Android is a system that should run on a completely different set of platforms. Its need to be fully adaptable and scalable means that it can be used on high-end devices or smartphones with scarce resources.
Although current practice is to see smartphones with 6GB, 8GB, or even 12GB smartphones, there are still some basic with 1GB of RAM and less than 16GB of storage. This may soon be a thing of the past, with new minimum requirements now set by Google for Android.
Google rules you must follow
Despite being an open system, Google has a lot of control over a portion of Android. Through its services and App Store (GMS), it can decide how to install them. With this idea, you have now defined the rules for using and updating Android 13.
The rules set so far have allowed smartphones with only 1 GB of RAM to be able to receive the Google system, which everyone knows is not enough. Although it represents a minimum standard, many manufacturers end up adopting it and creating basic proposals that interest many users.
A little bit of news here: Google is increasing the minimum hardware requirements that mobile devices must meet in order to be able to compile a GMS.
Now, all Android 13+ mobile devices must have at least 2GB of RAM and 16GB of flash storage in order to preload GMS. https://t.co/fDppuhlfoW
- Mishaal Rahman 7 September 2022
Android 13 now forces you to get more RAM
change that come now To end this type of device, establish new rules. The standard goes up and up to 2 GB in terms of RAM that will be available to the system. In the case of storage, the same will happen, as the storage is now at least 16GB.
This becomes the minimum standard for installing and using Android 13. Smartphones of less than this value are simply prevented from accessing the new version of the Google system. This applies to new or other devices that are trying to update.
| year | Issuance | Minimum RAM |
| 2018 | Android 8 | 512MB |
| 2019 | Android 9 | 512MB |
| 2020 | Android 10 | 512MB |
| 2021 | Android 11 | 1 GB |
| 2022 | Android 12 | 1 GB |
| 2023 | Android 13 | 2 GB |
Requirements become more demanding over time
As can be seen above, this is a scenario that Google is promoting periodically, albeit at a slow pace. With version 11, the company changed the rules and started asking for 1 GB of RAM, until then only 512 MB of memory was required.
Although still low, this new value improves the usability of the system on entry-level smartphones. However, this should be a change that will only happen in several months, given that these entry proposals should only receive Android 13 in the future, leaving the previous version.
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