The first Android 9.0 Go edition device lands in Australia, say hello to the Nokia 1 Plus

Google has been had several strategies to address the lower end of the Android handset market. The latest, and maybe longest running now is Android Go Edition. Announced at Google I/O a few years back Android Go Editions is optimised to run on devices with 1GB of RAM or less and has a suite of potential apps for the platform.

HMD Global brought the first Android Go devices to Australia last year with the original Nokia 1 and now they have brought the first Android 9.0 Go devices to our shores, meet the Nokia 1 Plus. The Nokia 1 Plus is firmly positioned as an ultra affordable, reliable and most importantly update entry level phone.

Coming in at $169 AUD when purchased outright or $129 when bought with a $30 SIM from Vodafone. The retail model comes in black while the Vodafone model comes with a second blue cover included in the box. The front line feature of the Nokia 1 Plus has to be the 2 years of OS and 3 years of security updates that Nokia have in the past guaranteed as part of the Android Go program. At this stage we do not concrete evidence that the updates will change for this device but bereft of any alternative information we assume it will remain the same. We have contacted HMD for further information and will let you know if anything changes.

All of the other specs are what you would expect from an entry level device with a 5.45-inch IPS LCD display at 480 x 960 pixels, 1GB of RAM, a Mediatek MT6739WW processor, 8 or 16GB of on board storage. Camera-wise it’s got an 8MP rear facing camera and a 5 MP front facing camera. Check out the full specs below.

Who’s this phone for? Honestly, this is the phone you should get if you’re not spending a lot of money on a phone. The optimised software, updates from Google and optimised apps make this a device that will be reliable, secure and usable into the future. For those looking at spending a little more Google has the Android One program, and in Australia Nokia have a device at almost every price point that offer many of the same benefits.