Just like clockwork, a new Pixel event is now just around the corner. That means it is, once again, just the right time to remind people about what makes these phones a cut above the rest in the plentiful world of Android phones: the unadulterated Android experience.
The Pixel phones stand out because the OS experience comes directly from Google itself and not from the phone’s manufacturers. Samsung’s class-leading phones, for example, come with what the Korean company calls the Samsung Experience on top of Android. Xiaomi phones, another leading Android manufacturer, come with their Android interface of with the MIUI.
While some of the best Android phones out there are from manufacturers that put their own interfaces on the Android version of their handset offerings, there are Android purists who prefer a more skinned version of Android. Not having to deal with extra features added by the manufacturers, they believe, help in making a cohesive ecosystem across the entire phone.
However, there’s a cloud of confusion currently casting its shadow on unadulterated Android phones. In this case, there’s the stock Android on the premium Pixel devices, the Android One on predominantly midrange smartphones, and the Android Go on low-spec’d entry-level devices. All three of these are Google curated versions of Android but with slight differences to make way for the hardware discrepancies.
All of these muddies the water for Android a little bit more than what is necessary. To help with that issue, we’ll discuss the nuances of each of the Android versions and how Google’s philosophy intersects across each of the versions.
Stock Android
When it comes to unadulterated operating systems, stock Android takes the cake in terms of absolutely vanilla experience since both the hardware and software are Google-regulated. In all possible meanings, it is Android exactly how Google intended it to be.
The concept of the first stock Android was introduced with the launch of the Google Nexus line back in 2010 with Android FroYo right around the time when smartphone manufacturers began to introduce their own versions of the open-sourced OS. Samsung’s TouchWiz and HTC’s Sense were the dominant interface of Android back then but Google wanted to give people a taste of the untouched Android. It was successful to some extent but it never reached the heights that the other interfaces of Android reached back then. It was mostly because the hardware that Google used with these devices were relatively middle of the road when compared to its competition.
The Nexus line grew slowly but steadily from there until it was eventually rebranded into the Pixel suite of devices in 2016. This rebrand comes with a few hardware upgrades and huge spec bumps that positioned the highly efficient Stock Android inside the body of a high-performance machine. The result was a blazing-fast handset encased in a premium housing. It was, in a lot of ways, the first true flagship from Google.
Being designed by Google itself, these Pixel phones get the freshest Stock Android updates. This means that when Google releases software and security updates, these phones are the first in line.
Android One
Much like stock Android, Android One also gets its security updates directly from Google which essentially makes it tied for the first in line. However, when it comes to software updates and OS upgrades, Android One plays a little bit of a second fiddle because of the hardware differences.
In essence, Android One descends from the same design philosophy of the stock Android. It is also a skinned down version of Android that Google has total control over. The only difference is that the hardware department of Android One phones is not controlled by Google. Instead, they come from manufacturers who have to pass Google’s strict standards.
Initially, it was aimed at giving the most basic Google experience to low-spec’d smartphones so they perform without the added weight of their manufacturer’s own interface. This enables even less powerful and low-priced phones to perform extremely smoothly in basic tasks on par with the flashy flagships.
The first Android One smartphones, therefore, were not impressive devices when it comes to hardware and specs. Where they shine is in their performance and price. Because of this, they made perfect entry-level phones for emerging markets who couldn’t quite afford flagship level phones the same way that industrialized markets could.
However, the plateauing smartphone market made yesterday’s flagship level specs and hardware available for midrange prices. This created a robust midrange market that the Android One immediately jumped in on. Today, outstanding Android One phones such as Mi A series, and some versions of Motorola’s X4s are the leaders of the midrange market because of the efficient interface intended initially for budget smartphones and the midrange specs.
Android Go
Since the Android One encroached on the midrange segment of the smartphone market, there was a void left by Google at the budget market. This is where Android Go comes in.
Unlike the first two, Android Go phones do not receive updates directly from Google. Its main job is maintaining the efficiency of the system in order to keep system requirements low. As such, it doesn’t need to be updated with the latest and greatest features from Google.
To keep the phones lightweight, an Android Go exclusive Play Store installed on the phone. In it, Google apps designed for low spec’d machines are available for download.
Verdict
While the interfaces on phones such as Samsung Experience on Galaxy phones and MIUI on Xiaomi phones offer additional and often extremely useful features absent in these phones. They still take up some of the valuable resources of the phone.
What Google offers with the stock Android, Android One, and Android Go, is a basic version of the OS that is free from any potential resource-hog features and bloatware. What we’re left with is a plethora of choices in the Google-regulated OS interface space.
It’s excellent for consumers and even better for Google.
The Pixel phones stand out because the OS experience comes directly from Google itself and not from the phone’s manufacturers. Samsung’s class-leading phones, for example, come with what the Korean company calls the Samsung Experience on top of Android. Xiaomi phones, another leading Android manufacturer, come with their Android interface of with the MIUI.
While some of the best Android phones out there are from manufacturers that put their own interfaces on the Android version of their handset offerings, there are Android purists who prefer a more skinned version of Android. Not having to deal with extra features added by the manufacturers, they believe, help in making a cohesive ecosystem across the entire phone.
However, there’s a cloud of confusion currently casting its shadow on unadulterated Android phones. In this case, there’s the stock Android on the premium Pixel devices, the Android One on predominantly midrange smartphones, and the Android Go on low-spec’d entry-level devices. All three of these are Google curated versions of Android but with slight differences to make way for the hardware discrepancies.
All of these muddies the water for Android a little bit more than what is necessary. To help with that issue, we’ll discuss the nuances of each of the Android versions and how Google’s philosophy intersects across each of the versions.
Stock Android
When it comes to unadulterated operating systems, stock Android takes the cake in terms of absolutely vanilla experience since both the hardware and software are Google-regulated. In all possible meanings, it is Android exactly how Google intended it to be.
The concept of the first stock Android was introduced with the launch of the Google Nexus line back in 2010 with Android FroYo right around the time when smartphone manufacturers began to introduce their own versions of the open-sourced OS. Samsung’s TouchWiz and HTC’s Sense were the dominant interface of Android back then but Google wanted to give people a taste of the untouched Android. It was successful to some extent but it never reached the heights that the other interfaces of Android reached back then. It was mostly because the hardware that Google used with these devices were relatively middle of the road when compared to its competition.
The Nexus line grew slowly but steadily from there until it was eventually rebranded into the Pixel suite of devices in 2016. This rebrand comes with a few hardware upgrades and huge spec bumps that positioned the highly efficient Stock Android inside the body of a high-performance machine. The result was a blazing-fast handset encased in a premium housing. It was, in a lot of ways, the first true flagship from Google.
Being designed by Google itself, these Pixel phones get the freshest Stock Android updates. This means that when Google releases software and security updates, these phones are the first in line.
Android One
Much like stock Android, Android One also gets its security updates directly from Google which essentially makes it tied for the first in line. However, when it comes to software updates and OS upgrades, Android One plays a little bit of a second fiddle because of the hardware differences.
In essence, Android One descends from the same design philosophy of the stock Android. It is also a skinned down version of Android that Google has total control over. The only difference is that the hardware department of Android One phones is not controlled by Google. Instead, they come from manufacturers who have to pass Google’s strict standards.
Initially, it was aimed at giving the most basic Google experience to low-spec’d smartphones so they perform without the added weight of their manufacturer’s own interface. This enables even less powerful and low-priced phones to perform extremely smoothly in basic tasks on par with the flashy flagships.
The first Android One smartphones, therefore, were not impressive devices when it comes to hardware and specs. Where they shine is in their performance and price. Because of this, they made perfect entry-level phones for emerging markets who couldn’t quite afford flagship level phones the same way that industrialized markets could.
However, the plateauing smartphone market made yesterday’s flagship level specs and hardware available for midrange prices. This created a robust midrange market that the Android One immediately jumped in on. Today, outstanding Android One phones such as Mi A series, and some versions of Motorola’s X4s are the leaders of the midrange market because of the efficient interface intended initially for budget smartphones and the midrange specs.
Android Go
Since the Android One encroached on the midrange segment of the smartphone market, there was a void left by Google at the budget market. This is where Android Go comes in.
Unlike the first two, Android Go phones do not receive updates directly from Google. Its main job is maintaining the efficiency of the system in order to keep system requirements low. As such, it doesn’t need to be updated with the latest and greatest features from Google.
To keep the phones lightweight, an Android Go exclusive Play Store installed on the phone. In it, Google apps designed for low spec’d machines are available for download.
Verdict
While the interfaces on phones such as Samsung Experience on Galaxy phones and MIUI on Xiaomi phones offer additional and often extremely useful features absent in these phones. They still take up some of the valuable resources of the phone.
What Google offers with the stock Android, Android One, and Android Go, is a basic version of the OS that is free from any potential resource-hog features and bloatware. What we’re left with is a plethora of choices in the Google-regulated OS interface space.
It’s excellent for consumers and even better for Google.