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

Hello Crease 

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. 

Thank you for reaching out, GlennSen .

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!

Thank you for reaching out, GlennSen .

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!

I'd like to ask the same. Intercept X isn't available for my Redmi A1 with AndroidGo, too, although I can run other antivirus apps without problems. Just like GlennSen said, please let me test and decide on my own if f I encounter performance issues or not... I'd really like to have Intercept X on my phone.

Frank Steiner said:

Just like GlennSen said, please let me test and decide on my own if f I encounter performance issues or not...

I'm the one who said that, but I appreciate the knowledge that I'm not alone in wanting to have this app available to devices running Android Go.