The latest edition of Google’s Android operating system, called Oreo or Android 8, is still not available on many phones. Unless you are buying Google’s own Pixel phones, for instance. Android Oreo’s adoption has been abysmally low. Even after three months of its release, only 0.7% of smartphones are running on it, according to Android’s official Developers blog.
There are several new features in Oreo which would improve the user experience. For better multi-tasking, there is picture-in-picture mode, which allows users to open two apps simultaneously, adjust the size of the app window and move them to any part of the screen. There is an improved battery management tool called Doze. Notifications section is more interactive now. It allows users to club all notifications for similar category of apps together and snooze them, like an alarm clock, to show up later. Copying and pasting text is a lot easier.
Here are some of the budget and mid-range smartphones which have moved to the new OS or come preloaded with it.
Honor 9 Lite
Rs10,999 onwards
The Honor 9 Lite is the first budget smartphone to offer Android Oreo out of the box. Though Huawei has overlaid the interface with its proprietary Emotion UI, it hasn’t tried to bury any of the features as some custom UIs tend to do. The smartphone is notable for its thin bezel design, dual cameras on the front and back, a powerful and power-efficient Kirin 659 octa-core processor and the 5.6-inch screen with an impressive resolution of 2,160×1,080p.
Nokia 5
Rs12,499
The Oreo update for HMD’s budget smartphone Nokia 5 has started rolling out. It already runs plain Android, just like the Mi A1, but is powered by slightly inferior Qualcomm Snapdragon 430 quad-core processor with 3GB RAM. It has a 5.2-inch screen with a resolution of 1,280x720p and offers 16GB internal storage with the option to add 128GB via microSD card. This is the most affordable smartphone to offer Android Oreo and is ideal for users looking for a small-screen alternative to Mi A1.
Xiaomi Mi A1
Rs13,999
Xiaomi’s Android One smartphone, MiA1, was launched with Android Nougat (7.0), but was the first to receive the Oreo update after the Nexus and last year’s Pixel smartphones. Stock Android UI and unlimited storage on Google Drive for the original resolution images makes it user-friendly, while the Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 octa-core processor and 5.5-inch display makes it powerful and big enough for most tasks. It is also expected to get Android 9 update when it arrives later this year.
Asus ZenFone 4
Rs14,999
Asus has started giving the Oreo flavour to the ZenFone 3 smartphone, which after several price cuts is selling at the cost of a budget smartphone. It offers a 5.2-inch screen with a resolution of 1,920x1080p and is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 octa-core processor with 3GB RAM in tow. The smartphone impresses with its premium looks and glass back design. What separates it from the Mi A1 and Nokia 5 in terms of software is its customisable Zen UI.
Moto X4
Rs24,999
The new 6GB RAM variant of Moto X4 runs Android Oreo out of the box with a near plain version of Android with a few customisation options. It is powered by Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon 630 octa-core processor and offers 64GB internal storage and up to 2TB of expandable storage. The smartphone offers a 5.2-inch screen with a resolution of 1,920×1,080p, has premium glass back design, is water proof up to 1.5 metres and comes with dual cameras.
source;-livemint
