History of Android Operating System

Android is an operating system based on Linux that is primarily designed for mobile touch screen devices. It has evolved over the years to become the most popular mobile OS. This article provides a comprehensive history of Android, including its founders, competitors, and key features of each version.

History of Operating System
ANDROID
Android is an operating system based on Linux that is primarily designed for mobile touch
screen devices such as smartphones and tablet computers. In the last 15 years, the operating
system has developed a lot from black and white phones to recent smartphones or mini –
computers. The founder of Android are Andy Rubin, Rich Miner, Chris White and Nick
Sears. Android, Inc. began with its creator’s clear mission. Andy Rubin, one of the founders
of Android, said Android Inc, was developing “smarter mobile devices that are more aware of
its owner’s location and preferences”.
The company Android, Inc was founded in Palo Alto, California well before the term
“smartphone” was used by most of the public in October 2003, and several years before
Apple announced its first iPhone and IOS. And this was the year that Android was born. It
developed initially with the goal of providing digital cameras with a sophisticated OS. The
efforts to create a smartphone operating system were later redirected. The main competitors
were Windows Mobile and Symbian.
Android is a powerful operating system that supports a wide range of smartphone
applications. These apps are more user – friendly and advanced. ARM architecture platform
is the hardware that supports android software. The open source operating system, Android,
is free and it can be used by anybody.
Google’s OS also known as Android has evolved over a decade from Android 1.0 to Android
9.0. Since the first iPhone launched in the year 2007, the smartphone has come a long way.
While IOS from Apple is probably the first smartphone operating system in the world,
Android from Google is by far the most popular currently. Just a few years after Android 1.0
was launched, all the smartphones that has the Operating System installed were at every
corner of the globe. It has now become the world’s most popular mobile OS, defeating
numerous competitors such as Symbian, BlackBerry, Palm OS, WebOS, and Windows
Phone. So far, Apple’s IOS is the only platform that still stands as a serious Android
competitor, and it doesn’t seem like it’s going to change anytime soon.

The tables below are the release dates and key features of all Android operating system
updates up to date.
ANDROID
VERSION
RELEASED
DATE
UPGRADES/CHANGES
1.0 September
23, 2008
i. Android Market allowed downloads and updates
of applications through the Market app.
ii. Camera Support – but this version lacked the
option to change the resolution of the camera,
white balance and quality.
iii. Wi -Fi and Bluetooth support.
iv. Supported web email server version – POP3,
IMAP4 and SMTP
v. YouTube video player
vi. Instant Messaging application such as MMS and
text messaging.
1.5 (Cupcake) April 27,
2009
i. On-screen soft keyboard supported.
ii. Enable video recording uploaded to YouTube.
iii. In all applications, faster and more polished user
interface.
iv. Include with several built-in widgets such as
calendar, music player and picture frame.
2.0 (Éclair) October 26,
2009
i. Multi – touch devices supported which up to 3
fingers tracked on the screen at a time.
ii. Enhanced camera app such as flash, colour effects
and digital zoom.
iii. Soft keys supported.
iv. Updated browser with a redefine user interface.
2.2 (Froyo) May 20, 2010 i. Wi – Fi hotspot supported.
ii. Comes with Integrated Flash.
iii. Apps enable to install on Memory Card.
iv. Automatic background app updates.
2.3 (Gingerbread) December 6,
2010
i. New on-screen keyboard.
ii. Redefined user interface.
iii. Built – in SIP.
iv. NFC supported.
3.0 (Honeycomb) February 22,
2011
i. Redesigned keyboard.
ii. Security improvements.
iii. System Bar improved.
iv. Action Bar improved.
4.0 (Ice-cream
Sandwich)
October 18,
2011
i. Screenshots feature supported.
ii. Refined home screen.
iii. Voice Command built in.
iv. New system font.
4.1 (Jelly Bean) July 9, 2012 i. Comes with a feature called “Google Now”.
ii. Project Butter which gives a smoother and more
responsive user interface.

iii. Offline voice typing included.
4.4 (KitKat) October 31,
2013
i. Improved Memory Management.
ii. Improved Google Now
iii. Smarter Caller ID, where you have a search
option.
iv. Printing on The Go feature included.
v. Built – In Sensors for training and fitness
purposes.
vi. Improved Lock Screen.
5.0 (Lollipop) November
12, 2014
i. Redesigned user interface.
ii. New Lock screen which notifications are
displayed on device’s lock screen.
iii. Battery – saver mode enable user to save battery.
iv. Improved Quick Settings.
v. Auto brightness replaced with Adaptive
brightness.
vi. Improved performance.
vii. “OK, Google” can be used everywhere even in
offline.
6.0 (Marshmallow) October 5,
2015
i. New App drawer.
ii. Google Now on Tap feature.
iii. Fingerprint support.
iv. Comes with Android Pay.
7.0 (Nougat) August 22,
2016
i. Multitasking where users can use two apps at the
same time.
ii. Drag and drop text or images when in multi –
window mode.
iii. Clear all recent apps with a tap.
iv. New installer animation
v. Notifications settings where notifications are
displayed based on the importance.
vi. Easier Settings app navigation
8.0 (Oreo) August 21,
2017
i. Improve security with Google Play Protect.
ii. Faster performance where boot screen is twice as
fast than before.
iii. Auto – enabled Wi – Fi feature.
iv. New emojis are included.
v. Improved accessibility such as navigation bar,
settings and contacts.
9 (Pie) August 6,
2018
i. Dark Mode where users can change the device
theme.
ii. A new home buttons.
iii. Improved Message App