#android one program

When Google announced the Android One Program a couple years ago, it had big promises -- bring the Nexus experience to the masses. If we have more sub-$100 smartphones with the latest Android OS, more people will flock and switch from feature-phones to smartphones. The latest Android updates will now be available to select budget devices, a feature only available to flagship and Nexus phones. Google launched the Android One program in the Philippines last February 2015 with two local smartphone brands in tow -- Cherry Mobile One and the MyPhone Uno. This meant the two devices will have guaranteed updates from Google for two years (the reason why the Cherry Mobile One is getting an Android 7.1.1 Nougat update). However, there were no new Android One phones released after then (the last one was the Cherry Mobile One G1 in August 2015), at least in the Philippines. The Android One program required resources, a development team that will focus on providing updates and testing each single device that's part of the program. Since Google's revenue model hinges on the ads that are shown on these Android One devices, perhaps the volume of units released was not enough to justify putting additional resources in the program. Read more in our articles including "The real reason Google gave up on the Android One program" and "Android One not doing well and we already knew why".