Samsung's First Android Go Smartphone Now Revealed Through Official User Manual

Samsung's first Android Go smartphone has been a part of rumours for some time now. But now, Samsung has revealed the handset itself by posting its user manual in Russia. The user manual shows the model number of the unannounced smartphone as SM-J260F. It also reveals the presence of a removable battery pack and Android Go apps, including Files Go, Maps Go, and Google Go. Unlike some of the initial Android Go devices that have a stock interface, the Samsung model is likely to come with Samsung Experience UX on top of Android 8.1 Oreo (Go edition). Some past rumours have suggested that the South Korean giant is set to launch the Android Go smartphone as the Galaxy J2 Core.

As spotted by SamMobile, the user manual of Samsung's Android Go smartphone shows a removable battery pack and two SIM card slots. One of the schemas available in the user manual also confirms a Micro-USB port. Similarly, the manual shows a microSD card slot that will help users expand the internal storage.

The user manual that comes in Russian also highlights some of the key features of the upcoming Android Go handset. It reveals a preloaded Smart Switch app that will help users transfer their data between two devices. Also, there are on-screen gesture controls. The phone additionally has the three traditional on-screen keys for navigation. We already saw some images highlighting the presence of a proprietary interface - matching the experience of premium offerings such as the Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+.

Having said that, the user manual shows that despite running Samsung Experience UX instead of stock Android, the Android Go phone by Samsung has a list of Google apps, including Files Go, Google Go, and Maps Go. These are notably the apps that are so far featured on Android Go devices out-of-the-box.

If we look at a recent Geekbench listing, the Android Go smartphone by Samsung will come with a 5-inch Super AMOLED display and will be powered by a 1.4GHz quad-core Exynos 7570 SoC, coupled with 1GB of RAM and 16GB of onboard storage. The handset is expected to have an 8-megapixel sensor at the back and a 5-megapixel sensor at the front as well as include a 2,600mAh battery. Furthermore, Samsung is said to be already testing the Android Go smartphone in many markets, including India, Nepal, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka. It is likely that there are many variants of the handset - along with multiple model numbers, including SM-J260F, SM-J260G, and SM-J260M.