Android (operating system)
Android is an operating system used in mobile devices. It is mostly used for smartphones, like Google's own Google Pixel, as well as by other phone manufacturers like HTC and Samsung. It has also been used for tablets such as the Motorola, Xoom and Amazon Kindle Fire. A modified Linux kernel is used as Android's kernel.[4]
 Wordmark and logo used since 2023 | |
| Developer | Various (mostly Google) |
|---|---|
| Written in | Java, Kotlin (UI), C (core), C++, Rust[1] and others |
| OS family | Unix-like (modified Linux kernel) |
| Working state | Current |
| Source model | Open source, freeware (most devices include proprietary components, such as Google Play Services or One UI) |
| Initial release | September 23, 2008 |
| Latest release | Android 15 / September 3, 2024 |
| Latest preview | Android 16 Developer Preview 1 / November 19, 2024 |
| Repository | |
| Marketing target | Smartphones, tablet computers, smart TVs (Android TV), Android Auto and smartwatches (Wear OS) |
| Available in | 100+ languages |
| Update method | Over-the-air |
| Package manager | APK-based |
| Platforms | ARM64 (previous versions were also compatible with ARMv7, x86, x86-64, MIPS and RISC-V; these architectures are still unofficially supported via third-party solutions)[2][3] |
| Kernel type | Monolithic (Linux kernel) |
| Userland | Bionic libc, mksh shell, Toybox as core utilities |
| Default user interface | Graphical (multi-touch) |
| License |
|
| Official website | www |
| Support status | |
| Articles in the series | |
| Android version history | |
Google says that over 1.3 million Android smartphones are sold every day.[5] Most mobile phones run Android, making it the most popular mobile operating system. It is also the most popular operating system in general.
It supports multitasking, and both two-dimensional and three-dimensional graphics.
Security updates are not provided on versions older than Android 10. Newer versions receive security updates if the phone manufacturer supports them. Phones which have Android 10 and above receive security updates (like app updates) directly from Google Play.
The current stable version is Android 15, released on September 3, 2024.
Android programs
changePrograms for Android, also called "apps" (short for applications), usually come from the Google Play Store. The Android programs have a file extension of .APK. On May 7, 2019, Kotlin replaced Java as Google’s preferred language for Android app development. Java is still supported, as is C++. Google states that[6] "Android apps can be written using Kotlin, Java, and C++ languages". Other languages may also be used; such as Python and Go, and those languages and even C++ may have restrictions. Large portions of the operating system itself are also written in Java. Over 2.6 million apps are available for Android in the Google Play Store.[7] Some apps are distributed elsewhere.
Android, Inc. began working on the Android operating system in 2003. In the future, Google bought it in 2005. The software development kit (SDK) for Android OS was launched on November 12, 2007, while the beta version was made available on November 5, 2007.
In October 2008, the T-Mobile G1 (also known as the HTC Dream) became the first Android smartphone to be made available to the general market.
Google revealed in August 2019 that the candy scheme was coming to an end and that future Android releases would instead use numerical ordering.
Android 10 was the first Android version to be made available in numerical order.
Android version numbers and names
changeVersions of Android have a number and have had a name based on confectioneries, up to and including Android 9 Pie, but since then it has mostly been a number, with the code name usually only being used internally and by Developers and manufacturers. The version numbers and names are:
| Name | Internal codename[8] | Version number(s) | Release date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Android 1.0 | — | 1.0 | September 23, 2008 |
| Android 1.1 | Petit Four | 1.1 | February 9, 2009 |
| Android Cupcake | Cupcake | 1.5 | April 27, 2009 |
| Android Donut | Donut | 1.6 | September 15, 2009 |
| Android Eclair | Eclair | 2.0 | October 27, 2009 |
| 2.0.1 | December 3, 2009 | ||
| 2.1 | January 11, 2010[9] | ||
| Android Froyo | Froyo | 2.2 – 2.2.3 | May 20, 2010 |
| Android Gingerbread | Gingerbread | 2.3 – 2.3.2 | December 6, 2010 |
| 2.3.3 – 2.3.7 | February 9, 2011 | ||
| Android Honeycomb | Honeycomb | 3.0 | February 22, 2011 |
| 3.1 | May 10, 2011 | ||
| 3.2 – 3.2.6 | July 15, 2011 | ||
| Android Ice Cream Sandwich | Ice Cream Sandwich | 4.0 – 4.0.2 | October 18, 2011 |
| 4.0.3 – 4.0.4 | December 16, 2011 | ||
| Android Jelly Bean | Jelly Bean | 4.1 – 4.1.2 | July 9, 2012 |
| 4.2 – 4.2.2 | November 13, 2012 | ||
| 4.3 – 4.3.1 | July 24, 2013 | ||
| Android KitKat | Key Lime Pie | 4.4 – 4.4.4 | October 31, 2013 |
| 4.4W – 4.4W.2 | June 25, 2014 | ||
| Android Lollipop | Lemon Meringue Pie | 5.0 – 5.0.2 | November 12, 2014 |
| 5.1 – 5.1.1 | March 9, 2015 | ||
| Android Marshmallow | Macadamia Nut Cookie | 6.0 – 6.0.1 | October 5, 2015 |
| Android Nougat | New York Cheesecake | 7.0 | August 22, 2016 |
| 7.1 – 7.1.2 | October 4, 2016 | ||
| Android Oreo | Oatmeal Cookie | 8.0 | August 21, 2017 |
| 8.1 | December 5, 2017 | ||
| Android Pie | Pistachio Ice Cream[10] | 9 | August 6, 2018 |
| Android 10 | Quince Tart[11] | 10 | September 3, 2019 |
| Android 11 | Red Velvet Cake[11] | 11 | September 8, 2020 |
| Android 12 | Snow Cone | 12 | October 19, 2021 |
| Android 12L | Snow Cone v2 | 12.1[a] | March 7, 2022 |
| Android 13 | Tiramisu | 13 | August 15, 2022 |
| Android 14 | Upside Down Cake[14] | 14 | October 4, 2023 |
| Android 15 | Vanilla Ice Cream[15] | 15 | September 3, 2024 |
| Android 16 | Baklava | 16 | November 19, 2024 |
Legend: Old version, not maintained Old version, still maintained Latest version Latest preview version | |||
- Notes
Related pages
changeReferences
change- ↑ "Memory Safe Languages in Android 13".
- ↑ García, Érika (September 2021). "Google bans 32-bit apps from Android for good". Retrieved November 22, 2021.
- ↑ "32-bits is dead: Here's what it means for Android, Apple, and more". Android Authority. June 12, 2021. Retrieved November 22, 2021.
- ↑ "Google Play services". Google Developers.
- ↑ "There Are Now 1.3 Million Android Device Activations Per Day". TechCrunch. September 5, 2012.
- ↑ "Application Fundamentals". Android Developers.
- ↑ "Number of apps on Android Devices". statista. Retrieved November 17, 2018.
- ↑ "Codenames, Tags, and Build Numbers". Android Open Source Project. Google. Archived from the original on November 24, 2020. Retrieved June 1, 2022.
- ↑ "Android 2.1 SDK". Archived from the original on January 14, 2024. Retrieved May 19, 2021.
- ↑ Parker, Steven. "Android P being referred to as 'Pistachio Ice Cream' internally at Google". Neowin. Neowin LLC. Archived from the original on January 14, 2024. Retrieved December 15, 2021.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 Gartenberg, Chaim (July 23, 2020). "Even Android 11 is cake". The Verge. Vox Media, LLC. Archived from the original on December 17, 2022. Retrieved July 27, 2021.
Burke revealed last year that Android Q had been internally known as "Quince Tart"
- ↑ "Factory Images for Nexus and Pixel Devices". Google Developers. Archived from the original on April 4, 2017. Retrieved March 31, 2022.
- ↑ Amadeo, Ron (March 7, 2022). "Android 12L is official as "Android 12.1," rolling out now to Pixel phones". Ars Technica. Archived from the original on March 7, 2022. Retrieved March 8, 2023.
- ↑ Bradshaw, Kyle (April 22, 2022). "Android 14 gets official internal codename… Upside Down Cake". 9to5Google. Archived from the original on January 14, 2024. Retrieved October 5, 2022.
- ↑ Cantisano, Timi (March 3, 2023). "Android 15 dessert-themed codename revealed as 'Vanilla Ice Cream'". XDA Developers. Retrieved April 27, 2023.
Other websites
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