The first Android One-branded budget-priced “high quality” smartphones have been released in India.
The handsets provide a minimum set of features determined by Google, which has sourced several of the components to help cut manufacturing costs.
The company has also teamed up with a local network to make it cheaper to download Android updates and new apps.
Experts suggest the move should help address criticism of earlier entry-price smartphones.
Sundar Pichai, who oversees Android, said the Android One scheme had delivered economies of scale that meant the first batch of phones could be offered for as low as 6,399 rupees ($105; £65) if bought contract-free.
“Our goal was to develop high quality smartphones at an affordable price, with access to connectivity, done at scale around the world,” he told the BBC ahead of the launch in Delhi.
“We provide our OEMs [original equipment manufacturers] a menu, effectively.
“They can choose the CPU [central processing unit], the GPU [graphics processing unit], the storage, the type of battery, the type of camera.
The handsets provide a minimum set of features determined by Google, which has sourced several of the components to help cut manufacturing costs.
The company has also teamed up with a local network to make it cheaper to download Android updates and new apps.
Experts suggest the move should help address criticism of earlier entry-price smartphones.
Sundar Pichai, who oversees Android, said the Android One scheme had delivered economies of scale that meant the first batch of phones could be offered for as low as 6,399 rupees ($105; £65) if bought contract-free.
“Our goal was to develop high quality smartphones at an affordable price, with access to connectivity, done at scale around the world,” he told the BBC ahead of the launch in Delhi.
“We provide our OEMs [original equipment manufacturers] a menu, effectively.
“They can choose the CPU [central processing unit], the GPU [graphics processing unit], the storage, the type of battery, the type of camera.
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