In August, YouTube Go will be discontinued. The YouTube Team has announced that the lightweight alternative to its main app would be discontinued, mostly because it has become obsolete over time.
YouTube created the Go app for consumers in areas where internet access is inconsistent, mobile data costs are high, and low-end phones that couldn’t operate the main app as well as more expensive devices were widespread. Since the launch of Go in 2016, YouTube has made a lot of performance enhancements to the main app, according to the team.
Some of these improvements allow the main app to run more smoothly on low-end devices and across slow networks. The team also says it’s working on new controls to assist consumers reduce their mobile data usage if they only have limited access to it, though it doesn’t say when that feature would be available. It is now suggesting that Go users download the entire app, which, unlike the lightweight version, allows users to remark, post, create content, and use the dark style.
YouTube Go was first available in India and Indonesia before being rolled out to the rest of the world in 2017. In 2018, YouTube expanded the app’s availability to over 130 countries, allowing more people to download the 10MB software. It’s now time to say our goodbyes.
As source of exposure points out, this raises issues about the future necessity for Android Go. The OS helps low-cost phones to run faster, although the core Android platform may one day be able to run as efficiently on low-end handsets.