Motorola surprises everyone with its first Android Go smartphone

Motorola announced that the Moto E5 Play will launch in Europe and Latin America sometime this month as an Android Go device. This new E5 Play also includes a few key differences from the E5 Play in the U.S.

For starters, Android Go support means the new E5 Play runs a relatively clean version of Android Oreo that includes Go variants of Google apps. Because Android Go smartphones do not offer much storage, Go apps take up little space relative to their regular versions.

Software is not the only thing that is different about the new E5 Play. The phone also features a 5.3-inch display with an 18:9 aspect ratio. That compares to the regular E5 Play, which sports a 5.2-inch display with a traditional 16:9 aspect ratio and 720p resolution.

RAM amount should also differ across E5 Play versions. Keep in mind that Android Go limits devices to 1GB of RAM, whereas the regular E5 Play features 2GB of RAM.

Even storage might differ. Android Go smartphones typically feature 8GB of storage at most, though the regular E5 Play includes 16GB of expandable storage.

Everything else, including the design, seemingly remains the same. That means an 8MP rear camera, a 5MP front camera, and a rear-mounted fingerprint sensor hidden in the Motorola logo.

As mentioned in the beginning, the Android Go version of the E5 Play will launch in Europe and Latin America sometime this month. It will sell for 109 euros (~$128).