Android One connects the next 5 billion smartphone users

At the company’s annual Google I/O conference this summer, Google announced a long-rumored mobile initiative targeted at customers in emerging markets called Android One. While interest in mobile devices is universal around the world, accessibility to a premium smartphone experience is limited in many places—namely, to billions of customers in India, where a mobile device may serve as a customer’s primary electronic experience. The Android One program is designed to offer affordable connectivity to every person on the planet, and make the next 5 billion mobile customers into Android customers.

Today, Google launched its platform in India with the release of new sub-$100 handsets from a variety of hardware partners. The Android One “software experience” features automatic updating of Play Store apps on top of the “stock” Android experience offered by Google’s Nexus devices and the “Google Play Edition” flagships from Samsung, HTC, and Motorola. These phones feature entry-level materials that keep costs down and their Android optimizations ensure a continuous, future-proof OS experience—meaning these phones will run Android L and all forthcoming Android apps out-of-the-box.

Google boasts more than 1 billion Android activations, and Android One is a play toward 6 billion—Google unabashedly wants Android in front of as many customers as possible. While Apple prioritizes a top-of-the-line hardware and software experience that pushes its device prices to $649 and above, Google’s emphasis lies in attaining as many consumer eyeballs on its platform as possible. This focus bolsters the company’s advertising efforts on Android around the world, and also support a wider audience for Android developers. Android One is the first of many steps to connect new markets to smart mobile technologies, and could transform developers’ perception of Android altogether—imagine one app that could be discovered and downloaded by 6 billion eager Google Play customers.