Android Go in the big '26?
Back in the relatively recent years of 2017(or maybe not, that's nine years ago already), smartphone standards were far below what they are today. You could find phones configured with less than a...
Back in the relatively recent years of 2017(or maybe not, that's nine years ago already), smartphone standards were far below what they are today. You could find phones configured with less than a gigabyte of RAM and 16GB of storage could be considered reasonable. Granted, these weren't going to be considered spec beasts during their time, but they were serviceable for the price. However, as compute power increased, these stragglers failed to hold on after being cluttered by user activity like bottlenecked storage or simply higher spec requirements. Thusly, Android Go was born around the tail end of 2017.
I don't intend to make this a history post, but just for the sake of comprehensiveness, Android Go really took stride by doling out optimizations for barebones cellphones and limiting some features like picture in picture and split screen. It really hit it's stride around Android 11 to 12, when phones were still transitioning to modernly reasonable specs.
Mayhaps the most surprising part is that the main constituent of Android Go is essentially a hard-bound toggle set by the manufacturer. But what may be overlooked is that Android Go still exists in the present day. So some developers still end up using it! But why does it still see use in the present day?
In the current iteration of Android Go, phones with 4GB of RAM or less by default are required to use Android Go. But nowadays, we can utilize virtual RAM extensions by allocating some storage space as quick read memory in settings. So this gives manufacturers the power to provide 8GB Android Go phones, making them honestly ovespecced for their on paper capabilities. Often times, these phones have to tone down their bloatware too, so that they don't sap the phone of too much power.
It isn't all upside though, as the aforementioned limitations on multitasking features are arguably the biggest deal breaker.
Manufacturers that use Android Go today are those that have models that cater to ultra-budget and emerging markets. Lower end Motorola and Redmi phones are the ones that are widely available. A notable example are all the phones of Transsion, whose main target market is in Africa and emerging SEA countries.
What's the experience of using it today though?
Aside from the PiP and split screen, The biggest difference isn't really all that strict: the Android Go apps. These can even be downloaded on regular Android and are often just stripped down and more data efficient versions of official Google apps that haven't been given the fresh do-over of Android Go itself. The notable exception is that Android Go will always have Google Assistant, for Google doesn't have plans to release a version of Gemini for Go. Which is ironic as EoL Android phones with lower spec than the current maximum of Android Go(4GB RAM) actually do have Gemini OTA updated on them. Go phones are trying to modernize, so they nowadays have 120hz screens, punch-hole cameras, and enough compute power for everyday. And yet they still compromise by having SD card slots and headphone jacks. The rest is really in the hands of your OEM. Samsung, Redmi, and the Transsion phones all have their little tweaks on the software, some being a little more egregious than most (cough Samsung cough). Motorola should be mostly stock though.
All in all, I just wanted to spread the word that Android Go still exists. Honestly, considering the world RAM crisis, we might actually see more devices on the horizon that utilize Android Go. What're your thoughts?
emptiness is the enemy
A big motivator is intentionality. Being empty gives room for all the demons inside to stay active, and keeping within the status quo just gives the stimulation slop the power to win
Often, things start with making things easy. They shouldn't be. There ought to be some friction and no content on demand. Downloading is preferable. Otherwise, streaming is fine as long as it has inbuilt matters of breaks, such as advertisements, content pagination, or no dedicated recommendation feed.
Secondly, the power of being in a specific state of doing something switches something with the mind. It is inherently relaxing to just see tons of funny gifs and little jokes, but it is an absolutely different thing when you get open the Wikipedia app to search for information after having chatted on your SNS app. It has the bonus of allowing the app to be directly targeted by app limits and focus mode. It is better to be doing than seeing.
Odd as this one is, I remember a specific note of Japanese train workers actively uttering their current actions. At first, I presumed others liking the practice to just be overt Japanophilism, but doing it myself, there's more of a buffer for you to directly think "why am I doing this" and also to catch the attention of others. It also gets you focused on the specific mindset of the thing you're doing, irreverent of your mental thoughts and confirming your actions conscientiously.
If you want to not get them totally out of the modern world, but want respectable limits. E-ink screens are a decent investment if you have disposable cash for kid devices. Better for the eyes, far less stimulating, and will still have internet access. Android e-ink devices are available, and most non-android e-readers will at least have a web browser(and also encourage reading)