Redmi Go: Budget “Android Go” Smartphone

• Posted By Amritesh
• On March 25th, 2019
• Comments: 4 responses

Xiaomi recently launched the Redmi Go smartphone in India under the Google’s Android Go campaign. The Android Go program aims at providing affordable android powered smartphones in the developing markets, thereby extending the reach of Android backed devices. Android Go succeeds the Android One program aimed at expanding android experience to entry level smartphones. The current Go program offers prune version of the android OS capable of running smoothly on minimal hardware resources.

In case of Android One program the hardware and software use is influenced by Google, including future roll out of updates for the respective devices. Android Go on the other hand is pure software experience designed for low hardware specifications. It is customized to enable “lite version” of Google Services to be available on the devices which require low resources. These applications are also known as “Go Apps” specifically optimized for lower end hardware. Go being lightweight Android OS is designed to run on very affordable handsets which comprise of elementary hardware specifications.

The first phone under the Android Go program has been launched by Xiaomi in India. Redmi Go is a basic smartphone in my honest opinion, priced reasonably @ Rs 4,499/- for the hardware offered. The phone is currently available on Flipkart and Mi India portal.

Redmi Go Hardware Specifications

Redmi Go is powered by the Snapdragon 425 chipset with Quad Core processors clocked up to 1.4 Ghz,  this is an entry level chipset from  Qualcomm. Along with 1 GB of Ram, 8 GB of internal Storage and Adreno 308 GPU for reasonable gaming and multimedia experience. The storage may be expanded up to 128 GB via external SD Card.

The entry level chipset along with low Ram will not allow graphic intensive games to run on this phone. However, the phone will be able to handle basic games with low graphic requirement easily.

The device sports conservative design language with thick bezels on top and at the bottom. The fingerprint sensor is omitted to keep the cost of the device down. The 5 inch display comes with 720p resolution and 16:9 aspect ratio. The rear is made up of polycarbonate with metallic finish to it. The phone is available in two color variants Black and Blue.

The 3000 mah battery is expected to last a full working day under normal use. However, one cannot expect extraordinary battery life on this phone. Fast charging is not supported on the phone.

The phone has a compact form factor which is ideal for single hand use.

The phone comes with 4G dual sim support with two dedicated nano sim slots and expandable micro SD Card slot.

Basic Sensors is available. However, the IR Blaster is not provided on this device.

Redmi Go Camera

The phone comes with single camera at the rear and front respectively. The rear camera is 8mp shooter while front camera is 5mp shooter with AI beauty mode. The camera is expected to do decent job under good lighting conditions but will struggle under low light as it is common with the budget smartphones.

HD Video recording capabilities is available on the phone.

Software

Redmi Go runs on the customized Android Oreo (Go Edition) which is comes with pre-installed applications which are optimized to provide lag free experience to the end user. The Google OS, Play Store and Google Applications have been designed to occupy minimum space and ensure fluid user experience. GO Apps are specifically customized for the “Android Go” devices.

Opinion About the Redmi Go

Redmi Go is a decent phone for the 1^st time smartphone users looking for ultra budget handsets. The pricing of the phone is decent along with customized android experience. However, for advanced and heavy users phone does not have much to offer as it comes with dated hardware specs, build and design.

Individuals looking for compact, single hand usage friendly device which would be primarily restricted to Phone Calls and light tasks such as WhatsApp, Facebook, etc may consider Redmi Go. But for advanced users handsets with at least Snapdragon 660 chipset or higher is always recommended, in my opinion.

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This article is for sharing personal views only. Readers are advised to research further to have more clarity on the topic.