Everyone must have a smart device in their trouser pocket. Smartphone users alone are estimated to have almost 4 billion active devices per 2022. But as we know, the smartphone camp itself is divided into 2, namely Android and iOS.
Indeed, both have advantages over the other. But when it comes to whose history is the longest, of course the Android OS comes first. For those who don't know, it turns out that the history of this OS has been going on for quite a long time from its inception until now, which has reached version 13. Curious? Keep following this article.
History of Android from the Beginning to the Present
Android cellphones were introduced to the public for the first time at the end of 2007 and were present on the HTC Dream smartphone in 2008. However, the history of the founding of a company called Android Inc. it actually started in 2003.
This company is based in Palo Alto, California USA and was founded by 4 people named Andy Rubin, Rich Miner, Nick Sears, Chris White. At first Andy wanted to create an os for cellphones that could determine the location and preferences of its users. Although their initial intention was to create it as an os for digital cameras.
Seeing the unpromising potential of the digital camera market. They also changed their minds and chose to develop the OS for smart phones such as rivals Symbian and Windows Mobile.
The company was later bought by Google in 2005 and became part of the Google project to what it is today. All key figures in the company including the four founders joined as part of the acquisition.
Android OS Version from Time to Time
Google is also serious about getting into the mobile realm and continuously making improvements to the operating system. In total there have been dozens if not dozens of versions that have been present annually since 2008.
Android 1.0 – 2.2
The first version, commonly known as Alpha, was present for the first time on the HTC Dream or HTC T1. A year later Google released version 1.1 and it was the last version that didn't have a codename as we know it.
Version 1.5 is the first time Google has used a sweets code name on their Android version. The choice of food used for this version is Cupcake. What was significant about this version was the use of the on screen keyboard as we know it today.
Six months later, in September 2009, version 1.6, Donut, was presented. This version provides support for CDMA networks and Wi-Fi technology. Version 2.0 Eclair provides support for Google Maps and Version 2.2 Froyo (Frozen Yoghurt) in 2010 added USB tethering and hotspot features. In this version also get support for Adobe Flash.
Android 2.3 – 4.0
Update 2.3 which has the name Gingerbread offers a more modern design change. At this time, support for NFC or Near Field Communication was added. Android started to get big changes since the release of 3.0 Honeycomb. This time, there is multitasking support and a more flexible UI, especially supporting notifications, a customizable homescreen, and widgets.
The next update in 2011 is usually known as ICS or Ice Cream Sandwich and increases the number to 4.0. Google made another change to their operating system UI and now it is cleaner and minimalistic. Various new features such as controlling music from the lockscreen page and face unlock were even present before their iPhone competitors.
Android 4.1 – 5.0
4.1 Jelly Bean was first introduced in 2012 and ran 3 versions up to 4.3. Broadly speaking, not many features have been added to this version, but only UI tuning and small feature additions here and there. Most of what changes behind the scenes and is not visible to the user, such as support for low level access, Bluetooth low energy, and support for multiple external input devices.
In 2013, Google collaborated with Nestle to release version 4.4 under the name KitKat. In this version, users are given the freedom to choose launchers and messaging applications such as messages.
The Lollipop 5.0 version was a major change to the UI and lasted through the next few versions. If previously they used the Holo design line, now Google is naming their new design line Material Design. The shape is cleaner and the dominant color is white and Google's 4 colors as a complement.
Android 6.0 – 9.0
Android M or Marshmallow 6.0 still carries the Material design line like Lollipop. This version supports modern features such as fingerprint unlock and USB type C embedded. Android Nougat version 7.0 introduces a sheet view for notifications. Marshmallow also introduced a doze system. This feature allows the smartphone to stop the background task if the cellphone has not been used for some time to save battery.
In Oreo 8.0 version in 2017, Google added new Bluetooth codecs aptX, AAC and LDAC natively. Various behind-the-scenes changes have also been implemented to save battery usage.
Android Pie version 9.0 introduces many new features such as support for theme customization, adding cutouts for notches, to navigation gestures. After the 10th version, Google has abandoned sweets and only uses Latin numerals to designate versions. This time Google added a dark mode and several security features such as location usage by applications which will be limited to those running in front only.
Android 10 – 13
Android 11 in 2020 adds a lot of features related to data security and privacy. Such as location tracking by applications, to permissions for microphones and cameras that only allow them to access the device once.
A year later, Android 12 arrived. This time, Google changed their design line, which had been used since the Lollipop version. This time they adopted Material You. This new design allows UI display such as Google's default color palette and applications to follow the color of the wallpaper used. Android also adds a contemporary feature that is owned by its competitor Apple, namely 3D Spatial Audio.
The latest version that is available as of now is Android 13. Still carrying the Material You design line, now Google is increasingly improving security features on Android. Apps must now request access to be able to send notifications. This version also features Bluetooth LC3 audio codec support.
So that's all the versions of Android from when it was first released until now. If you have a smartphone since using which version, bro? Or even use an Android emulator?
