Executive says new Android One plans will be announced soon
Google is about to take another crack at its ultra-low-cost smartphone initiative, called Android One. The company's managing director in Southeast Asia, Rajan Anandan, says that a new plan for Android One will be unveiled in "the next few weeks." Few details are available, but Anandan adds in an interview with The Financial Times that part of the plans will be a push to hit the "sweet spot" of $50 smartphones.
Android One launched with the goal of standardizing low-cost smartphones for emerging markets and ensuring that all users were on the latest versions of Android. Google doesn't make any of the hardware, but it provides a set of standards that guarantees that devices under the program will be solid.
Google also saw Android One as a way of ensuring that it controlled (and could profit from) the spread of Android in emerging markets. It was a direct counter to low-cost manufacturers in China who use "forked" versions of Android that don't have Google's services built in. The hope was that the Android One brand could build consumer confidence and help steer millions in emerging markets towards pure Android devices that plugged into Google's services and ad network.
EXPECT AN ANNOUNCEMENT IN "THE NEXT FEW WEEKS"
After launching alongside a major marketing push last year, the project has largely been a disappointment. Despite Google's lofty goals of using Android One to get "the next billion" smartphone users, it's estimated that fewer than a million of the devices have been sold in India, the initiative's most important market.
The project has spread to over seven countries,including Turkey, but it has faced a number of difficulties. The lesser-known, local hardware makers that Google partnered with for Android One have been disappointed with sales, and don't appear to be putting much effort into Android One. Part of the issue is that manufacturers working on the slimmest of margins can't differentiate, especially when Android One mandates that they must use an unadulterated version of Android. The devices have also been pretty expensive, with many just under the $200 mark.
Google's Anandan admitted to The Financial Times that Android One has "not delivered to expectations," but he maintained that the company is "very committed" to the initiative. Other than targeting the $50 smartphone price point, Anandan says that Google is working on new apps and services designed to specifically cater to the Indian market. The services should build on the company's existing efforts to make its products more friendly for low-bandwidth environments, like offline YouTube and Google Maps, as well as faster-loading search pages.
Going off of Anadan's remarks, the search company will likely have even more to announce in a few weeks. This isn't the first time Google's hardware efforts have faltered — we'll have to wait and see if a reborn Android One can crack the emerging market puzzle.
