps, these devices run near-stock versions of Android with limited modifications, and a focus on Google services (although they may still feature software enhancements to support the features of included hardware, such as cameras).[1] Devices that run Android One receive OS updates for at least two years after their release, and security patches for at least three years.
The Android One program began in 2014, and was first positioned as a reference platform for low-end devices targeting emerging markets such as India. A goal of the program was to accelerate the availability of newer versions of Android on such devices. In the years that followed, the Android One program expanded to target more territories and global releases, and to include mid-range and high-end devices as well.[2][3] As of December 2018, there were over 100 Android One smartphone models.[4]
Android One has been considered a successor to the former Google Play Edition and Nexus programs, which similarly featured third-party devices co-developed or vetted by Google, with stock Android and quicker releases of updates.[3] The Google Pixel replaced Nexus as a first-party brand of flagship Android devices manufactured by Google; although they do run a stock Android interface, they still contain exclusive software features that are not always made available to the stock Android source code or third-party devices.[1]
History
Android One was started by Sundar Pichai, former product chief and current CEO of Google. Before Android One, it often took at least a year before the latest Android update arrived on non-Google devices.[4] The project was targeted at the Indian market for low-tier devices.[5] Pichai said that the initial set of devices shared common hardware because they were based on the reference platform, but an increasing range of devices were to be launched in the future.[6]Security and system updates were handled by Google for the first set of Android One devices, which featured MediaTek's quad-core MT6582 Mobile System-on-Chip (Mobile SoC).[7]
In 2014, Android One phones initially rolled out in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal,[8] Indonesia, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Myanmar[9] and other South Asian countries.[10] The first Android One smartphones were by the Indian brands Micromax, Spice and Karbonn in September 2014, the second generation Android One smartphones were by Indonesia brands Mito Impact, Evercoss One X, Nexian journey in February 2015 and the first Android One preinstalled with Android 5.0 Lollipop. Other manufacturers including QMobile have launched an Android One device named QMobile A1,[11] on July 6, 2015, in Pakistan. Android One launched in Nigeria in August 2015 with the Infinix Hot 2 X510 (1 and 2 GB RAM version) and became the first Android One in Africa.[12] Infinix Hot 2 X510 was also exported to other African countries such as Egypt, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Morocco, Kenya, Cameroon, Uganda, and also Asian countries such as United Arab Emirates, Pakistan and Indonesia (2 GB RAM version only). Other manufactures are to follow gradually.[13]
In 2016, SoftBank announced they would be the first carrier in Japan to introduce an Android One phone in the country, namely the Sharp 507SH which was released in late July 2016.[14]
On May 25, 2017, Turkish smartphone brand "General Mobile" released the next addition to their fully committed portfolio of Android One phones, the GM 6. SoftBank soon followed by introducing the Sharp X1 in Japan through its subsidiary telecommunications company, Y!Mobile, on June 30.[citation needed]
On September 5, 2017, Android One and Xiaomi jointly announced the Xiaomi Mi A1 as the first Android One device to be released globally in over 36 markets. In September 2017, MVNOGoogle Fi introduced the first Android One device available in the U.S. with the Android One Moto X4.[15] In November 2017, Android One entered the German market with HTC with the U11 Life.[citation needed]
At the end of November 2017, SoftBank announced the addition of four new devices to its Android One lineup with Y!Mobile: the X2 (HTC), X3 (Kyocera), S3 (Sharp), and S4 (Kyocera).[citation needed]
In February 2018, HMD Global, the maker of Nokia smartphones, announced that it had joined the Android One program. Nokia 6.1, Nokia 7 Plus, and Nokia 8 Sirocco were among the first batch of Android One phones from HMD.[16]
In 2020, Xiaomi discontinued its only Android One lineup, the Xiaomi Mi A series, ending with the Xiaomi Mi A3.[17]
Features
Devices are approved by Google, and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) agree to these requirements:[18]
Android One phones prioritize background activity for the most important apps to reduce power usage. In addition, its lower memory footprint is also suited for entry-level smartphones with 3 GB of RAM or less, as well as those with slower processors.[20]
"Google Search Bar" widget on the home screen is unremovable. However a user can change its position and theme.
OS and security updates
Concerning Android operating system (OS) and security updates the official Android One entry page says (in the fine print at the end of it): "Confirm exact duration of support for phones in your territory with smartphone manufacturer. Monthly security updates to be supported for at least three years after initial phone release."[20]
A February 22, 2018, Google blog article says: "Faster access to Android OS updates for two years, including the latest AI innovations from Google; Amongst the most secure devices in the ecosystem with regular security updates for three years and Google Play Protect built in".[19]
In December 2018 Google stated: "We confirm that our promise to provide 2 years of updates on Android One devices still stands and our website design does not impact the promise of this program."[21]
Products by year of announcement or release
Android One continues to expand its line of smartphones and geographic availability through OEM and carrier partnerships.
Countries of release are likely to expand beyond the initial countries and regions listed below.
IPS, ~432 ppi, 21:9 ratio. 128 GB, 4 GB RAM. 48 MP rear, 25 MP front. Optical image stabilization (OIS). Single or hybrid Dual SIM (dual stand-by). 3500 mAh. May 2019 release. 180 g (6.35 oz).[62][63] The first Android One smartphone to use SoC from Samsung instead of Qualcomm and MediaTek.
The S4 was announced on November 30, 2017. It features a Snapdragon 430 with a 5.0-inch display and 2600 mAh battery. It has 3 GB of RAM, a 13 MP rear camera, and a 5 MP front-facing camera.[107]
Kyocera's X3 was announced by Y!Mobile on November 30, 2017, and features a Qualcomm Snapdragon 630 with a 5.2-inch display and 2800 mAh battery. It has 3 GB of RAM, a 13 MP rear camera, and an 8 MP front-facing camera.[108][109]
HTC's X2 was announced by Y!Mobile on November 30, 2017, and features a Qualcomm Snapdragon 630 with a 5.0-inch display and 2600 mAh. It has 3 GB of RAM, a 16 MP rear camera, and a 4 MP front-facing camera.[110]
Motorola Moto X4 was announced in August 2017 and released in October 2017.[111] It is the first Android One Smartphone by Motorola with Qualcomm Snapdragon 630 Chipset. It comes with dual camera.[112]
The HTC U11 Life phone's move to the Android One program was announced on September 13, 2017. The rebranded HTC phone is the third (Following Xiaomi's Mi A1 and Motorola's Moto X4) mid-tier Android phone to join the Android One group of phones.[113][114][115]
The Xiaomi Mi A1 was announced on September 5, 2017. It is jointly developed by Google and Xiaomi. It is a rebrand of the Mi 5X differing only in name and software.[116] It ships with Android 7.1.2 Nougat and will receive a minimum of two years of OS upgrades. It has already received an upgrade to Android 8.0 "Oreo" at the end of 2017 and is also expected to get Android P in 2018, with monthly security patches in between.[117][118] It has a 5.5" 1920 x 1080 display with 2.5D Corning Gorilla glass, a full-metal body with rounded edges, a fingerprint sensor, dual camera, a 3080 mAh battery, a USB-C port, is powered by an Adreno 506 GPU, has 4 GB of RAM and 64 GB flash memory.[119] It is the second Android One device ever to have become available in Europe after the BQ Aquaris A4.5.[120]
Unlike previous Android One smartphones that were limited only to their own respective countries, this Xiaomi Mi A1 is the first Android One smartphone that will be widely available in many countries (at least 36 others).[121][122] With the release of the Xiaomi Mi A1, Google is bringing a unified and consistent hardware and software experience to the developing world. Later, HMD Global (through Nokia brand) and Lenovo-owned Motorola Mobility were also included to the group of brands offering Android One smartphones globally (with smaller international distribution limitations).
The S1 is Sharp's second Android One phone for Japan. It was released on February 24, 2017, in four different colors with Android 7.0 featuring a 5-inch 1920×1080 IGZO display and an IP67 rating.[124]
The General Mobile GM 6 was launched in February 2017.[125] It was announced at Mobile World Congress 2017. It's a 5.0-inch 720p phone with 3 GB RAM, a 3000 mAh battery and a fingerprint scanner.[126] It will also be sold in the Netherlands and Italy starting July 2017.[127][128]
In January 2017, Kyocera announced their first Android One phone for Japan. The S2 is waterproofed and sports a 5-inch HD screen with tempered glass. It was released with Android 7.0 and updated to Android 7.1 later in March 2017.[129]
507SH was launched in July 2016.[130] It is the first Android One phone launched in Japan and is one of the first Android One smartphones from major manufacturer. It is released by Y!Mobile, a subsidiary of Softbank, based on AQUOS U, another similar Sharp phone released by au KDDI. The phone includes numerous functionalities that are unique to Japan, including FeliCa, waterproof, and one-seg. Several other functionalities, like Emopa, were also originally planned to add to the phone, but were removed later as they might delay the software update.[131]
On February 22, 2016, General Mobile announced their second Android One phone at Mobile World Congress. GM 5 Plus, which comes with the Snapdragon 617 octacore processor along with 3 GB of RAM, 13 MP cameras on both sides, a USB-C port and 3100 mAh battery. It's the first Android One phone that has a USB-C port. GM 5 Plus is going to be sold in 16 countries firstly launching in Turkey in March.[132]
In September 2015, BQ launched in Spain the Aquaris A4.5. It was the first of the second generation of Android One devices to become available in Europe.
It is a dual SIM 4G smart-phone with a 4.5-inch 540×960 pixel screen and a Dragontrail protective finish. The processor is a MediaTek MT6735M chip-set, with a 1 GHz quad-core CPU, two versions with 1 or 2 GB of RAM. Storage is set at 16 GB and it includes an expansion micro-SD card slot for up to 64 GB. The camera set-up consists of an 8 MP shooter on the back and a 5 MP front one. The battery capacity is 2470 mAh and it runs Android 5.1.1 out-of-the-box with support and updates directly from Google.[133]
On September 21, 2015, Google has announced the Aquaris A4.5 would also be sold in Portugal.[134]
Released on August 10, 2015, The Cherry Mobile One G1 is the third Android One smartphone released in the Philippines. The One G1 is a major upgrade when compared to other Android One devices in the country. It sports a 5-inch HD screen with Dragontrail glass, a Qualcomm Snapdragon processor (instead of a MediaTek processor), 2 GB of RAM, 16 GB of storage, and 4G LTE capability.[135]
On August 4, 2015, i-mobile launched the first Android One device in Thailand.[136] The i-mobile IQ II has a 5.0-inch 1280×720 IPS display, 1.2 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 410 processor with 1 GB of RAM, 4G LTE (with dual SIM support), 16 GB of internal storage with expandable microSD card slot (max 32 GB), 2500 mAh removable battery, 8 MP back camera, and 2 MP front camera. It comes with Android 5.1.1 Lollipop pre-installed.[137]
After being launched in Nigeria in August 2015, Infinix Hot 2 X510 came into the Indonesian market as 2nd gen Android One phone on September 28, 2015. This Android One phone has some improvements over the 3 other Android One devices launched before. It has a 5-inch, 720 × 1280 resolution, 293 ppi, Capacitive IPS display surfaced with DragonTrail Glass; 2 GB RAM and 16 GB Internal ROM; 8 MP rear camera with single LED flash and 2 MP front camera; LED notification; 2200 mAh Li-ion battery and good stylish body with mirror looks back panel made from polycarbonate plastic. The other specifications are still the same with its predecessors. The Infinix Hot 2 uses a 6580 MediaTek SoC with a 1.3 GHz ARM Cortex A7 Quadcore processor and Mali 400MP1 GPU; FM Radio; Micro SD; in built GPS; and 3G dual micro SIM support. But the Infinix Hot 2 also lacks some features present in its predecessors such as no gyroscopes or a magnetic/compass sensor and no OTG USB support. The Infinix Hot 2 also doesn't support 4G LTE. The Infinix Hot 2 comes in multiple choices of colors: Gold, Black and White and much more. The Infinix Hot 2 also has the original pure AOSP 5.1 Lollipop pre-installed. It received Android 6.0 Marshmallow in January 2016 and will get the next incremental Android version, which is scheduled by Infinix instead of Google directly.
On August 18, 2015, Infinix Mobility launched the Infinix Hot 2 in Lagos, Nigeria. The flagship smartphone which runs on Android One was first made available on Jumia, one of the largest online retail stores in Nigeria. Infinix Hot 2 comes with a 1.3 GHz Quadcore processor, 5-inch HD double glass screen, dual-SIM support, 16 GB ROM and Android 5.1.1 Lollipop pre-installed. It is in two variations with one having 1 GB RAM and the other having 2 GB RAM. It has a 2 MP front camera and 8 MP back camera. It received an update to Android version 6.0 during the early quarter of 2016.[138][139][140]
QMobile A1
Pakistan
2015-07
On July 6, 2015, Google has launched the QMobile A1 in Pakistan. The new Android One smartphone is readily available for purchase at retail stores across the country. The QMobile A1 brings a stock Android experience (Lollipop 5.1.1) to an affordable price point for those who simply cannot splash out on flagship devices. The QMobile A1 comes with a 1.3 GHz Quad core processor, a 4.5-inch IPS FWVGA screen, dual-SIM support, 1 GB of RAM, 8 GB ROM and Android 5.1.1 (Lollipop) pre-installed. The device also has a back camera of 5.0 MP along with a LED flash, a front camera of 2 MP and a 1700 mAh battery.[141][142]
In July 2015, Lava Mobiles launched the 3G phone Pixel V1 with a 1.3 GHz quad-core Mediatek MT6582 processor and 2 GB RAM. It recently got updated to Android 6.0 (Marshmallow).[143]
On June 23, 2015, Google announced the first Android One phone in Myanmar. The Cherry Mobile One, the Android One device from the Philippines, is the first to market in Myanmar. As with most Android One devices, it runs on a MediaTek MT6582 SoC, with a 4.5-inch, 480×854 resolution IPS display, 1 GB of RAM, 8 GB of internal storage, a Mali-400 GPU, 5 megapixel-rear camera, 2 megapixel-front camera, FM Radio, and dual SIM support. The Cherry Mobile One will come with Android Lollipop 5.1.1 out of the box. It will be available in stores on June 26, 2015.[144]
On May 12, 2015, Google announced the first Android One phone available in Turkey, becoming available in stores on May 15, 2015. The General Mobile 4G is also the first Android One phone that has a Qualcomm Snapdragon processor and 4G LTE support, using the LTE-capable Snapdragon 410, a 4-core processor running at 1.2 GHz with 2 GB of RAM.[145][146][147]
The Cherry Mobile One, launched in February 2015, is the latest addition to the Android One family, marketed specifically for the Philippine market. As with most Android One devices, it runs on a MediaTek MT6582 SoC, with a 4.5-inch, 480×854 resolution IPS display, 1 GB of RAM, a Mali-400 GPU, 5-megapixel rear camera, 2-megapixel front camera, FM radio and dual SIM support. The new device does bear some minor improvements over the original three, namely that it has 8 GB of storage space instead of 4 GB. Like the Mito Impact and the MyPhone Uno, the Cherry Mobile One will come with Android Lollipop 5.1.1 out of the box. On June 23, 2015, Google announced that the Cherry Mobile One will be sold in Myanmar.[144][148][149]
MyPhone Uno
Philippines
2015-02
Like the Cherry Mobile One, the MyPhone Uno, launched in February 2015, is made with the Philippine market in mind, and shares similar specifications. The Uno, however, only comes with 4 GB of internal storage, but will also receive regular software updates.[148][149] The MyPhone Uno shares the same design as the Micromax Canvas A1.
It is the Android One device available for Indonesia. It was launched in February 2015.[150] Based on Google's reference design, it has a 4.5-inch, 480×854 resolution IPS display, a MediaTek MT6582 SoC with 1.3 GHz quad-core Cortex-A7 CPU and Mali 400 MP2 GPU, 1 GB RAM, 1780 mAh battery, 5-megapixel rear camera, 2-megapixel front camera, FM radio and dual SIM support. The new device does bear some minor improvements over the original three, namely that it has 8 GB of storage space instead of 4. The main attraction of the Mito Impact One is that it is running Android Lollipop out of the box. The device is available as of February 2015
It is the Android One device available for Indonesia at the price of Rp. 999,000 ($82). It was launched in February 2015.[151] Based on Google's reference design, it has a 4.5-inch, 854×480 resolution IPS display, a MediaTek MT6582 SoC with 1.3 GHz quad-core Cortex-A7 CPU and Mali 400 MP2 GPU, 1 GB RAM, 1700 mAh battery, 5-megapixel rear camera, 2-megapixel front camera, FM radio and dual SIM support. The new device does bear some minor improvements over the original three, namely that it has 8 GB of storage space instead of 4. The main attraction of the Evercoss One X is that it is running Android Lollipop out of the box.
Nexian Journey One is the Android One device available for Indonesia. It was launched in February 2015.[152] Based on Google's reference design, it has a 4.5-inch, 854×480 resolution IPS display, a MediaTek MT6582 SoC with 1.3 GHz quad-core Cortex-A7 CPU and Mali 400 MP2 GPU, 1 GB RAM, 1700 mAh battery, 5-megapixel rear camera, 2-megapixel front camera, FM radio and dual SIM support. The new device does bear some minor improvements over the original three, namely that it has 8 GB of storage space instead of 4. The main attraction of the Nexian Journey One is that it is running stock Android Lollipop out of the box. Nexian Journey One was launched on February 4 and claimed to be the first device launched with Android 5.1 Lollipop.[153]
The Snapdragon 410 devices are rebrands of the Longcheer L8150, which is based on the Qualcomm Seed reference design, explaining their similarities. A direct competitor is the Wileyfox Swift, which is available worldwide, officially supported by Wileyfox with recent Android versions and community supported with LineageOS ROMs.
Along with Micromax Canvas A1, Spice Dream uno and Karbon Sparkle V Bangladesh also get local brand Symphony Roar A50. It was released in December 2014.[154]
Karbonn Sparkle V, released in September 2014,[155] runs on Android 4.4.4 (KitKat) and is upgradeable to 6.0.1 Marshmallow through OTA. It is powered by a 1.3 GHz quad-core processor. The device has dual SIM card slots, 1 GB RAM and 4 GB of internal storage and is powered by a Mali 400 GPU. The 4.5-inch display has a resolution of 480×854 pixels. It comes equipped with a 5 MP rear camera and 2 MP front camera. The device is equipped with Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0, A-GPS and a microUSB port. Its 1700 mAh battery reportedly delivers 160 hours of stand by time, and 8 hours of talk time.
As part of the Android One initiative, the Karbonn Sparkle V would get automatic OTA updates to the latest version of the Android OS in line with Nexus and Google Play Edition devices. It is also the first Android One device ever to have become available in Europe.[156] It has also been upgraded to Marshmallow.[157]
Micromax Canvas A1, released in September 2014,[158] is one of the initial Android One phones, which is manufactured by Micromax Mobile with the cooperation of Google. The Micromax Canvas A1 features Android 4.4.4 (KitKat) OS with a 1.3 GHz quad-core processor and a 4.5-inch capacitive touchscreen. This device has 1 GB RAM, 4/8 GB internal storage (2.35/5.75 GB usable) and a Mali-400 GPU. In June 2015, Micromax rolled out a refreshed version of the Canvas A1 which had twice the internal storage and came with Android 5.1 Lollipop preinstalled. Both of them were recently updated to Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow.[159]
The Spice Dream UNO (Mi-498), launched in September 2014,[160] is powered by a MediaTek SoC with a 1.3 GHz quad-core processor and Mali-400 GPU paired with 1 GB of RAM. It is a dual-SIM phone. It has a 4.5-inch screen with FWVGA (480×854 pixels) IPS LCD display. It was released with Android 4.4.4 KitKat. The new batch comes with Android 5.1 Lollipop and the old batch is upgradeable to Android 5.1. It has a 5 MP camera with an LED flash and ability to shoot full HD videos and a 2 MP front camera. It comes with 4 GB of internal storage and the option of adding a microSD card of up to 32 GB capacity. The phone is powered by a 1700 mAh Li-ion battery. Spice claims the battery will offer 10 hours of talk time and 160 hours of standby. Now it runs on Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow.
^"NDTV Gadgets". Android One Was Conceived With India in Mind, Says Google's Sundar Pichai. NDTV Correspondent. July 15, 2014. Archived from the original on November 17, 2014. Retrieved December 15, 2014.
^ ab"Android One: Best Phones". xda-developers.com. From the late 2018 article: "Android One phones must receive regular security updates for three years. Android One phones are guaranteed Android OS updates for two years."
^ abc"Android One: Secure, up-to-date and easy to use." Home page (android.com/one) for Android One. Includes an incomplete list of Android One phones. Older ones are missing, and so this should not be used as a reference for individual phones. Part way down the page it says: "Android One phones will receive at least two years of OS upgrades." Fine print at the bottom of the page says: "Confirm exact duration of support for phones in your territory with smartphone manufacturer. Monthly security updates to be supported for at least 3 years after initial phone release." This sentence is also in this 2018 archive: Archived December 31, 2018, at the Wayback Machine.
