Qualcomm Technologies, Inc., a subsidiary of Qualcomm Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM), today announced support for Android™ Oreo (Go edition), an optimized experience for smartphones supporting 1 GB or less of memory. Qualcomm Technologies is working with Google™ to enable the next wave of value priced smartphones with a focus on speed and reliability. Android Oreo (Go edition) offers an improved user experience by optimizing the Android operating system and applications to run more efficiently on devices with less storage, and RAM. This allows greater consumer flexibility as mobile users in emerging regions such as India, Southeast Asia and Africa gain access to a wider variety of Android smartphones with a more modern operating system. Mid and low-tier Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ mobile platforms will be ready to be used by device manufacturers shortly after the latest version of Android (in this case Android 8.1 Oreo ) is released to the Android Open Source Project.

“We are excited to implement Android Oreo (Go edition) within the Qualcomm Snapdragon mobile platform family as it will enable consumers around the world to experience a more robust operating system for lower cost smartphones,” said Nancy Fares, vice president of product management, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. “Android Oreo (Go edition) delivers an optimized Android user experience key for emerging regions where lower bill of materials costs are especially attractive, as well as in established regions for pre-paid and lifeline uses.”

Android Oreo (Go edition) ships with a rebuilt set of Google’s most popular apps that were designed from the ground up to address local needs, plus a tuned version of Google Play that allows users to download any app, but also highlights apps designed to work best on smartphones with 1 GB or less of memory. In addition, Android Oreo (Go edition) includes features to control and monitor data usage, plus the same security improvements that Google launched with Android Oreo. When paired with a Snapdragon mobile platform, consumers will benefit from new experiences not seen before from smartphones in this range.

“Entry-level devices are the gateway to the internet for many people, and we want to make sure everyone has a great experience when they use these devices,” said Sameer Samat, vice president of product management, Android and Google Play. “We’re excited that Android Oreo (Go edition) will significantly improve storage, performance, data management, and security.”

Android Oreo (Go edition) is expected to be available running on devices based on Snapdragon mobile platforms in early 2018.

About Qualcomm

Qualcomm's technologies powered the smartphone revolution and connected billions of people. We pioneered 3G and 4G – and now we are leading the way to 5G and a new era of intelligent, connected devices. Our products are revolutionizing industries, including automotive, computing, IoT, healthcare and data center, and are allowing millions of devices to connect with each other in ways never before imagined. Qualcomm Incorporated includes our licensing business, QTL, and the vast majority of our patent portfolio. Qualcomm Technologies, Inc., a subsidiary of Qualcomm Incorporated, operates, along with its subsidiaries, all of our engineering, research and development functions, and all of our products and services businesses, including, our QCT semiconductor business. For more information, visit Qualcomm’s website, OnQ blog, Twitter and Facebook pages.