From the launch of its first version in 2008 till now, Android has evolved, improved and transformed a lot and with 85% marketshare, it is currently dominating the Smartphone market.

1. HISTORY OF ANDROID OS:
FROM 1.0 TO 9.0 PIE
A DETAILED HISTORY OF ANDROID

2. ANDROID – MOST POPULAR MOBILE OS
• In Oct, 2003, the company Android Inc. was founded in California. In 2005,
Android was acquired by Google. The decision was made to use Linux as
the basis for the Android OS and Android was offered to third-party mobile
phone manufacturers for free.
• Android phone was officially launched first time about 10 years ago. Soon
after the launch of Android 1.0, it has become the most popular OS in the
world.
• Right now Android is the most popular mobile OS with over 85%
marketshare.
• People use Android smartphones and many Android apps on daily basis to
do so many of their everyday tasks.

3. NAMING ANDROID ON SWEET CODE
NAMES
• Google launched the beta version of Android 1.0 for developers on Nov 5,
2007. In Sept, 2008, the very first Android smartphone was announced
known as HTC Dream. Google has integrated many of its other products
and services in it including Google Maps, YouTube, Google search engine
and an HTML browser. It also had the first version of the App Store that
would have dozens of unique Android applications.
• Most Android releases have candy or dessert-style code names.
• Google said, “Since these devices make our lives so sweet, each Android
version is named after a dessert.”

4. DIFFERENT VERSIONS OF ANDROID LAUNCHED
BY GOOGLE:
ANDROID 1.5 CUPCAKE (APRIL 2009)
The first official public code name for Android appeared in version 1.5
Cupcake that was released in April 2009. It added many new features
and improvements compared to the first two public versions, including
the ability to upload videos to YouTube, a way for a phone’s screen
display to automatically rotate to the right positions, and support for
third-party keyboards. Some of the phones that were released with
Cupcake installed out of the box included the first Samsung Galaxy
phone, along with the HTC Hero.

5. ANDROID 1.6 DONUT (SEPT 2009)
Google quickly launched Android 1.6 Donut in Sept 2009. It has support
for carriers that used CDMA based networks. This made Android
phones to be sold by all carriers around the world. It also had features
like Quick Search Box, quick toggling between the Camera, Camcorder
and Gallery to streamline the media-capture experience. Donut also
introduced the Power Control Widget for managing Wi-Fi, GPS and
Bluetooth etc. One of the phones that was sold with Donut installed was
Dell Streak which had a 5-inch screen which was huge for that days.

6. ANDROID 2.0-2.1 ÉCLAIR (OCT 2009)
In Oct. 2009, about a year after the launch of Android 1.0, Google
released version 2.0 of the OS, with the official code name Éclair.
This version had support for adding text-to-speech and it also
introduced live wallpapers, multiple account support and Google
Maps navigation, among many other new features and
improvements. Motorola Droid was the first phone which included
Android 2.0 out of the box. This was also the first Android based
phone which was sold by Verizon Wireless.

7. ANDROID 2.2 FROYO (MAY 2010)
Android 2.2 Froyo which was short for Frozen Yogurt was launched in
May 2010. Smartphones which have installed Froyo, could take many
new features like Wi-Fi mobile hotspot functions, flash support, push
notifications via Android Cloud to Device Messaging service etc. The
first smartphone Google’s Nexus One was launched with Android 2.1
out of the box earlier in 2010 but it quickly got an update to Froyo later
that year. This was a new beginning for Google as it started working
more closer with hardware manufacturer HTC to use pure Android.

8. ANDROID 2.3 GINGERBREAD (SEPT 2010)
Android 2.3 Gingerbread was launched in Sept 2010. It is right now the oldest
version of the OS that Google supports. But in Sept 2017, Google said that
Gingerbread is used only in 0.6 percent of all Android devices right now. This
OS received a user interface refresh under Gingerbread. It also added support
for using near field communication (NFC) functions for smartphones which
had the required hardware available. Nexus 5 was the first phone which had
Gingerbread and NFC hardware. It was co-developed by Google and
Samsung. Gingerbread is also credited to start the selfie trend as it had
support for multiple cameras and video chat support within Google Talk.

9. ANDROID 3.0 HONEYCOMB (FEB 2011)
This Android version is an odd one from all others as it was released by
Google for installation only on tablets and other mobile devices with larger
displays than current smartphones. First time it was launched in Feb 2011
along with the first Motorola Xoom Tablet and had features like redesigned UI
specifically for large screens, along with a notification bar at the bottom of the
tablet’s display. Honeycomb was launched specially with features that could
not be handled by smaller displays. It was also in answer to the 2010 release
of Apple’s iPad. But later on Honeycomb version was not needed as Google
migrated most of its features to its next major 4.0 version i.e. ice Cream
Sandwich.

10. ANDROID 4.0 ICE CREAM SANDWICH (OCT
2011)
Ice Cream Sandwich version of Android was released in Oct 2011. It had many new
features for users. It combined many of the features of the tablet only Honeycomb
version with the smartphone oriented Gingerbread. It had a favorites tray on the home
screen along with the first support for unlocking a phone by using its camera by taking
a picture of its owner’s face. This biometric sign in support has been evolving since
then and it is now very popular among users. Google says right now only 0.7 percent
of all Android devices are running some version of Android 4.0 which is slightly better
than Gingerbread. This version has support for all on-screen buttons, browser tabs,
swipe gestures to dismiss notifications and ability to monitor your data usage over
mobile and Wi-Fi, which are quite useful features.

11. ANDROID 4.1-4.3 JELLY BEAN (JUNE 2012)
Android Jelly Bean version was launched in June 2012 first time with the launch of
Android 4.1. After that Google quickly released versions 4.2 and 4.3 both under
the Jelly Bean name, in Oct 2012 and July 2013 respectively. These OS included
new features like new notification features that showed more content or action
buttons and support for Google’s Chrome web browser which was included in
Android 4.2. Google Now was now part of Search and “Project Butter” was started
to speed up animations and improve Android’s touch sensitivity. In Google I/O in
2012, Google distributed Nexus 7 tablets with Android 4.1 Jelly Bean as a gift. Still
so many people are using Android Jelly Bean powered smartphones i.e. it is being
used in 6.9% of all Android devices right now.

12. ANDROID 4.4 KITKAT (SEPT 2013)
Android 4.4 KitKat was officially launched in Sept 2013. Google contacted Nestle, the
creators of KitKat bar and asked them if they could use this name for Android 4.4.
Nestle agreed and they co-branded with Google. This was the first time when the
name of Android 4.4 is taken from a previously trademarked name. KitKat didn’t have
many new feature but it did have one great thing that helped a lot to expand the
overall Android market i.e. it was optimized to run on smartphones that had as little as
512 MB of RAM. This leads to phone makers installing this version of Android OS on
much cheaper handsets. Google Nexus 5 Smartphone was the first one to be
launched with Android 4.4. Although the KitKat was launched about 5 years ago but
still there are many devices which are using it now also. As per Google, about 15
percent of all the Android devices that are being used, are running on Android KitKat.

13. ANDROID 5.0 LOLLIPOP (2014)
Android 5.0 Lollipop was first launched in the fall of 2014. It had many improvements
in the area of overall look of the OS. It was the first version of Android which used
Google’s new Material Design Language, which made use of lighting and shadow
effects, among other things, to simulate a paper-like look for the Android user
interface. This UI of Lollipop had some more changes like a revamped navigation bar,
rich notifications for the lockscreen and many more. The Android 5.1 update brought
few more changes like official support for dual-SIM, HD voice calls and device
protection to keep thieves keep out of your phone even after a factory reset. Google’s
Nexus 6 smartphone and Nexus 9 tablet were the first devices to have a Lollipop
installed. Right now, Android 5.0 is being used by about 29% of all the Android devices
in use today.

14. ANDROID 6.0 MARSHMALLOW (2015)
Android 6.0 Marshmallow was released in the fall of 2015. It has many
improvements regarding the security and app permissions. It also included
features like new vertically scrolling app drawer, along with Google Now on
Tap, native support for fingerprint biometric unlocking of a smartphone, USB
Type-C support, the introduction of Android Pay and more. Google’s Nexus
6P and Nexus 5X smartphones and Pixel C tablets were first devices which
were based on Marshmallow. Right now Marshmallow OS is being used in
about 32 percent of all Android based devices in the world and it is right now
the most used Android OS.

15. ANDROID 7.0 NOUGAT (2016)
Android 7.0 Nougat operating system was launched in the fall of 2016. Android N as it
was earlier called or Android Nougat had many new features like better multi-tasking
functions for the growing number of smartphones that have large displays such as split
screen mode, also quick switching between apps. Google had made many big
changes internally too like switching to a new JIT compiler to speed up apps,
supported the Vulkan API for faster 3D rendering and enabled OEMs to support its
DayDream Virtual Reality platform. With this release, Google also made a big push
into the premium smartphone market. Google’s own smartphones – The Pixel and
Pixel XL along with LG V20 were launched with Nougat pre-installed. Android Nougat
is currently being used by around 15 % of all the Android devices.

16. ANDROID 8.0 OREO (MARCH 2017)
Google officially announced the release of the first developer preview of Android O or
Android 8.0 in March 2017. In August, Google confirmed that Oreo would be the public
name for Android 8.0. After Android KitKat, it was second time that Google used a
trademarked name for Android as Oreo is owned by Nabisco. Android Oreo had many
useful features like it had lots of visual changes to the Settings menu, along with
native support for picture-in-picture mode, new autofill APIs for better management of
passwords and fill data, notification channels, and more. We can download Android
Oreo via Google’s Android Open Source Project and it is also available as as update
for Google’s older Nexus and Pixel devices which are supported. Android Oreo also
comes with Google’s Pixel 2 and other new smartphones in the market.

17. ANDROID 9.0 PIE (MARCH 2018)
Google launched the first developer preview of the Android 9.0 in March 2018. In August,
Google officially launched the final version of Android 9.0 and named it Pie. It has many
new features and changes. One feature is the replacement of traditional navigation buttons
by one elongated button in the center which is new home button. Now swiping up from that
button brings up overview with your most recently used apps, a search bar and 5 app
suggestions at the bottom. When you swipe left then you will see all your recently opened
apps. You can also drag the home button to the right to quickly scroll your apps. Android
9.0 Pie also has some features to help extend your smartphone’s battery life and to predict
which apps you will use now and which apps you won’t use soon, by using in-device
machine learning technology. Pie also has a feature called Shush which automatically puts
your phone in Do Not Disturb mode when you turn your phone screen down on a flat
surface. It also has slices which provides a smaller version of an installed app inside
Google Search and offers some app functions without opening the full application. Android
9.0 Pie is available on Google’s Pixel Phones and soon other Android smartphone
manufacturers will also start using it as an Android platform in their devices.

18. FINALLY
From the launch of its first version in 2008 till now, Android has evolved, improved and
transformed a lot and with 85% marketshare, it is currently dominating the
Smartphone market. Android OS is being installed on very cheap phones as well as
very expensive premium phones like Samsung Galaxy S8. Hence it offers lots of
flexibility to Android OS users and the device manufacturers. Google consistently
releases its yearly updates which will make sure that Android will remain the leader in
this field for the years to come. One thing which has to be seen is that whether Google
will continue to use sweet candy and dessert names for its official code names for
future versions of Android or it will switch over to some other category. This will be
interesting to see.

19. ABOUT US
We are Xicom Technologies, a mobile app development, web
development and software development company having offices in US,
India and Dubai. We offer high quality Android App development and
iOS app development services to our small and large clients from
across the world - Hire Android App Developer.

20. CONTACT US
Website: - www.xicom.biz