On paper, Android One makes a lot of sense. You create a bunch of super-low-cost smartphones, stuff them with the latest version of Android, make sure that they stay updated, and voila!
Since the Android One project has certain expectations for hardware and software, everyone buying a low-cost Android One device is going to get a pretty similar experience—unlike, say, those buying other low-cost Android smartphones that contain forked versions of the OS (and could have any number of issues).
Unfortunately, Google's ambitions of having billions of people using cheaper Android One devices hasn't exactly panned out. According to Recode, the company has struggled with supply chain issues, struggled to compete in ultra-low-cost smartphone markets that are already filled with plenty of competing devices, and struggled to work effectively with the phones' manufacturers to ensure timely updates to the devices (and to market them to potentially interested purchasers).
That's not to say that Android One is down and out, however. In fact, Google is planning to relaunch the project soon with even more ambitious goals than before. According to the Financial Times, Google is allegedly working on a new plan for India, and the company is looking to get its Android One devices down to an equivalent of $30-50 or so. (The first Android One smartphones were priced at just around $100 in India.)
Google will also be working on new ways to address one of the key issues hurting Android One in India: bandwidth. Some of Google's flagship apps like YouTube and Maps require larger amounts of bandwidth than what most Android One customers in India have (or want to pay for). Though Google has been working to address this issue by creating offline versions of some of its apps, it's planning to create even more Android One apps and services that can function well in a low-bandwidth environment for its Android One refresh.
"There are several battlegrounds where we are not winning [and] local search is clearly the one where it's most apparent," said Google vice president Rajan Anandan, in an interview with the Financial Times.
"Strategically [India] is very, very important. Don't get me wrong, the revenue is interesting, but […] we're here really because 10 years from now a billion Indians will be online and when we have a billion Indians online we think that's going to make a huge difference to the global internet economy."
And, of course, Google would love it if one billion more people were tied into its Android ecosystem—in addition to all the Google apps and services that come with it.