Evolution of Android OS

Tech  Joke of the day:

There are 10 types of people in the world:
Those who understand Binary and those who do not.

Evolution of Android OS
From 2008 to 2014

This year our favorite Mobile OS, Android, celebrated its 6th birthday.

Android has really come a long way since the initial release of the software in 2008 and recently, its popularity has increased- quickly catching up with Apple's iOS.

But really, how far has Android come in the six years that it has been available?

Android 1.0
 February, 2008

In 2008, Android was born.

The young OS was, in fact, quite limited.
For example, there was no Microsoft Exchange Server, and the Android market was populated with a shocking 35 apps at launch!
Besides this, however, the OS did have: Multi-tasking capabilities, integration with some awesome Google services such as G-mail, Maps and Calender.
Also, Android 1.0 came with YouTube built in along with the Amazon MP3 store and so the OS was off to a strong start.

Android 1.0

Android 1.5 (Cupcake)April, 2009

Android Cupcake was a firm re-fresh from its predecessor, 1.0.

 It had, firstly, a Camera app for the first time with a matching photo gallery and video mode.

The Android market was also updated with Browsing categories:

Apps, Games and Downloads.
Thirdly, a Universal search box was included in 1.5.
As you can see, after just over a year, Android was beginning to grow- in terms of features and popularity.

Android 1.6 (Donut)
October, 2009

Android Donut came with a few more notable features, including:
a virtual keyboard, home screen widgets and app organisation (folders).
You could also directly upload video content to YouTube or Picasa from your mobile device.

Android 2.0 (Eclair)
January, 2010

Android 2.0 was the biggest update since the release of 1.0 two years previously.
Now, Bluetooth 2.1 was included in Android, Keyboard improvements (adaptive dictionary),
There was also a "Quick Contact" pop-up widget that would launch communications with friends.
Exchange support was added, which allowed universal email inbox (previously restricted to G-mail).

HTC Hero, running Android 2.0.







Android 2.2 (Froyo)
May, 2010


Android Froyo was an all around faster OS, the Android Market was growing at an ever accelerating rate and users could now install applications to a SD card.
Adobe 10.1 was built into Froyo, USB tethering support was included and Microsoft Exchange support
(calender sync, remote wipe) 

Android 3.0 (Honeycomb)
February, 2011

Android Honeycomb was the first Android version that had support for 3D graphics.
Along side this, private browsing became available- a relief for teenagers I'm sure.
It also came with a redesigned user interface that included program thumbnails and also, perhaps one of the most exciting features of Honeycomb, Google Talk- a video chatting service- was included.
It might just be me but does anyone else find it funny that shortly after Apple's FaceTime was unveiled, so was Google Talk?
I don't know.

As you can see, the UI of Android gets more beautiful every year.

Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich)
October, 2011

Approaching more recent times, Android unveiled Ice Cream Sandwich.
This OS was jam-packed with awesome features such as:
New G-mail UI, New Chrome Browser, Keyboard error correction, there was also a customizable lock screen.
With this, we saw a more advanced Swipe keyboard and improved copy, paste and voice integration.
Amazingly, a face unlock security feature was added (something Apple still haven't done) which could really maximize the security of your device.
You could hide unwanted App icons, too.

Once again, Android has copied Apple with one of their features.
You can now create app folders buy touching and dragging an app icon and hovering it over another app icon.
How naughty.

Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean)
July, 2012

In Jelly Bean, notifications became more interactive, voice search became accessible by swiping up from the bottom of the screen and the overall performance was much smoother- something Google called
"Project Butter".

Google Chrome became the default browser in Jelly Bean- giving users a better, more fluent browsing experience.
Contact photos became available in higher resolutions, though unnecessary- it was nice touch.

Google Play became updated with far better apps that took advantage of Android's amazing 3D capabilities.
Also, there were more UI tweaks that included resizable widgets and an all around, nicer look.

A much more smooth design was offered in Jelly Bean.








Android 4.4 (KitKat)October, 2013

After having waited over a year, KitKat was launched.
The OS offered a huge UI update- for Nexus Devices, especially.
Translucent (*Cough* iOS 7 *Cough*) status bars were added to the UI of Android.
The size of the OS could be shrunken to enable KitKat to run on lower-end devices that lacked a huge amount of RAM that is obviously needed to sustain such an OS.










Android 5.0 (Lolipop)
October, 2014

Android Lolipop, at the time of me writing this, was unveiled just under three weeks ago.
There were lots of speculations about the name of the OS: Lemon Meringue Pie or Lolipop?
Lolipop.

This new OS came with a complete redesign- called Material.
And finally, after five years of waiting, notifications were made available on the home screen. Yey!
Battery save mode was included into Lolipop- it basically does the same thing as Apple's airplane mode.

Finally, a new smart lock unlocks devices with a Bluetooth device or NFC tag.






The new UI of Lolipop looks sweet!

And so, we have reached the end of our travel into the past.

The new Android Lolipop certainly looks like the best looking mobile OS I have seen so far- probably because it reseembles iOS 8.

A big thank you to CNET, for being a source of information for this blog.

If you have any questions about anything that you have read above, please contact me on:

ryantitmuss0@gmail.com

Ryan Titmuss