Economic Times

Domestic handset maker Micromax is launching the first smartphone based on Google's Android Oreo Go Edition in India by the end of this month, the company announced on Monday.

The company didn't disclose any specific details of the smartphone or its pricing but said the phone will be called Bharat GO.

"Taking its mission of connecting the unconnected ahead, and providing the best in class mobility devices, Micromax will introduce Bharat GO to deliver an optimised Android experience as an entry-level smartphone to millions of Indian consumers," Micromax said.

Originally announced at Google's annual developer conference Google I/O 2017, the operating system was launched in December last year.

The Android Oreo Go operating system is designed for entry-level smartphones and can work on smartphones with a memory of as low as 512 megabytes. At launch, Google had also said that it had optimised the operating system and pre-installed apps to take up 50% less space on these devices.

ET had reported that prices of entry-level 4G smartphones could fall to about Rs 2,500 from roughly Rs 3,000 now with the launch of Android Go operating system.

Micromax rivals Karbonn, Lava International, and Intex are also expected to launch their Android Oreo Go-based devices in the forthcoming months.