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Why isn't Intercept X for Mobile available for Android Go?

Crease

Among other Sophos products, I've been using the Android app since it was known as Sophos Mobile Security. When I wanted to install it on a new tablet, however, I found that it's not available for this device (a 4th Gen Lenovo Tab M8 which arrived with Android 12 Go and has been updated to Android 13).

I did find this under "System requirements" in the release notes:  "Sophos Intercept X for Mobile doesn’t support devices running Android (Go edition), also known as Android Go."

Why isn't Intercept X for Mobile supported on Android Go?  I trust this software and especially appreciate the additional tools, like the QR Code Scanner, Authenticator, and (as a long time KeePass user) the Password Safe, and I'd really like to have consistent protection across my devices, including this new tablet.



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  • +2

    Hello  

    Thank you for reaching out to our community forum.

    We have asked this question internally, and our internal team suggested that one of the reasons why Android Go isn’t added under the supported OS was due to the low specs of the device that uses this OS version. Sophos IX for mobile takes some resources, and there’s a high probability that those devices will face any issues when IX for mobile is installed. hence our dev team did not include them in the supported OS version/s. 

    Glenn ArchieSeñas (GlennSen)
    Global Community Support Engineer

    The New Home of Sophos Support Videos!  - Visit Sophos Techvids
  • 0 in reply to GlennSen

    Thank you for reaching out,  .

    I'm aware that Android Go is designed for devices with "low-end" hardware.  I can't speak for all users, but I would prefer to have the choice to install software like Intercept X for Mobile, even if it comes with a warning that it may affect my device's performance.  I think Sophos could provide that kind of caveat to users and give them the option to use it anyway.

    I guess my real question is whether or not there's a technical limitation of Android Go that isn't compatible with Intercept X for Mobile or if this is strictly a decision by Sophos not to offer the software for devices running that particular "flavor" of OS.  If there's no technical prohibition, then I (for one) would be willing to accept the potential performance trade-off in order to have access to the security features that Intercept X for Mobile provides.

    I also realize that perhaps Sophos has done its own testing and analysis and determined that releasing the app to Android Go users might result in a lot of angry users (who maybe don't understand that there's a significant difference between their device running Android Go and, say, the latest flagship phone running Android with Pixel enhancements) if they see a significant performance hit to their devices after installing the app.  I could imagine this being calculated as reputational risk to Sophos, and maybe that's why they've declined.

    When I look at the "About this app" page in Google Play Store, I see that the app requires Android 8.0 and up.  Since my tablet shipped with Android Go 12 and immediately updated to 13, I'd expect it to have better performance and device specifications than an older device capped out at Android 8, for whatever that's worth.

    Is it possible to suggest that to the internal team?  I'm new to the Community, so I haven't yet seen if there's a way to suggest or request features here the way some companies solicit feedback in their user fora.

    Thank you again for taking the time to address my question!

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  • 0 in reply to GlennSen

    Thank you for reaching out,  .

    I'm aware that Android Go is designed for devices with "low-end" hardware.  I can't speak for all users, but I would prefer to have the choice to install software like Intercept X for Mobile, even if it comes with a warning that it may affect my device's performance.  I think Sophos could provide that kind of caveat to users and give them the option to use it anyway.

    I guess my real question is whether or not there's a technical limitation of Android Go that isn't compatible with Intercept X for Mobile or if this is strictly a decision by Sophos not to offer the software for devices running that particular "flavor" of OS.  If there's no technical prohibition, then I (for one) would be willing to accept the potential performance trade-off in order to have access to the security features that Intercept X for Mobile provides.

    I also realize that perhaps Sophos has done its own testing and analysis and determined that releasing the app to Android Go users might result in a lot of angry users (who maybe don't understand that there's a significant difference between their device running Android Go and, say, the latest flagship phone running Android with Pixel enhancements) if they see a significant performance hit to their devices after installing the app.  I could imagine this being calculated as reputational risk to Sophos, and maybe that's why they've declined.

    When I look at the "About this app" page in Google Play Store, I see that the app requires Android 8.0 and up.  Since my tablet shipped with Android Go 12 and immediately updated to 13, I'd expect it to have better performance and device specifications than an older device capped out at Android 8, for whatever that's worth.

    Is it possible to suggest that to the internal team?  I'm new to the Community, so I haven't yet seen if there's a way to suggest or request features here the way some companies solicit feedback in their user fora.

    Thank you again for taking the time to address my question!

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