MANILA – Smartphones from Google’s Android One program are set to go on sale in the Philippines in the coming weeks, making the Philippines the sixth country to be included in the Android One program after India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Indonesia.
Through the program, local phone manufacturers Cherry Mobile and MyPhone worked with Google to create two new models: The Cherry One and MyPhone Uno, which will be sold through retail stores across the country.
The phones will come with the Android Lollipop, the newest version of the operating system, and will automatically update to new versions for the next two years.
Android One kicked off in India in September 2014. It is an open-source reference platform that allows partner manufacturers to work with Google in creating budget smartphones with high-quality hardware tuned for the Android operating system. The program aims to boost smartphone penetration in developing countries.
The program also includes offers from service providers that lower or maximize the cost of data for Android One users. In the Philippines in particular, telco providers Smart and Sun will help Android One users get free over-the-air (OTA) updates to the Android operating system and certain amounts of app downloads from Google Play for the first six months without counting toward their data plan.
Because Android One is a free and open platform, Google does not get any revenue from the sales of Android One phones.
At a launch for the Android One phones in the Philippines, Google vice president of product management Caesar Sengupta described the Android One program as “an integrated approach” to address problems such as expensive good quality hardware, old software, and connectivity.
“We are very happy to bring Android One smartphones to the Philippines. Working with great partners like Cherry Mobile and MyPhone, we have designed and brought to market these high quality smartphones at highly affordable prices. We cannot wait to see what Filipinos do with them.”
