Google is beginning to show lite app install recommendations to some users, but also only for certain applications. For example, Facebook for Reddit user banksio when looking at the app in the Play Store, displayed a short message that was informing them of a “comparable app” that comes at a smaller size in regards to the size of the APK that would be installed and the amount of RAM that would be used for running the app. As mentioned this is only showing up for some users and not all, and it’s unclear if this is something that is being tested in a smaller number and only in a certain region.
While it’s not clear if Google will roll this out to all users at any point in the future, the user who posted this on Reddit highlights that this would be a great piece of information to show users who have Android Go phones, as those are running on a version of Android that is meant to be lighter and have access to the “Go” versions of apps to help them run smoother on the device, due to the lower amounts of RAM. Go apps are essentially the same as these Lite apps, and so if there isn’t a Go version of an app but there is a Lite version, showing this message to Android Go users makes a lot of sense for Google, so it’s possible that this is something which will get some focus.
Taking that into consideration, if this is meant to be targeted at users with devices that have lower amounts of RAM, this may be a feature that only shows up for some users outside of the U.S., as there are many more devices in the country that come with high-end specs, and there is a surplus of high-speed internet, whereas some other regions may have slower internet and a larger consumer base who gravitate towards lower-end phones. In any case this is something which seems to be a useful detail to have, so perhaps Google will push it out to all users at some point.