Search giant Google has recently released its lightweight version of its app to Android users across the globe.
The app, known as Google Go, is an alternative version of its Google app that was originally scaled down for use in selected countries where the majority of citizens were using lower-spec Android smartphones compared to the western world. However, Google has now made Google Go available to all Android users.
The Google Go app has been optimised to run faster on lower-spec devices by using less storage space and less memory. As it is trimmed down, this makes the app ideal for use in locations worldwide where connection tend to be unstable and slower.
The company decided to roll the app out worldwide when it realised that more people can benefit from Google Go than just its initial target market.
As well as using less storage and memory than high-spec devices and working well in locations with unsteady connections, Google Go offers some more advanced features, like the capability to read content aloud. It can read web pages in 28 different languages in a natural-sounding voice on connections as low as 2G. It also has the ability to read the text captured within photos through Google Lens.
This feature uses AI to determine which parts of a page it should read and which it should be leaving out, meaning it won’t read out text-based ads that are often slotted between paragraphs on online sources.
Users also have the choice of how to listen to the audio. This can be done in a similar fashion to a podcast, where it is read out to the listener, even with the screen locked, or they can follow along on-screen with words being highlighted as they are read out. Should the internet connection disappear for any reason, Google Go will save its place and resume where it left off when the connection is re-established.
Google Go can now be downloaded from the Android Play Store.
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