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Android One not doing well and we already knew why

Another wave of reports are coming in indicating that Android One is not doing well and we’re not surprised. In a country where sub-$100 Android smartphones have existed long before Android One, the program isn’t making any headway.

In bigger markets such as India, sales of Android One handsets are lower than expected. For a cheap smartphone and an ideal market like India, the lackluster performance will more or less reflect other markets.

That could also be happening in the Philippines where we observe very little demand for the Android One handsets that were initially launched back in February.

In a short discussion with a local brand (which we will not name) that has partnered with Google for the Android One program, the company is a bit uneasy with the prospects and isn’t that very optimistic about the future either if Google will continue to serve the sub-$100 segment.

Nevertheless, we observed that Google has been very adamant to push for the program to succeed. So committed that they even bought several billboards in major thoroughfares in the metro and even opened pop-up booths in malls (we saw one in Market Market a couple months back) just to introduce Android One to the masses.

For a purely online company, it speaks volumes about their intention.

Perhaps, Google will find the right mix. They could set their eyes around the $150 to $200 price segment and push for best in class in terms of hardware and they might see some significant results.

{via India Times}


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42 Responses

  1. NotaSheep says:

    Agreed, they should have made a mid-tier device! the next Nexus 5!

  2. lol says:

    I’ve noticed that in markets like ours and India consumers tend to be spec-crunchers. We go for the raw and quantifiable than what experience a phone delivers.

    That’s why brands that churn out phones like CM get a ton of sales even though their phones are – well you know their reputation. That’s also why the 1st crop of android one phones didn’t succeed, they lacked the specs to catch the eyes of prospective customers.

    • SpecsPleaseGoogle says:

      Basically this. All the Android One phones are nice and all but even for the budget segment everyone pays attention to specs.

      Unless Google can offer “best in class” specs for AndroidOne or any other project of that nature they may have in the future, getting traction will be nigh impossible. Even the noobs they originally said they wanted to grab are hardware-conscious, thanks to the internet enabling everyone to research products and specs.

    • J says:

      I have to agree with this one. People seem to prioritize specs over experience here. Hopefully the “second gen” android one phones, like the one released in Turkey, might give them the spotlight to the average consumer

      Android one in turkey: http://www.androidauthority.com/second-generation-android-one-turkey-specs-607706/

  3. Zobel says:

    As I’ve said before, who would be stupid enough to get this over a cheaper and better Flare 3/ SKK Lynx /insert other models here. ?

    • A Reason says:

      One word: updates. Getting updates as soon as Google itself can pump them out is the main draw of all products from the big G. With any other brand you’d have to wait quite a bit, or even get none at all.

      The problem and the irony of that is that it’s the real geeks that are going to be picky about OS updates (they are a must!), instead of the newbie smartphone user segment Google was aiming at. You’d think they would have realized that, especially with all that big data behind them, but nope.

    • james says:

      Software updates and custom ROMs, that’s why.

      Heck, my One runs better than most 1GB RAM octas on almost everything except games. The camera is average but features all of Google’s different modes from Nexus devices. It has a barrage of sensors that enabled double-tap to wake even without official support. Tons of kernels and actual custom ROMs too (none of those “Galaxy S6 ROM” types).

      Best of all, this is the only sub-$100 device series with official Cyanogenmod 12.1 nightlies. PA and OmniROM soon to follow. We also got Android 5.1.1 builds well before they got pushed out to Nexus OTAs. Meanwhile, most others will be stuck on KitKat 4.4.4, or worse buggy Lollipop 5.0.

      That said, maybe Google targeted the wrong bunch. If they wanted to capture the sub-$100 market, they should have offered best price vs specs. Instead, they got the smaller developer/enthusiast userbase. Sure they aimed low, offered high, but came too late.

      The 2nd generation Android Ones do feature a Snapdragon 410 processor instead of a MediaTek MT6582, but pricing will tell if it will push Android One to the mainstream.

      Time will tell. The first time is never the best time to judge an entire product line.

    • Jomar Romero says:

      The word would be: experience. This is what androidone’s battlecry. Apparently this wasn’t communicated very well to the consumers…

  4. Easy E says:

    Google should also consider bigger screens. Like 5.5-6in.

  5. Tutko Moyinmo says:

    Article needs proofreading.

  6. RJ says:

    May mali dito. I asked a Cherry Mobile store kung may stock sila ng Android One at sinasabi nilang wala. I think I asked three times na. Laging ganun. Tapos sasabihin na hindi successful? If it is not really in demand, dapat lagi silang may stock nun kasi walang bumibili. Sinasadya kaya ng CM na itago/hindi mag-supply ng Android One phones para magmukhang failure at mai-push nila yung mga “homegrown” phones nila?

    • ako ito says:

      Pwede…sounds logical.

    • just_curious says:

      Experienced this too. Been asking a CM store here if they have available stocks for the CM One and there was always none.

      They’re not even marketing it in favor of their other models.

    • oliver mia says:

      Yup. Ang tagal bago magrestock. Yung iba pwedeng nawalan na ng interest or bumili na lang ng iba dahil sa tagal makabili.

  7. Nemo says:

    “cold” reception to a nice phone

  8. pisting_yawa says:

    Yeah… who would buy an always “walang stock” phones anyway? Puro box at poster ng Android One lang ang nasa MP at CM. Failure indeed!

  9. kulas says:

    Dapat mid ranged phones ang i release nila, a phone with LTE and a snapdragon processor. Iba kase ang dating ng Mediatek sa mga pinoy, cheap agad ang pumapasok sa utak compared sa Snapdragon processor. I won’t mind if nasa 9k ang phone basta maganda ang build quality at respectable ang performance :)

  10. Eric Topee says:

    a low to midrange device should have been better
    price around $200-$250 , with specs similar or faster than the Zenphone 2

  11. wew says:

    I think the reasons are:
    1.) Insufficient advertising campaigns
    Wala pa akong masyadong naririnig sa Android One. Tayo-tayo lang na mga technology geeks ang nakakaalam ng tungkol sa Android One. Dapat nilang iemphasize ang “GOOGLE” para makapanghikayat, at ang benefits nito kumpara sa ibang similarly-priced smartphones.
    Andaming napakaimpractical na mga phones sa market, tulad ng mga octacore processor pero mababa naman ang RAM, edi wala din, diba? Pero hindi naman alam yun ng mga consumers. Basta marinig nila na “octa”, matic para sa kanila na maganda yan. Ibig sabihin, bobo karamihan ng mga consumers, kaya dapat silang ieducate ng maayos. Iparating sa kanila na sobrang laki ng benefits ng software updates kaysa sa illogical hardware spec combinations.

    Sobrang excited ako na bumili nito, kaya inaantay ko talaga ang maunveil ito sa PH at lumabas ang mga reviews. Pero noong lumabas na, medyo naging hesitant ako. Hindi ganoon kaganda ang camera. Hindi ganoon kaganda ang screen, etc.

    Hirap na ngang ipaunawa sa tao ang kahalagahan ng software updates, mas lalo pang nahihirapan na paangatin ang Android One dahil sa hindi ganoon kagandang specs.

    • Ihusadkua says:

      3) Market competition
      Reports and some evidences are showing that certain providers and retailers are supposed to sell these phones but are ‘out of stock’

  12. mark anthony says:

    badtrip naman yan android one na yan e tuwing bibili ka ssbihin sau wala lage nlang stock or wala parang tinatago nila ayaw nila i benta e tsktsktsk dapat magkaron ng store ang android one e

    • pisting_yawa says:

      Tama pre lagi na lang walang stock. Parang yung sariling partners na rin ng Google sa Android One initiative ang sumasabotahe sa kanila eh.

  13. wat says:

    If you guys look at the product posters that CM sticks to their stores, you’ll see that the One is rarely listed (not sure about myPhone Uno, I’ve never seen their product posters anyway). It’s as if Cherry does not want this phone to succeed and afraid that it will take away sales of their already shitty slabs of plastic (it’s most likely the same case with myphone and their highly beloved Rio series of plastic excrement).

  14. cguro kung asus, lenovo or alcatel ang mag-offer ng android one, baka kagatin pa ng consumers. CM = bad after sales support/customer service. isa pa sobrang daming high spec’d, low cost smartphones na sa market and ang life span ng phone satin around 2-3 years palit na kagad. so bat pa ko bibili ng low spec/low quality android one phone?

  15. Bluetooth says:

    I wanted an Android One phone pero these are the factors that stopped me effectively:
    1. CM and MyPhone lang ang brands. Deal breaker to. I’m not a mobile snob but come on. These two? For real? Google collaborated with Motorola, Samsung and LG for Nexus – why didn’t they for Android One?
    2. Specs. Halos 5k din si Android One pero ang specs pang 2k+ lang. It’s like you’re paying almost 50% for the OS. Who does that for an open source OS? Again, deal breaker.
    3. Cheap prices excite me pero I still want to get value for my money. 5K is cheap for a phone pero if I know that the features of a phone going for 5k is worth only 2k then why would I get a 5k phone. I’ll just buy the 10-15k phone with almost flagship features and specs from a reputable brand (ie Zenfone 2 or LG G3).

    Sana Google collaborates with at least a better brand for Android One. Anyway all brands sell low-end models, except for Apple na hindi naman Android. And please 1G RAM man lang, so many phones go for 1G of RAM at the 5k range these days.

  16. John says:

    Id buy one of it will be manufactured by asus lenovo, and the likes.

    Imagine if Google will partner with Asus and release an Android One version of the zenfone series with a lower price, it will surely be a hit. Mas prefer ko kasi yung smartphones with unmodified and pure Android OS.

    • james says:

      ASUS’ Android One will be India-only as mentioned in a prior interview..

    • oiuwehdf qowihd says:

      You can buy any Indian phone online like indianexpress.com.

      ASUS Android One is already released and selling there.

  17. Xia says:

    I already own a CM One and so far it’s okay naman :) medyo nainis lang ako noong bumili ako sa CM MOA, gusto ko sana yung silver na back case kaso sabi wala na daw ganun at white na lang natira, so yun na lang kinuha ko. Cute din naman sya. Hehe. Okay din yung user experience.

  18. Justin says:


    Sus. Sabihin nyo na lang… it’s Cherry Mobile.

    They’re the only local brand that partnered with Android One. Don’t know why you had to keep that fact a secret.

  19. spiderman says:

    Grabe na pangongopya ng article ng yugatech. Nakabasa lang ng article from India, in-apply na kagad sa Philippine settings. Gesh!!!

    • james says:

      Nag-aapply din naman kasi talaga, hindi pumatok ang Android One satin, kasi mas ginusto ng masa yung mga okra-core na hanggang KitKat nalang ang OS, nadala sa numero. And notice na may source article din sa baba, so before you accuse someone of copying isipin mo muna baka ginawa lang reference. Sheesh.

    • oliver mia says:

      @spiderman B O B O!

      cited ? copied. plus, article has it’s own local source.

  20. Christopher says:

    Ang problema kasi yung mga pop-up booth personnel nila sa Market Market, ay “parang” hindi ganun ka gusto yung ginagawa nila, parang tipid na tipid sa pag sagot sa mga tanong ng mga tao, wala manlang ka explain explain o konteng Trivia na ginagawa, ang dami pa namang taong nang oosioso dun,

    example conversation

    Manong : ano yan?
    Booth personel : Android.
    Manong : ok,… (alis na).

    Manang : anong phone to?
    Booth Personel : Cherry mobile one,
    Manang : ..(alis na)

    My screening ba na ginagawa sa mga taga explain nila? Di manlang nila inieducate yung mga mukhang interesado.

  21. mapilit says:

    alam siguro nila ayaw gumastos ng pinoy (kunwari tipid). pero andyan talaga ang pera and willing tayu (ako) gumastos kahit mahal basta sikat at pwede ipost sa facebook na sigurado mapapansin ako.

  22. Amol Kamble says:

    My android one score 32683 after Marshmallow update 6.0.1 check out

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