The changing innovations of Google’s Android OS

1. The Google’s Android OS changing innovations of How did Android come into existence? Android Inc. was founded jointly by Andy Rubin, Rich Miner, Nick Sears and Chris White in Palo Alto, California, USA in October 2003 with a motive to develop an advanced OS for digital cameras. They aimed to turn digital cameras into smart devices. But, by the declining market interest in digital cameras, Android Inc. shifted its focus from developing OS for cameras to developing OS for handsets and mobiles to stand against their rival Symbian and Microsoft Windows Mobile. Takeover by Google The real story for Android Inc. starts in August 2005 when ​Google acquired it​. The founders continued developing new Operating System (OS) under the new owners in Google by using Linux as the foundation of the Android OS launched in November, 2007. The robotic android logo was designed in 2007 by Google’s graphic designer Irina Blok. The robot resembles a combination of a human and a green bug.

2. Now, we shall dive deeper into exploring the evolution of Android through its version timelines which kept updating day in and day out over the years. Android Over the years The journey of Android has been quite fascinating over the years. Starting from the launch of the first android based smartphone the OS has completely revolutionized the mobile app development world which has now reached to new heights of custom app development developed by private developers. Android development is open to everyone app developers, smartphone and tablet makers and web designers to create, launch, test, and dream about groundbreaking mobile apps. Some of the major Android updates are as below. Android 1.0 Astro Boy (launched in 2008) Launched in September 2008 this was the very first commercial version of Android. It unveiled some basic services like an internet browser, mobile camera, Google apps and an online calendar. The phone had integrated GPS and Bluetooth services. With no paid applications Android Market – a centralized store for all android mobile applications began with 35 mobile applications.

3. Android 1.5 Cupcake (launched in 2009) The next version after ‘Astro Boy’ was ‘Cupcake’ launched in February 2009. It is the version in which Google launched its first ‘On-Screen Keyboard’. Other features like autorotations, animated skin transitions were also added.

4. Android 1.6 Donut (launched in 2009) The ‘Donut’ update is believed to have bought ​Android to millions having launched in September 2009. It was able to run on multiple screen resolutions, had an advanced battery usage indicator and provided fast access to gallery and camera alongwith some major bug fixes.

5. Android 2.0 Éclair (launched in 2009) Android’s second major release was the ‘Éclair’ version launched in October 2009. This version had a collection of animated home screen background images and live wallpapers alongwith enhanced browser support and multiple accounts email and contacts synchronization. Android 2.2 Froyo (launched in 2010) Launched in May 2010 Froyo was the next major release after Éclair. Froyo came in with enhanced speed and performance, support for Adobe Flash Player, and many other USB Tethering and Wifi hotspot functionalities.

6. Android 2.3 Gingerbread (launched in 2010) This update was launched in the final month of 2010 i.e. December. This update came with a new brand User Interface (UI) which focused more on the user convenience rather than speed. Features like a new keyboard for faster text input, one-touch word selection, copy and pasting of content, internet calling, Near Field Communication (NFC) and many more were introduced.

7. Android 3.0 Honeycomb (launched in 2011) As, Android’s first tablet-oriented update, ‘Honeycomb’ was launched in February 2011. Specially optimized for smart devices with larger screen sizes it incorporated holographic UI technology. With multicore processors integrated to Android, this update laid the path for intense Android devices for the future. This version was further released in May 2011 and brought USB connectivity and widgets on the home screen. The version after this Android 3.2 provided special support to Google TV.

8. Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich (launched in 2011) Floated in October 2011 this update made Roboto the default font for Android. Moreover, Face Unlock a feature that we see in devices these days was bought in the front through this update. Android 4.1 Jelly Bean (launched in 2012) After ‘Ice – Cream Sandwich’, Android’s ‘Jelly Bean’ update was launched in July 2012. It had a faster, smoother and responsive UI vision which reunited smartphones and tablets. This launch was succeeded by Android 4.2 and 4.3 in October 2012 and July 2013. Android 4.4 KitKat (launched in 2013) The KitKat OS was launched in October 2013 after seeking permission from Nestle to use their chocolate bar’s name for this update. KitKat did not have many features in number but it could run on smartphones even with 512 MB of RAM. Additionally, it bought new versions of Google Hangouts and supported SMS/MMS messaging. Android 5.0 Lollipop (launched in 2014) Based on the idea of a minimalistic theme and material design, Android Lollipop proved to be a gamechanger which changed the overall look and design of the operating system, launched in November 2014. Also, this update

9. changed how we see notifications on our phone by enabling them even in off-screen mode. Following that, the 5.1 update made many smaller changes like dual – sim support on devices, device protection and HD quality voice calls to support the users. Google’s Nexus 6 smartphones and Nexus 9 tablets were the first to have Lollipop. Android 6.0 Marshmallow (launched in 2015) The name ‘Macademia Nut Cookie’ was used before ‘Marshmallow’ for this update launched in October 2015. ‘Now on Tap’ feature was considered to be the most attractive feature alongside the making Android truly secure by introducing a biometric ‘Fingerprint Authentication’ which is popularly known as ‘Touch ID’ or ‘Fingerprint Unlock’ these days. Android 7.0 Nougat (launched in 2016) With Beta version launched in March 2016 and formal version launched in August 2016, Nougat had very limited features updated like replying messages in notifications alongwith a split-screen mode for Android devices launched for the very first time to enable fast – switching between apps.

10. Android 8.0 Oreo (launched in 2017) The update was declared in March 2017, but the name Oreo was confirmed in August 2017 upon its official launch. Google Oreo provided the user with more control over notifications by giving them the ability to turn them on and off. Many visual changes like support for picture – in – picture mode, autofill API’s and snoozing notifications had also been implemented. Android 9.0 Pie (launched in 2018) With the developer preview version launched in March 2018, Android 9.0 got its official name in August, 2018 when it was launched. This was the 10​th​-anniversary Android-based smartphones. Traditional navigation buttons were replaced with a single home button, ‘Shush’ a feature which puts your phone on Do Not Disturb mode when you put your phone screen down on a flat surface, and ‘Digital Wellbeing’ which tells you how much do you use your phone are some of the notable features of this update.

11. Android 10 (launched in 2019) This version marked the real shift in Google’s Android version naming habits by its launch in September 2019. It is the first Android version launched without a chocolaty dessert – theme named but is known by simply a number the reason for this according to Google is it makes it easy to remember. This update includes a wide – dark theme to limit distractions, making the theme easier and reducing battery life. The ‘Dark Mode’ we see on all devices today was launched in this update. Android 11 (launched in 2020) This is the latest version of Android launched in September 2020. It includes smart home control toggles, a separate conversation section for notifications, brands new screen recording feature with audio recording enabled, updated privacy features which prevent apps from constantly accessing your data and effortlessly controlled audio and media output for your smartphone and tablet device as its new and updated features.

12. Future of Android… With custom android app development becoming the talk of the town the future of Android seems optimistic with it’s 75% market share worldwide in the mobile app industry. We hope that this article helped you understand the history and evolution of the android technology. For, more updates sign up! Reference Link: https://softwaredevelopmentforhealthcare.wordpress.com/2021/02/15/the-changing-innovatio ns-of-googles-android-os/