Google Maps Go App Launched on Google Play Store

Within a few days of its launch, the Google Maps Go app is now available to download from the Google Play Store. Google, at an event in New Delhi recently, had released Android Oreo (Go edition), an operating system meant for smartphones 512MB to 1GB of RAM. The new Google Maps Go app is part of a series of lightweight apps that will slowly become available for such devices.

Google Maps Go joins the ranks of Files Go and Google Go that recently became available for download on the Play Store. Similar lightweight Go variants of Google Assistant and Gmail are on the way, according to Google.

The new Google Maps Go app will be available exclusively for Android phones - running Android 4.1 or higher - with a RAM capacity of 1GB or lower. Unlike Files Go, which is available for phones with higher RAM as well, all others like Maps Go, Gmail Go will only be accessible from the Play Store on low-RAM phones.

This app, essentially, provides a shortcut of the Progressive Web App (PWA) version of Google Maps, Android Police reports. This Maps Go version - which can be accessed on mobile from here - offers similar features as the main app, including detecting your location, providing you with directions, and traffic information for cars, public transit, and walking. It has support for 70 countries and claims to not take a lot of space on your phone.

Google VP of Engineering Shashidhar Thakur stated at the sidelines of Google for India, the prime aim of developing Google Go is to help new smartphone users "come on the Internet", and help them access the Web easily. Android Oreo (Go edition) has been launched with a clear focus on the Indian market in a hope to get millions of users to experience Android on affordable hardware.