What is Android, history and future

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What is Android ? | Full Information

What is Android, you probably do not need to ask, Android phones are available in every house in India today, Android has made itself a very important mobile platform in the whole world by improving itself in a very short time. Although many people will know about what is Android and what are its benefits, but there are many people who are completely new in the world of Android and who have no idea about it. In this case, this article will prove to be very beneficial for those people, as well as those who have a little knowledge, they will also get to learn something new.

What is Android ?

Android is not a phone, nor is it an application, it is an operating system. If I say this in a simple language, linux is an operating system that is used in the main service and desktop computers, then Android is just a version of linux that is built after a lot of modifications yes but it related.

android is an operating system that was designed keeping the mobile in view. So that all the functions and applications of the phone can be easily run in it. Whatever you see in the phone’s display are all part of the operating system. Whenever you receive a call text message or email, your OS processes it and presents it to you in a readable format.

Android OS has been divided into many versions and different numbers have been given according to their future, operation, stability. So if you have never heard of such as Android Lollipop, Marshmallow, then let me tell you that it is the name of different versions of all the Android OS or operating system.

History of android

The original creator of Android is Andy Rubin, who was bought by Google in 2005 and after that he was made the head of Android development. Google bought Android because they felt that android is a very new and interesting concept with the help of which it Powerful but freaky operating system can be made and which later proved to be true, with the help of Android, Google got a good reach of the younger audience and with this, very good Android employees also joined Google. In March 2013, Andy Rubin decided to leave the company and pledged to work on his second project, but still did not see any ups and downs in Android’s status and filled Andy Rubin’s vacant space with Sundar Pichai Given. Before Pichai, who is a resident of India, he used to be the head of chrome os. And Google used their experiences and experience well in these new projects.

Android versions 1.0

Android made its official public debut in 2008 with Android 1.0 — a release so ancient it didn’t even have a cute codename.

Things were pretty basic back then, but the software did include a suite of early Google apps like Gmail, Maps, Calendar, and YouTube, all of which were integrated into the operating system — a stark contrast to the more easily updatable standalone-app model employed today.

Android version 1.5: Cupcake

With early 2009’s Android 1.5 Cupcake release, the tradition of Android version names was born. Cupcake introduced numerous refinements to the Android interface, including the first on-screen keyboard — something that’d be necessary as phones moved away from the once-ubiquitous physical keyboard model.

Cupcake also brought about the framework for third-party app widgets, which would quickly turn into one of Android’s most distinguishing elements, and it provided the platform’s first-ever option for video recording.

Android version 1.6: Donut

Android 1.6, Donut, rolled into the world in the fall of 2009. Donut filled in some important holes in Android’s center, including the ability for the OS to operate on a variety of different screen sizes and resolutions — a factor that’d be critical in the years to come. It also added support for CDMA networks like Verizon, which would play a key role in Android’s imminent explosion.

Android versions 2.1: Eclair

Keeping up the breakneck release pace of Android’s early years, Android 2.0 Eclair, emerged just six weeks after Donut; its “point-one” update, also called Eclair, came out a couple months later. Eclair was the first Android release to enter mainstream consciousness thanks to the original Motorola Droid phone and the massive Verizon-led marketing campaign surrounding it.

Android version 2.3 Froyo

Just four months after Android 2.1 arrived, Google served up Android 2.2, Froyo, which revolved largely around under-the-hood performance improvements.

Froyo did deliver some important front-facing features, though, including the addition of the now-standard dock at the bottom of the home screen as well as the first incarnation of Voice Actions, which allowed you to perform basic functions like getting directions and making notes by tapping an icon and then speaking a command.

Android version 2.3: Gingerbread

Android’s first true visual identity started coming into focus with 2010’s Gingerbread release. Bright green had long been the color of Android’s robot mascot, and with Gingerbread, it became an integral part of the operating system’s appearance. Black and green seeped all over the UI as Android started its slow march toward distinctive design.

Android version 4.0: Ice Cream Sandwich

With Honeycomb acting as the bridge from old to new, Ice Cream Sandwich — also released in 2011 — served as the platform’s official entry into the era of modern design. The release refined the visual concepts introduced with Honeycomb and reunited tablets and phones with a single, unified UI vision.

ICS dropped much of Honeycomb’s “holographic” appearance but kept its use of blue as a system-wide highlight. And it carried over core system elements like on-screen buttons and a card-like appearance for app-switching.

Android version 4.4: KitKat

Late-2013’s KitKat release marked the end of Android’s dark era, as the blacks of Gingerbread and the blues of Honeycomb finally made their way out of the operating system. Lighter backgrounds and more neutral highlights took their places, with a transparent status bar and white icons giving the OS a more contemporary appearance.

Android 4.4 also saw the first version of “OK, Google” support — but in KitKat, the hands-free activation prompt worked only when your screen was already on and you were either at your home screen or inside the Google app.

Android versions 5.0 and 5.1: Lollipop

Google essentially reinvented Android — again — with its Android 5.0 Lollipop release in the fall of 2014. Lollipop launched the still-present-today Material Design standard, which brought a whole new look that extended across all of Android, its apps and even other Google products.

The card-based concept that had been scattered throughout Android became a core UI pattern — one that would guide the appearance of everything from notifications, which now showed up on the lock screen for at-a-glance access, to the Recent Apps list, which took on an unabashedly card-based appearance.

Android version 6.0: Marshmallow

In the grand scheme of things, 2015’s Marshmallow was a fairly minor Android release — one that seemed more like a 0.1-level update than anything deserving of a full number bump. But it started the trend of Google releasing one major Android version per year and that version always receiving its own whole number.

Marshmallow’s most attention-grabbing element was a screen-search feature called Now On Tap — something that, as I said at the time, had tons of potential that wasn’t fully tapped. Google never quite perfected the system and ended up quietly retiring its brand and moving it out of the forefront the following year.

Android versions 7.0 and 7.1: Nougat

Google’s 2016 Android Nougat releases provided Android with a native split-screen mode, a new bundled-by-app system for organizing notifications, and a Data Saver feature. Nougat added some smaller but still significant features, too, like an Alt-Tab-like shortcut for snapping between apps.

Perhaps most pivotal among Nougat’s enhancements, however, was the launch of the Google Assistant — which came alongside the announcement of Google’s first fully self-made phone, the Pixel, about two months after Nougat’s debut. The Assistant would go on to become a critical component of Android and most other Google products and is arguably the company’s foremost effort today.