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Google Go replacing Google
- Thread starter Polterry
- Start date
If the Google app is pre-installed on the phone then you won't be able to replace it (at least not without root). And "running alongside" means adding a new app, which will store its own data, in addition, so if your problem is storage surely that would make things worse?
I don't really know about the Google Go app, because I don't use the Google app itself (I can do search with a web browser, dislike search widgets as clutter on my desktop, don't use Assistant or Google Home, don't do voice search, so all-in-all I really have no need for it). But this raises 2 questions: what do you use the Google app for, and can Google Go replace it for the things you do? If the answer is that having Go would make Google redundant for you then you can probably save a bit of space by clearing data for the Google app and disabling it, but do make sure you really don't need it (i.e. you aren't using something that relies on it without realising).
But it also sounds like your problem is storage space (to me "memory" means RAM, which is different), in which case why do you think that the Google app is the cause? Storage filling is the net result of everything on your phone, including all of your other apps, whatever media you store in the internal storage, etc. So the starting point is to work out what's actually using the space. Remember that app caches can be cleared with no loss (app data is different: don't clear stuff unless you know you don't need it), and you'd be surprised how big caches can grow for things like browsers or social media apps. Clearing caches is only a temporary fix (they fill up again), but if you need space for something specific then that might suffice. If you have persistent problems the only real solution is to remove things that you don't really need.
I don't really know about the Google Go app, because I don't use the Google app itself (I can do search with a web browser, dislike search widgets as clutter on my desktop, don't use Assistant or Google Home, don't do voice search, so all-in-all I really have no need for it). But this raises 2 questions: what do you use the Google app for, and can Google Go replace it for the things you do? If the answer is that having Go would make Google redundant for you then you can probably save a bit of space by clearing data for the Google app and disabling it, but do make sure you really don't need it (i.e. you aren't using something that relies on it without realising).
But it also sounds like your problem is storage space (to me "memory" means RAM, which is different), in which case why do you think that the Google app is the cause? Storage filling is the net result of everything on your phone, including all of your other apps, whatever media you store in the internal storage, etc. So the starting point is to work out what's actually using the space. Remember that app caches can be cleared with no loss (app data is different: don't clear stuff unless you know you don't need it), and you'd be surprised how big caches can grow for things like browsers or social media apps. Clearing caches is only a temporary fix (they fill up again), but if you need space for something specific then that might suffice. If you have persistent problems the only real solution is to remove things that you don't really need.
i think the op maybe confusing the Go app with the Go edition of the android os.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.apps.searchlite&hl=en_US&gl=US is an app that "...is a lighter, faster way to search, with search results optimised to save up to 40% data."
while
the Go edition is "A lightning-speed OS built for smartphones with less than 2 GB of RAM. Android (Go edition) runs lighter and saves data, making more possible on so many devices."
https://www.android.com/versions/go-edition/
the Go app will not help with storage as it is mainly a search engine. and the Go edition android os, you will either need to root the phone or get another phone that has Go OS installed already.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.apps.searchlite&hl=en_US&gl=US is an app that "...is a lighter, faster way to search, with search results optimised to save up to 40% data."
while
the Go edition is "A lightning-speed OS built for smartphones with less than 2 GB of RAM. Android (Go edition) runs lighter and saves data, making more possible on so many devices."
https://www.android.com/versions/go-edition/
the Go app will not help with storage as it is mainly a search engine. and the Go edition android os, you will either need to root the phone or get another phone that has Go OS installed already.
nickdalzell
Extreme Android User
You can install Go apps even without the Go Edition of Android.
The differences between Google Go and the normal Google app are: (as I have experienced, anyway)
1. No 'hey Google' support. You have to open the companion app 'Google Assistant Go,' another app install entirely, to get the functionality of the Assistant, but even with that, there is no 'Hey Google' support with Go apps.
2. UI is a basic, bland bright white, hard on my eyes. It has hardly any support for 'cards' or 'the feed'. It won't remember where you parked, for example.
3. Its storage and RAM footprint are 1/3 what the normal Google app is.
4. Google Assistant Go, its companion app, won't accept many of the commands that the full Assistant does. You can't control smart home devices, control Wifi or Bluetooth, or find a song via song search. It's essentially the modern version of 'Google Now' in that it is basically voice search with few features.
If you needed to use those to overcome a storage issue (I just turn updates off and stick to what comes with a device, works perfectly fine--not like they're actually adding things to it these days!) you'd have to uninstall updates and disable the Google app itself in settings. Some modern Android versions don't uninstall the updates/clear data by 'disabling' the app anymore like they used to, so you won't get your space back on Android 12+ just by disabling the app.
BTW, Play Store is a bug-ridden mess. A lot of the times it claimed I had insufficient storage to install/update an app it was wrong. A lot of times it deemed a specific app 'incompatible with my device.' I've proven it wrong both times by sideloading the *.APK of the app I attempted to use Play Store to install for me. A lot of times using an app store is more frustrating than doing things the geeky way.
The differences between Google Go and the normal Google app are: (as I have experienced, anyway)
1. No 'hey Google' support. You have to open the companion app 'Google Assistant Go,' another app install entirely, to get the functionality of the Assistant, but even with that, there is no 'Hey Google' support with Go apps.
2. UI is a basic, bland bright white, hard on my eyes. It has hardly any support for 'cards' or 'the feed'. It won't remember where you parked, for example.
3. Its storage and RAM footprint are 1/3 what the normal Google app is.
4. Google Assistant Go, its companion app, won't accept many of the commands that the full Assistant does. You can't control smart home devices, control Wifi or Bluetooth, or find a song via song search. It's essentially the modern version of 'Google Now' in that it is basically voice search with few features.
If you needed to use those to overcome a storage issue (I just turn updates off and stick to what comes with a device, works perfectly fine--not like they're actually adding things to it these days!) you'd have to uninstall updates and disable the Google app itself in settings. Some modern Android versions don't uninstall the updates/clear data by 'disabling' the app anymore like they used to, so you won't get your space back on Android 12+ just by disabling the app.
BTW, Play Store is a bug-ridden mess. A lot of the times it claimed I had insufficient storage to install/update an app it was wrong. A lot of times it deemed a specific app 'incompatible with my device.' I've proven it wrong both times by sideloading the *.APK of the app I attempted to use Play Store to install for me. A lot of times using an app store is more frustrating than doing things the geeky way.