The first Android Go smartphone in the United States has arrived, with the ZTE Tempo Go now available to customers in the country for $79.99.
What is Android Go, and how does it make an $80 Android smartphone an attractive option for potential customers? Read on to find out.
What Is Android Go?
Android Go, announced at the I/O developer conference last year, is Google's second attempt at creating budget Android smartphones after Android One. Android Go is meant to run on devices with low specifications, with apps that will also be optimized for such smartphones.
Google later clarified that Android Go is not a new Android version but rather a configuration of the mobile operating system. Smartphones running on Android Go will just have certain Android settings switched on by default, some Google apps differently configured, and the Google Play Store highlighting apps that are optimized for Android Go.
Android Go will be able to run on smartphones with as low as 512 MB of RAM, and starting with Android O, all major Android versions will have Android Go counterparts.
What Do You Get With The $80 ZTE Tempo Go?
Many expected that the Alcatel 1X, unveiled at the Mobile World Congress in Spain, will be the first Android Go smartphone available in the United States. The ZTE Tempo Go, however, just won the race.
Android Police first spotted that the ZTE Tempo Go was available in the ZTE USA website for $79.99, with free standard shipping in the United States.
The ZTE Tempo Go certainly does not match up to flagship smartphones, as it only packs a Qualcomm Snapdragon 210 processor, 1 GB of RAM, and 8 GB of storage expandable by up to 32 GB. The cameras are a 5 MP rear camera and a 2 MP front camera, while the screen is a 5-inch display with 854 x 480 resolution.
The device, however, is powered by the Android GO version of Android 8.0 Oreo, with unlocked LTE support and, according to its specs sheet on the ZTE USA website, works on both CDMA and GSMA bans. However, according to a ZTE representative, the ZTE Tempo Go is only officially compatible with GSM carriers, namely AT&T and T-Mobile.
Looking at the specifications, even a low price of $80 might still look a bit high. However, Android Go will allow it to run much better than a regular Android smartphone with a bit better internals. This makes the ZTE Tempo Go a solid deal for customers looking for a budget Android smartphone.
