Camera Go Brings A Simpler App For Android Go Edition Phones

With all the focus on powerful high-end smartphones these days, it's almost too easy to forget that many in the world can't even afford, say, a OnePlus or an OPPO let alone a Samsung or an iPhone. Even some of the mid-range phones might not be accessible to certain people, which is why Google is still pushing its Android Go Edition phones to these markets. Part of that push is the creation of light and simple versions of popular apps and, this time, it's the Camera app that's getting a diet.

The camera app is one of those crucial apps that are easily taken for granted. They have become a lot more powerful over the years, offering features like AI-based scene detection, HDR, filters, and more. Features that come at the price of storage and resource usage, things that Android Go Edition phones have little of.

Google has created a suite of "Go" branded apps that offer the basic functionality of their counterparts and not much more. They do sometimes offer one or more features that bigger apps don't or are totally unavailable before, like the Files Go app that eventually became just Files.

In the Camera Go's case, the app promises a simpler and easier to use UI that more or less matches the rather basic capabilities of Android Go phones' cameras. That said, Google hasn't forgotten the bokeh simulation, a.k.a. "Portrait Mode" that is popular no matter which market or tier.

The Camera Go app is rolling out first to the new Nokia 1.3 followed by other Android Go phones some time in the undisclosed future. Unlike the other Go apps, this one seems to be integrated deeply into the OS rather than as an add-on, which suggests it won't be making its way to non-Go phones, at least not officially.