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14,416 'Android' stories May 2011 - August 2015
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Breaking news for Android. Get the latest on apps, carriers, devices, and more!

Android is Google’s mobile operating system, launched in September 2008, although its history technically began with the release of the Android alpha in November 2007. To this day, Android powers the majority of the world’s smartphones and comes in several different flavors across many phone makers.

Table of contents

What is Android?

Android Inc.

Android, before it was Android, was a company called Android Inc. That company was founded in Palo Alto, California, in 2003 by a crew of four: Andy Rubin, Rich Miner, Nick Sears, and Chris White. The company and its project was acquired by Google in 2005 for a sum of more than $50 million, although the exact number is unknown. The company’s founders joined Google as part of the deal.

In its infancy, Android was an operating system built not for touch screen smartphones like the iPhone, but rather BlackBerry-like devices with physical keyboards. It’s well documented that after Apple shocked the world with the iPhone, ahead of its nearest competition by at least a couple years, Google and Android Inc. had to go back to the drawing board to build something competitive.

Adoption by third-party makers

It didn’t take long after the launch of the iPhone for various manufacturers to enter the market with their alternatives — and Google’s Android immediately became the obvious platform of choice for just about everyone except Microsoft. HTC was the first manufacturer on board, and introduced the T-Mobile G1 running Android in September 2008. Soon after, HTC, Motorola, Samsung, and carriers like Sprint and T-Mobile jumped on board to form the Open Handset Alliance.

Android makers across the world

Iconic Android handsets

There have been thousands of Android phones released since Android’s inception, but some have been more important to the platform’s history than others. There was the original T-Mobile G1, as mentioned, but there was also the HTC One Google Play Edition, Moto G, Samsung Galaxy S4, and others. Some of the most iconic Android handsets include:

  • HTC G1
  • HTC Nexus One
  • Samsung Galaxy S, S2, S3, S4, and their successors
  • HTC Incredible S
  • Samsung Nexus S
  • Samsung Galaxy Nexus
  • Samsung Galaxy Note
  • Nokia 8
  • BlackBerry KeyOne
  • Google Pixel and its successors

In more modern times, there are several Android smartphones makers that popped up across various niches and in several international markets. Huawei is a dominant Android maker in China and many European markets, while Samsung is by far the most popular maker in the United States by far — effectively creating a duopoly with Apple. Today, there are dozens of major device makers contributing to the Android ecosystem.

Full list of Android OEMs

History of major Android versions

Android has seen countless software revisions over the course of its life, but in modern times the OS usually sees a major release on an annual cadence. In the earlier days, Google famously gave its major software releases dessert-themed codenames, but retired that practice in 2019 with the release of Android 10.

VersionNameReleaseDevices
2.3GingerbreadFebruary 9, 2011Nexus S
4.0Ice Cream SandwichOctober 19, 2011Galaxy Nexus
4.1Jelly BeanJuly 9, 2012Nexus 7
4.2Jelly BeanNovember 13, 2012Nexus 4, 10
4.3Jelly BeanJuly 24, 2013Nexus 7 (2013)
4.4KitKatOctober 31, 2013Nexus 5
5.0LollipopNovember 3, 2014Nexus 6, 9
5.1LollipopMarch 9, 2015Android One
6.0MarshmallowOctober 5, 2015Nexus 5X, 6P
7.0NougatAugust 22, 2016Nexus 5X, 6P
7.1NougatOctober 4, 2016Pixel, Pixel XL
8.0OreoAugust 21, 2017Pixel, Pixel XL
8.1OreoDecember 5, 2017Pixel, Pixel XL
9PieAugust 6, 2018Pixel 2, Pixel 2 XL
1010September 3, 2019Pixel 3, 3a
1111September 8, 2020Pixel 4

List of major Android OS platforms

While Android proper is certainly the most widespread of Google’s Android operating systems, the company has also launched many offshoots of the main OS over the years. There’s Android Auto, Android Wear (now Wear OS), Android TV (now rebranded to Google TV), as well as versions of Android built for tablets and Android Things (now defunct).

Google Docs & Sheets for Android learn a few new useful tricks

Avatar for Tom Maxwell Aug 20 2015 - 8:27 am PT
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Update: This post has been updated to include an APKMirror link to the Docs update which includes Print Layout.

Google Docs and Sheets, two of products that make up Google’s suite of online productivity tools, have received some small updates on Android that will come in handy for mobile warriors (sorry, had to say it).

Let’s start with Docs. Now from the overflow menu of a document you’ll find a new Print Layout option that, when selected, will show you a fully paginated (each page labeled with its order in the document), read-only version of your document. This is what your document will look like printed on paper. Print Layout will continue to update in real-time as collaborators make changes. The ability to edit from within the Print Layout view will come in the future.

The other new updates today come for Google Sheets. The first is a new “intuitive keyboard functionality.” Now when you tap a cell in a Sheets spreadsheet, either the alphabetic or numeric will open depending on which type of characters are in the cell. Tap a cell with only numbers in it, Sheets will open the numeric keypad so you don’t have to make another tap to switch to it. Nice touch.

The final update to hit Sheets is autofill. As you can see in the GIF above, autofill makes it easy to complete a pattern without the tedium of going cell-by-cell and doing it yourself. Select the data you want to repeat and drag to the cells you’d like to repeat it in, and Sheets will fill in the cells using the pattern of your selected data.

The latter two updates for Sheets can be found in the latest update to the app for Android in Google Play, while an APK download of Docs including Print Layout can be found on APKMirror.

Bing app for Android updated, Marshmallow-like Now on Tap features in tow

Avatar for Cam Bunton Aug 20 2015 - 8:22 am PT
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As part of its Android M announcement, Google showed off its Now on Tap feature which will allow you to get contextual information within any app or screen just by pressing the home button for a few seconds. With Marshmallow not set to hit the public until later this year, it gave Microsoft a chance to beat Google to it. And it has done just that in its latest Bing app for Android.


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Gartner: Samsung sees worldwide sales fall 5.3% YOY, losing out to Apple & Chinese brands

Avatar for Ben Lovejoy Aug 20 2015 - 5:41 am PT
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New data from Gartner suggests that Samsung saw its worldwide sales fall by 5.3% year-on-year, its market share dropping from 26.2% in Q2 2014 to 21.9% in the same quarter this year. The company lost ground to both Apple and Chinese brands Huawei and Xiaomi.

Despite the launch of new S6 models, Samsung’s premium phones continued to be challenged by Apple’s large-screen iPhones. Samsung lost 4.3 percentage points in market share and declined 5.3 percent in unit sales in the second quarter of 2015.

Samsung was hit hardest by Huawei, which saw sales growth of 46.3%, followed by Apple, which increased its sales by 36% … 
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Verizon’s HTC One M9 is receiving Android 5.1 tomorrow

Avatar for Tom Maxwell Aug 19 2015 - 7:58 pm PT
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Good news for owners of the HTC One M9 on Verizon: Tomorrow the Taiwanese company is pushing Android Lollipop 5.1 to the flagship device. The news comes straight from Mo Versi, HTC’s VP of Product Management:

[tweet https://twitter.com/moversi/status/634105557234769920 align=’center’]

The update includes all the standard bug fixes and operating systems improvements that are baked into 5.1 — like improved Quick Settings and the new Device Protection tool — as well as a patch for the nasty Stagefright exploit. The 3 and 7 bands have also been activated, useful for when you find yourself roaming internationally.

Keep in mind that just because it begins rolling out over-the-air tomorrow, that doesn’t mean you’ll receive it right away. It could take a few days, and just to be sure the update hasn’t reached your device yet you can check for it manually by visiting Settings > About phone > System updates.

Google Photos for Android updated w/ ability to reorder photos in albums, trim videos, & more

Avatar for Chance Miller Aug 19 2015 - 6:18 pm PT
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Google today has announced a minor update to the Google Photos app on Android. The update, which is rolling out via the Play Store now, includes a couple of minor tweaks. First off, users now have the ability to reorder photos in albums. This means that albums can be ordered by whatever metric you want and are no longer restricted to Google’s automatic ordering.

Next up, the update also allows users to adjust video length in movies. This means that you can trim a video that you shot or uploaded to Google Photos to be shorter and include only the bits that you want to include.

Finally, the update also includes the ability to login to Google Photos from a Google+ Page, as well as a new timeline user interface while editing movies.

– Google Photos can recognize collages/animations that Google Camera creates
– You are now able to login to Google Photos as a Plus Page
– You can reorder content in albums
– You can now trim videos to be included in movies
– You can see a new timeline user interface for Movie editing

The update is rolling out now via the Play Store, but may take a while to hit your device. In the meantime, the most recent APK can be downloaded now from APKMirror.

Evan Blass shares new GIF showing Blackberry Venice in all its glory

Avatar for Tom Maxwell Aug 19 2015 - 4:07 pm PT
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After sharing this morning a render of the slide-out keyboard on what is ostensibly an Android-powered BlackBerry Venice, a device which the Ontario-based company has teased but made no mention of what OS its powered by, respected leaker Evan Blass is back with more goodies for the BB faithful. This time he has tweeted out a short video that shows off a render of the smartphone from all angles, with dramatic transitions and animations in tow.


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9to5Toys Lunch Break: Bose SoundSport In-Ear Headphones $79, 2TB portable hard drive $69, more

Avatar for Tom Maxwell Aug 19 2015 - 1:09 pm PT
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Keep up with the best gear and deals on the web by signing up for the 9to5Toys Newsletter. Also, be sure to check us out on: Twitter, RSS Feed, Facebook, Google+ and Safari push notifications.

TODAY’S CAN’T MISS DEALS:

 

Bose SoundSport In-Ear Headphones: $79.95 shipped with promo code EMCAWKX23 (Orig: $149.95) 

Sony (SRS-X3) Portable Bluetooth NFC Speaker: $71.99 shipped with promo code EXTRA (Orig: $149.99) 

Xbox One bundle + $50 Xbox gift card + Assassins Creed Unity: $399 shipped (Orig: $460+)

MORE DEALS FROM TODAY:

WD Elements 2TB USB 3.0 Portable Hard Drive: $69.99 shipped (Orig: $110) 

Kitchen/Home Oral-B 1000 electric toothbrush $29 (Orig. $60), Deep Sweep 5000 $113 (Orig. $133+), more

Amazon has the Oral-B PRO 1000 Electric Rechargeable Toothbrush Powered by Braun for $29 with free shipping for Prime members (free trial) or on orders over $35. Be sure to clip the $5 coupon on the listing page. That’s about 35% under the original listing, $5+ under the average selling price.

You’ll also still find the Oral-B Deep Sweep 5000 w/ Bluetooth Electric Toothbrush for $113 shipped with the $20 on-page coupon (Reg. $133+) and up to $30 off Oral-B toothbrushes, brush head re-fills and more.

DEALS STILL ALIVE:

NEW PRODUCTS & MORE:

 

Never lose your keys again with the new-and-improved Tile Bluetooth tracker

Train to be a Jedi with this oversized Yoda toy you will

The new AfterShokz headphones bring bone conduction audio to Apple Watch

Project Ara was delayed in part due to electropermanent magnets not holding together well (Updated)

Avatar for Tom Maxwell Aug 19 2015 - 12:22 pm PT
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Update: Project Ara has just tweeted that the strength of the magnetic forces holding together the Ara phone modules is not, in fact, a problem — apparently that was a joke. We’ve since heard that the strength of the magnetic fields produced by the magnets being used is approximately 30 Newton-meters, more than enough strength to hold a 30 gram electronic module in place. The comments about building a better attachment/detachment solution still seem to be true, however, with the tweet also saying that, “We have been configuring a new solution. It’s better too.” The team is also working on improved camera and battery modules.

Google’s Project Ara, the name of the modular smartphone system the company is building that would enable anyone to put together a phone on their own, has run into problems that have impacted its public test roll-out. The team behind it has been cheeky and somewhat coy in explaining why it has delayed a test launch of the unique system, but a concise message posted to Twitter today might at least partly explain the delay.


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AdSense v3.0 for Android receives Material Design treatment

Avatar for Tom Maxwell Aug 19 2015 - 11:06 am PT
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AdSense, Google’s publisher ad network used by millions of websites across the web, has just seen its Android app brought up to the company’s Material design language standards.

The app itself is mostly read-only, meaning you can quickly see data on your performance like how much money you’ve made from your ad placements over different time periods, but you cannot create new ads to place on your site from within the app. That would be cumbersome from a mobile device, though, as it requires copying and pasting HTML code into your site’s backend.

AdSense 3.0 also brings with it a new logo the company unveiled back in June. It looks like this:

And for the curious, here’s what the app looked like before today’s update:

The update hasn’t propagated completely in Google Play yet, but it’s available as a direct download through APKMirror right now.

Opinion: Fake HTC leak proves smartphones have become totally commoditized

Avatar for Tom Maxwell Aug 19 2015 - 9:43 am PT
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Vice president of market research firm IDC Bryan Ma speaking to CNBC last week after Samsung’s unveiling of the Galaxy Note 5 and Galaxy S6 Edge+:

If you look at the rest of the Android space, admittedly even the stuff they announced last night, it kinda just blends in with the rest of the market. I don’t know if there was that much that differentiated it from the rest of the pack aside from some minor features. And that’s what’s hitting other players like HTC… It’s really just the case where a lot of these products are becoming a lot of the same thing.

I’m not trying to be a negative nancy here, but to prove Ma’s statements here look no further than the “leak” of a purported new HTC phone that spread around the blogosphere this morning (mockup turned out to be one that popular leaker @evleaks created back in 2013). 6-inch display, 4GB RAM, 3,500mAh battery capacity, water-resistance, extremely thin bezel, similar rear design to every other flagship HTC smartphone from the past few years — nothing outlandish, nothing hard to believe.

And that’s kind of the point. It’s so easy to make up a spec sheet like this out of thin air, and there wouldn’t be many around to doubt that HTC might make another phone with just marginal changes. I could have made up a spec sheet in real-time as I wrote the post about it and mine would’ve been similar to the one that spread around this morning.

Not that this lack of annual user-facing revolutionary hardware changes is a bad thing….
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Skype for Android updated with personalized ringtones and easier photo sharing

Avatar for Ben Lovejoy Aug 19 2015 - 7:15 am PT
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Skype has updated its Android app to version 5.10, allowing you to create personalized ringtones for specific contacts, and making it easier to share photos.

Customize incoming call sounds for a contact by selecting a ringtone from your device. In a conversation, tap the lower right and select “Ringtone options” then “Set custom ringtone”.

Share photos from chats with other Skype friends and family who may not be in the conversation. Just tap and hold on the photo you want to share and select “Forward photo”.

Avatar colors for group chats have also been changed, to make it easier to tell your different conversations apart.

The last significant update was the visual refresh and performance boost last month. A week ago, the company made available to enterprise customers a preview of its updated Skype for Business Android app.

The new app is a free download from Google Play.

Photo: TNW

Google Now Launcher from Android Marshmallow APK available to download

Avatar for Cam Bunton Aug 19 2015 - 5:04 am PT
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Google finally announced the name to its upcoming mobile operating system a couple of days back. Android 6.0 will officially be dubbed ‘Marshmallow‘, and the developer preview is available to download for developers with Nexus phones. If you don’t have a Nexus phone, you’ll be glad to know you can still get a small taster of what it’s like to use Marshmallow by downloading the Google Now Launcher used in the latest beta software.


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Google and Intel combine 3D technologies to demo the ultimate augmented reality smartphone

Avatar for Ben Lovejoy Aug 19 2015 - 4:39 am PT
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Google and Intel have developed what looks like the ultimate augmented reality smartphone, combining Google’s Project Tango tech to map and track 3D environments with Intel’s RealSense camera sensor, which isolates and scans 3D objects within those environments.

Engadget reports that the two companies have so far produced a developer prototype of the smartphone, with a consumer device expected to be released further down the line. While there will doubtless be serious applications for the technology, it’s augmented reality gaming that is likely to get the most attention … 
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Security-focused Blackphone 2 now available for pre-order, shipping next month – but no price yet

Avatar for Ben Lovejoy Aug 19 2015 - 3:55 am PT
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The security-focused Blackphone 2, announced at Mobile World Congress back in March, is now available for pre-order, shipping sometime next month. With the company now focused on bulk sales to enterprise rather than to consumers, the webpage doesn’t reveal pricing, which likely depends on volume. The existing model came in at $629.

While Android wouldn’t necessarily be the obvious starting point for a smartphone whose selling-point is privacy, the company says that the combination of its Android-based Silent OS and own-brand apps ensures that data is secured and communications are encrypted … 
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Android-powered BlackBerry Venice render leaks, keyboard exposed

Avatar for Cam Bunton Aug 19 2015 - 1:23 am PT
1 Comment

BlackBerry has been rumored to be working on an Android phone for quite some time. In fact, almost as soon as its CEO John Chen teased the portrait slider dubbed ‘Venice’, it was predicted it might run Google’s operating. We’ve seen a leaked render showing the front of the device with what looks like stock Android. We’ve even seen slides showing off some of the BlackBerry-inspired user interface elements. What we haven’t seen yet is that ever-elusive keyboard.


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Moto X Play available in Canadian retail stores this Friday, August 21 (Update: $420 CAD)

Avatar for Tom Maxwell Aug 18 2015 - 2:47 pm PT
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Update: Canadian mobile operator TELUS has just posted its pricing for the Moto X Play, and it will be $50 CAD on a 2-year plan or $420 CAD unlocked.

Are you a Canadian eagerly awaiting the day when you can finally get Motorola’s new Android-powered Moto X Play in your hands? Well, this weekend is going to be great for you, as Motorola Canada has just announced that will be available in retail stores starting this Friday.

[tweet https://twitter.com/Motorola_CA/status/633735528110649348 align=’center]

Earlier today we saw Motorola begin to accept orders for the Moto X Play online through its Moto Maker personalization tool for approximately $400 USD. Orders through that system have been displaying an estimated delivery date of the 26th and 27th for some of the 55 countries (Europe, Latin America, and Canada) that the new phone is being sold in. Motorola Canada’s website has yet to be updated with pricing information, and the company has traditionally only sold its phones through carriers in Canada — not unlocked. There’s no word on when the Moto X Play will make it to retailers in the other 54 countries.

The Moto X Play is quite similar to the Moto X Style, also unveiled at the same time, but compromises on internal specifications in favor of a water-repellent design and quoted 48 hours of battery life. Where the Moto X Style is more beastly than the X Play is in its display, processor clock-speed, and total RAM — the X Style has a 5.7-inch Quad HD display, a 1.8GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 808, and 3GB of RAM, whereas the X Play has a 5.5-inch Full HD display, a 1.7GHz Snapdragon 615, and 2GB of RAM. You still get the same 21 megapixel camera, 5-megapixel front-facing camera, and the battery capacity is 3630 mAh versus 3000 on the X Style.

As with all Motorola smartphones these days, expect a very light Android experience (Lollipop until Android Marshmallow comes out) with almost no Motorola-preinstalled software save for well-regarded features like Moto Assist. That is, after all, one of the main selling points of Motorola phones today aside from their reasonable prices off-contract.

Motorola Canada’s The United States was left out of this phone’s release, but Motorola says that it will be bringing more new offerings stateside sometime in the near future.

Android Auto updated with fresh home screen UI

Avatar for Cam Bunton Aug 18 2015 - 2:05 pm PT
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Google pushed an update to its Android Auto app today refreshing the home screen to bring bigger, easier to see cards, particularly when using navigation and playing music. Previously, all stacked cards were of equal height. Now, the top activity card is double the height of any of the cards below. Being bigger not only makes them easier to see, but also easier to interact with on the touch screen.

As well as the updated user interface, there are a few bug fixes and performance improvements. You can download the fresh update right now from the Google Play Store. It’s a free update and requires Android 5.0 or later to work. Obviously, you’ll also need a car with a compatible built-in system, or a compatible after-market system.

You can find out more about Android Auto, including compatible vehicles, over at android.com/auto.

Fossil & Intel show off upcoming round Android Wear smartwatch

Avatar for Jordan Kahn Aug 18 2015 - 11:11 am PT
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Watchmaker Fossil is about to launch a new Android Wear-powered smartwatch in collaboration with Intel and today we get our first look at the device during Intel’s IDF developer conference in San Francisco (via Engadget).

The Android Wear smartwatch, which is scheduled to arrive later this year, comes alongside two other wearables from the companies including other wrist worn devices — a bracelet and a more traditional-looking, connected watch that aren’t powered by Android Wear.

It’s not exactly much to look at, as it appears to have a design a lot like the rest of the round Android Wear devices on the market. But apart from looking a lot like a Moto 360, we do get a sneak peek at some variations planned for the device including a selection of metal and leather bands.

No word on pricing or exact availability, but you can expect to hear more in time for the holidays later this year.

Best Samsung Galaxy Note 5 and Galaxy S6 Edge+ cases already available to order

Avatar for Cam Bunton Aug 18 2015 - 9:33 am PT
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After first unveiling its new phablets five days ago, Samsung will start selling the Galaxy Note 5 and Galaxy S6 Edge+ smartphones this week. Some carriers will be selling it already, while others are waiting for the official August 21st release date. Chances are, you don’t want to take any risks with damaging your precious and ludicrously expensive smartphone. It may fare better than the S5 in drop tests, but it’s probably best for you not to test that, on purpose or by accident. With that in mind, check out some of the cases already announced by some of the best accessory makers around.


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