Android One getting rebooted in India

Details: James Barton; Category: Devices & Platforms; 14 August 2015; 5997 views

Google is relaunching its Android One project in order to strengthen its position in the Indian smartphone market.

Launched in September last year, the initiative was aimed at the “next five billion” smartphone users, i.e. those who cannot afford the current price of high-end devices. The initiative is aimed at reducing the cost of both data plans and devices, as well as bringing Android to existing low-cost devices.

At the launch, Android boss Sundar Pichai said: “By working closely with phone and silicon chip makers to share reference designs and select components, we’re making it easier for our partners to build phones that are not just great to use, but also affordable.”

While this statement had the backing of a partnership with Indian smartphone manufacturer Micromax, the initiative has seemingly failed to gain traction. However, Google’s Indian MD Rajan Anandan has claimed that the company is committed to Android One, as evidenced by the imminent relaunch.

“Strategically it [India] is very, very important,” said Anandan. “Don’t get me wrong, the revenue is interesting but…we’re here really because 10 years from now a billion Indians will be online and when we have a billion Indians online we think that’s going to make a huge difference to the global internet economy.”