Android is a Linux based mobile operating system developed by Google, so it serves as its mobile operating
system.
Today, the platform is the foundation for a wide variety of modern technology, such as mobile phones
and tablets, wearable tech TVs and other smart devices.
Typical Android build ship with a range of preinstalled apps and support the installation of third party
apps through the Google Play store and other marketplaces.
It's free, it's open source, and it's source code is known as Android Open Source Project, which
is primarily licensed under the Apache license.
Android OS is divided into various version numbers, implying significant jumps and features operation
and stability, which usually have code names.
The history of Android begins in October 2003, well before the term smartphone was widely used and
well several years before Apple announced its first iPhone and iOS.
In 2005, the next big chapter, Android's history began when the original company was acquired by Google.
And of course, in 2007, Apple launched the first iPhone and ushered in a new era in mobile computing
at that time.
Google was still running on Android in, well, secret.
So that year, the company slowly began to reveal plans to compete with Apple and other mobile platforms
and the public made of Android Version 1.0 launch for developers on November 5th, 2007.
By September 2008, the very first Android smartphone was announced, the T-Mobile G1, also known as
the HTC Dream.
In other parts of the world.
The first official generic code name for Android didn't appear until the one point five cupcake release
was released in April of 2009.
Now, naming Android versions after sweet candies and sweets traditionally belonged to Ryan Gibson,
the project manager at Google.
I don't know if you're like me, but I can certainly whet my appetite during Android versions, but
I'm going to continue to list him and maybe grab some snacks along the way.
But I'm sorry if it if you're somewhere where you won't be able to, well, imbibe.
But anyway, Google quickly launched Android one six Donut.
In September 2009.
So the new OS now offered support for carriers using CDMA based networks, and this allowed Android
phones to be sold by all carriers around the world.
In October 2009, Google released Version 2.0 of the OS with the official code name Éclair and one of
my favorites, I must say.
So this version was the first to add text to speech support and also introduce live wallpapers, multiple
account support and Google Maps navigation, among many other new features and improvements.
Android to not to Froyo was officially launched in May of 2010.
Now, Dalvik git compiler that compiles bytecode into native machine code at runtime was added to Froyo.
So it also has several new features, including Wi-Fi, mobile hotspot functions and push notifications
via the Setu DRM service or Android cloud to device messaging service.
Of course, flash support and some of the things.
Now, Android two to three Gingerbread was launched in September of 2010, OS received a user interface
refresh under gingerbread.
That is support for using near field communication or NFC functions for smartphones with the required
hardware.
By February 2011, Honeycomb was introduced, it was created for tablets and other mobile devices with
larger display.
And then another of my favorites, Ice Cream Sandwich, was released in October 2011, it included a
favourite's on the home screen, along with the first support for unlocking a phone by using its camera
to take a picture of its owners face.
A kind of biometric sign in support has evolved and certainly improved considerably since.
The jelly bean era of Android began in June of 2012 with the release of Android 4.0 one.
There are new notification features that display more content or action buttons, along with full support
for the Android version of Google's Chrome Web browser.
Android four, not four, is the first version of the OS, it actually used a previously trademarked
name for a piece of candy.
Kit Kat officially launched in September 2013, and it was optimized to run on smartphones, it had
as little as 512 megabytes of RAM.
So this allowed phone makers to use the latest version of Android on much cheaper handsets.
Then Android 5.0 or Lollipop launched in the fall of 2014.
The Android runtime became the default runtime for devices running Android 5.0 and higher.
So Android 5.0 Lollipop is also a major shakeup in in the overall look of the operating system.
It was the first version of the OS that used Google's new material design language.
The fall of 2015, Android six, not zero Marshmallow was released.
It included features such as native support for fingerprint, biometric unlocking, USB type C support,
the introduction of Google Pay and oh, so much more.
Version seven zero of a Google's mobile operating system launched in the fall of 2016.
Android Newgate supported the Volcan API for faster 3D rendering.
In March 2017, Google announced and release the first developer preview for Android Oreo to impact
in lots of visual changes into the Settings menu, along with native support for picture in picture
mode Notification Channel's new autofill APIs for better management of passwords and filled data.
And again, a whole lot more.
On August six, 2018, the company officially launched the final version of Android nine Donziger,
giving it the official code name of PI.
Android nine died zero, PI included some new features designed to help extend your smartphones, battery
life.
Now, that was achieved with the use of on device machine learning, which predict which apps you're
going to use now and which you won't use until later.
On August 22nd, 2019.
Google announced a major refresh of the Android brand, and that included.
A new logo and more importantly, the decision to ditch the traditional desert name for the next version.
So as a result, I go without dessert.
An Android queue is officially known just as Android 10.
Android 10 had a number of new features and improvements, as well as a number of new APIs.
And that included support for the rush of then upcoming foldable phones.
Then, of course, finally, the final version of Android 11 was launched on September 8th of 2020.
Now, Android 11 has arrived with plenty of new features, and that includes a new conversations notification
category where all of your chats from various apps are collected in one place.
You also have the option to save every notification that has appeared on your phone in the last 24 hours.
A brand new feature lets you record your phone screen, complete with audio, without needing a third
party app.
There's also a new section of Android 11 dedicated to controlling smart home devices.
It's come a long way, baby.