ANDROID One hasn’t made as big a dent as Google and its hardware partners had hoped when the first pure Android phones for cheap debuted in select markets, including the Philippines.

But amid reports that Android One has fallen out of Google’s favor and may soon be on the chopping block, Turkish manufacturer General Mobile just announced a new Android One model at MWC [Mobile World Congress] 2017. The General Mobile GM 6 will run Android Nougat and is armed with modern specs, which include a fingerprint reader located right underneath its 5-inch, 720p display.

For now, if nothing else, the torchbearer of stock and always-updated Android on cheap devices is alive and well.

But if you think a new Android One phone by way of Cherry Mobile — one overhauled with fresh components and more spit and polish — is coming to the Philippines within the next few months, you, dear reader, are sadly mistaken.

If you think a new Android One phone by way of Cherry Mobile is coming to the Philippines within the next few months, you are sadly mistaken. This was confirmed to us by a source familiar with the company’s plans.

As much as we’d like to think otherwise, the country’s leading mobile brand won’t be releasing an Android One phone at any time soon. This was confirmed to Revü Philippines by a source familiar with the company’s plans. So again: Don’t hold your breath for that Cherry Mobile One G1 successor. It probably won’t ever happen. And if Cherry Mobile isn’t doing the Android One dance this year, or ever, it’s likely that others won’t, either.

The ‘Cherry Mobile One vs MyPhone Uno’ video we made almost two years ago

We asked if the decision came down to market performance. It didn’t. In fact, we were told (on several occasions, actually) the phone did fine in retail. And we won’t be surprised if some folks choose to get a used One G1; it’s a damn good product — which continues to get better with each security update (the latest is dated February 2017).

We were simply told Google is working with just a few companies for Android One at the moment, and General Mobile happens to be one of them. Feel free to draw your own conclusions, but know that the business doesn’t necessarily operate in a cause-effect relationship. There are many factors on which decisions are made and gut-wrenching actions are taken, most of which are unknown to consumers.

We were simply told Google is working with just a few companies for Android One at the moment.

We could only hope that another local brand takes up the reins, but which one? We haven’t heard from Starmobile in a while, and MyPhone is busy trying to bring 3D back from the dead.

Image via ZDNet

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