Google’s “Android One” gets watered down again, now a shell of its former self

Cheap smartphone plan compromises on hardware and software, so what’s the point?

Ron Amadeo – Nov 5, 2015 2:15 pm | 48

Android One is (was?) Google’s push for high-quality, low-cost smartphones for “the next five billion”—people in developing countries that do not have smartphones. Places like India have lots of cheap, crappy Android phones, and the goal of the program was for Google to show the local Android OEMs a better way to do things. Imagine the Nexus program, but on a serious budget.

Originally, Android One devices were built by local OEMs, with Google providing reference designs and dictating the components that could be used. The software came directly from Google, resulting in decently optimized builds of stock Android with relatively fast updates.

From a technical standpoint, the program worked. We have an Android One device, and for about $100, it’s an excellent little phone. It updated to Android 6.0 Marshmallow the day after the OS’ release, and thanks to Google’s insistence on a minimum spec and high-quality components, it runs Marshmallow shockingly well. In fact, it’s probably the sole $100 Android device on Earth that runs Marshmallow.

But the program was a commercial flop. In India, Google started with online-only sales for three months, which angered local retailers. This also cut Android One off from customers, since most phones in India are sold in small shops. Google’s control over the program angered OEMs, who would rather pick from a wide variety of components and vendors to maximize profit. As a result, OEMs don’t advertise the devices (though Google does) and don’t care too much about selling them. One Indian Android One OEM, Micromax, bailed on the program after two months and signed a deal with Cyanogen Inc.

Even though Android One’s restrictions weren’t popular with OEMs, the restrictions are what made it good. The cutthroat low-margin phone business means OEMs don’t often have consumers’ best interests in mind. From the perspective of an OEM racing other OEMs to the bottom, the hardware needs to be as cheap as possible, performance be damned. The pack-in software is ad space to sell to the highest bidder to reclaim some margin, and updating the software after the sale is an unnecessary expense. Google’s response to the lack of sales and OEM interest in Android One has been to lift many of these restrictions, and now we’re not even sure what the program represents anymore.

Hardware and software compromises

According to a report from The Wall Street Journal, Google is giving Android One OEMs more control in the manufacturing process. They’ll now have “more freedom” to choose components, features, and pricing. OEMs will get to “choose from a greater variety of each component” and can buy parts from their own vendors, instead of vendors approved by Google.

We’ll have to see how this affects the performance and updatability of devices in the program, but it doesn’t sound good. The Journal notes “An executive at one phone maker in India who declined to be named said Google’s new flexibility on Android One hardware requirements leaves little difference between the program and just producing regular Android phones.” So far, Indian OEM Lava International Ltd. has signed up for the program and will release a device in “the coming months.”

Google has also quietly backed away from the initial software promise of Android One. In Google’s first announcement post, the sales pitch read thusly: “To help ensure a consistent experience, Android One devices will receive the latest versions of Android directly from Google. So you’ll get all the latest features, up-to-date security patches, and peace of mind knowing your stuff is always backed up.” The take-away from the announcement was that software would work just like with the Nexus program.

In an update to Google’s update support page earlier this year, though, the software situation completely flip-flopped. It now reads “Android One phones receive the latest version of Android from Google’s hardware partners. Google’s partners send updates based on their schedule—trying to get them to you as soon as possible.” (Emphasis ours.) It seems like existing devices are still supported by Google, given the initial sales pitch and the fact that they got updated on “day two” of Marshmallow’s release, but it sounds like future Android One phones will be at the mercy of their OEM when it comes to updates.

Android One devices also aren’t part of the new monthly security update program. The support page says that OEMs commit to updates for “at least eighteen months” after the phone’s launch and promises “several smaller security updates” over an 18-month lifespan, but there’s nothing about a monthly schedule.