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14,418 'Android' stories May 2011 - March 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).

Supposed renders of Sony’s Xperia Z4 smartphone leak out

Avatar for Stephen Hall Mar 16 2015 - 7:36 am PT
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In case you didn’t catch it, Steve Hemmerstoffer of the well-known French site Nowhereelse.fr has started his own Twitter account specifically dedicated to leaks: @onleaks. He’s been really cranking them out lately, and recently showed us some purported press renders of the LG G4. He has a relatively decent track record, so it wouldn’t be surprising to see some of these things turn out to be legitimate…

Today, he has come out to show us a render of what he claims is Sony’s upcoming Xperia Z4 smartphone:

Looking at the visual appearance of the software, it lines up pretty well with what can be found on the Xperia Z4 tablet that Sony launched earlier this month. The design of the clock, as well as the icons below (Video, Album, etc.) are all identical to their tablet counterparts—and they’re arranged similarly as well. The design of the device itself is notably unexciting, however, and it’s not much of a departure from its predecessor. (But that seems to be a common thread this year.)

Update: Hemmerstoffer has posted some more renders…

We told you this morning that Sony is finally launching Android Lollipop on the company’s 2014 flagship, the Xperia Z3.

‘Big’ HTC One M9 announcement coming on Wednesday

Avatar for Stephen Hall Mar 16 2015 - 7:05 am PT
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Jason Mackenzie, the President of HTC America, has come out this morning on Twitter to say that the Taiwanese company has a “BIG announcement for US customers on Wednesday.”

It’s going to be aimed specifically at “US customers,” which makes me think the announcement will likely be stateside availability of the HTC One M9. I’m not sure if that would qualify as a “BIG” announcement in my mind, but we’ve definitely been waiting a while to find out when the device is going to be available.

Another plausible announcement could be an “HTC One M9 for Windows” device, a successor to the Microsoft-approved device that HTC launched in August of last year. That would be closer to something “BIG”, but I think HTC has an Android HTC One M9 that it needs to convince the world to buy before it can sell another variant of it.

Android Lollipop now rolling out to Xperia Z3 & Xperia Z3 Compact

Avatar for Stephen Hall Mar 16 2015 - 6:41 am PT
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Sony has announced that it is now rolling out the Android 5.0 Lollipop update to its 2014 flagship Xperia Z3 smartphone and its Xperia Z3 Compact little brother:

We’re starting our Android 5.0, Lollipop upgrade from today for Xperia Z3 and Xperia Z3 Compact.

You’ll see the upgrade hit first devices in the Nordics and Baltics, continuing to further markets, for more Xperia Z Series products, starting in around two weeks time* – we’ll share the latest here, as it happens.

After blending Google’s first Lollipop release with our Sony software, some of the goodies include;

  • Fresh, streamlined looks – based on Google’s material design, but retaining our minimalistic approach to interface and application design
  • New look notifications and lock screen – with fully customizable settings, so you only get the information you really need
  • Multi user profiles and guest mode – making it easy for family and friends to use your device, or the creation of dual environments for work and play…
  • Android for Work – not only are business-ready Xperia smartphones and tablets unique devices for work – with waterproof form factors, great battery life and productivity features – they will now also be part of the Android for Work ecosystem
  • Better storage control and customisation – with the option to easily move applications from internal memory to SD card – giving you more control over your content, particularly useful for devices with slightly less space

More than four months after the initial release of Android Lollipop to Nexus devices, some OEMs are still just now managing to push Lollipop to the masses. It’s no wonder why the Android Lollipop adoption rate is still barely above 3%.

9to5Toys Last Call: HTC One (M8) $325, Galaxy Note 3 $295, LG G3 w/ free $100 Amazon gift card, more

Avatar for Stephen Hall Mar 13 2015 - 12:04 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:

HTC One (M8) 32 GB Android phone unlocked: $325 shipped (Reg. $700)

 

Samsung Galaxy Note 3 32 GB factory unlocked: $295 shipped (Reg. $500)

LG G3 w/ free $100 Amazon gift card for $0.01 w/ 2-yr contract or $479 w/o

LG 34-inch UltraWide LED IPS Monitor w/ Thunderbolt: $750 shipped (Reg. $1,000)

Nexus 5 Case, Spigen Slim Armor Case for Nexus 5: $9.99 shipped (Reg. $25)

Samsung Galaxy Note 4 4G LTE 32GB unlocked: $479.99 shipped (Reg. $700)

LG G2 w/ 32GB unlocked for GSM carriers: $210 shipped (Reg. $300)

More new gear from today:

JBL J56 BT Wireless Bluetooth on-ear headphones $60 shipped (Reg. $90+)

  • New! Daily Deals: OtterBox Defender iPad Air Case $50, Toshiba 1TB Ext. HD $50, more
  • New! Games/Apps: Shades $1, Ultimate Hangman free, more iOS freebies

More deals still alive:

Bluetooth Streaming Audio Adapters: Mpow $9, Aukey w/ hands-free calling $15

New products & more:

LyfeLens dash cam pushes live video to your iPhone and doubles as a hotspot

Non-functional ‘Google VPN’ spotted in Android 5.1 to ‘protect you on open WiFi networks’

Avatar for Stephen Hall Mar 13 2015 - 10:12 am PT
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A new app has been discovered in the recently released Android 5.1 update called Google Connectivity Services (via Pocketables), and within—if you do a bit of digging and launch the “WifiAssistantOptInActivity” activity—you can find the above pop-up labeled as “Google VPN”. It looks like the Mountain View company could be preparing to launch its own VPN to increase security when joining an open WiFi network, and this might be the dialogue box that users will be presented with when doing so…
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Chrome Beta 42 adds website push notifications, banners for saving web apps to Android home screens

Avatar for Zac Hall Mar 13 2015 - 8:43 am PT
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Google released Chrome 42 this week through its beta channel for Android, Windows, Mac, Linux and Chrome OS. The latest Chrome beta previews a couple of interesting features that make web apps more like native apps including push notifications and saving web apps to your Android home screen faster…
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Mickey Mouse Apple Watch face unofficially makes its way to Android Wear

Avatar for Stephen Hall Mar 13 2015 - 8:03 am PT
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The Apple Watch was once again shown off at Apple’s “Spring Forward” event on Monday, and it looks like the Android Wear community is already putting together some watch faces inspired by Apple’s selections. Ironically, first up is the iconic Mickey Mouse face that has been the brunt of many a joke in the Android community on Google+, and it looks like the XDA-Developers user who made it did a pretty good job of replicating the real deal…


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Smartwatches are worse for driver distraction than smartphones, shows UK safety tests

Avatar for Ben Lovejoy Mar 13 2015 - 7:34 am PT
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UK safety tests have shown that using a smartwatch while driving is more dangerous than using a smartphone, reports the Huffington Post.

The Transport Research Laboratory (TRL) in Wokingham, Berks showed that a driver reading a message on an Apple Watch would take 2.52 seconds to react to an emergency manoeuvre, whereas a driver talking to another passenger would react in 0.9 seconds. Reading on an Apple Watch was even found to be more distracting than using a handheld mobile (1.85 second delay).

While the piece refers to the Apple Watch, the TRL told me that the tests were conducted with an unspecified smartwatch, and was not a full-scale study, but earlier studies have shown that even talking with someone handsfree is more distracting that holding a conversation with someone in the car.
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Microsoft plans to bring Google Now competitor Cortana to Android devices, with focus on predictive intelligence

Avatar for Ben Lovejoy Mar 13 2015 - 6:21 am PT
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Microsoft is planning on making the next generation of its voice-recognition system, Cortana, available on Android and iOS devices sometime after the fall, reports Reuters. The focus, says the company, will be on an intelligent assistant that predicts the help you need, rather than simply responding to user requests.

Cortana could tell a mobile phone user when to leave for the airport, days after it read an email and realized the user was planning a flight. It would automatically check flight status, determine where the phone is located using GPS, and checking traffic conditions.

Google has of course long majored on this kind of proactive approach through its Google Now service, which aims to work out what you will want to know when, but Microsoft believes that integrating everything into the digital assistant is the future … 
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Anonymously tracking phones through airport security cuts waiting time by a third

Avatar for Ben Lovejoy Mar 13 2015 - 6:06 am PT
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Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport says that anonymously tracking smartphones and tablets through airport security has enabled it to cut the average waiting time by a third.

The system, developed by Danish company Blip Systems, scans both WiFi and Bluetooth connections to look for MAC addresses of mobile devices passing through security. Counting the number of devices in each queue enables the system to estimate the length of the queue. The queue length is displayed to passengers in minutes, so they can choose which queue to join, and also used to help the airport allocate the right number of security personnel.

Blip says that it anonymizes this data, and only uses device counts. The same system is used in a number of other airports around the world, but this is the first time it’s been used in the USA.

Via The Verge

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9to5Toys Last Call: LG Chromebase $250, Verizon Moto G $30, iOttie Air Vent Mount $18, more

Avatar for Stephen Hall Mar 12 2015 - 12:24 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:

LG Chromebase 21.5″ all-in-one desktop computer (black): $249.99 shipped (Reg. $349.99)

Verizon prepaid Motorola Moto G (black): $29.99 in-store pickup only (Reg. $99.99)

iOttie iTap Air Vent Mount for Android devices: $18 Prime shipped (Reg. $30)

Samsung Galaxy Note 3 32 GB factory unlocked for GSM networks: $295 shipped (Reg. $500)

LG 34-inch UltraWide LED IPS Monitor w/ Thunderbolt: $750 shipped (Reg. $1,000)

Amazon free Android app of the day: DogWorld 3D (Reg. $2)

Nexus 5 Case, Spigen Slim Armor Case for Nexus 5: $9.99 shipped (Reg. $25)

Samsung Galaxy Note 4 4G LTE GSM N910A (Latest Model) 32GB unlocked for GSM networks: $479.99 shipped (Reg. $700)

LG G2 w/ 32GB flash storage, factory unlocked for GSM carriers: $210 shipped (Reg. $300)

More new gear from today:

Samsung 850 Pro 256GB 2.5″ Internal Solid State Drive $130 shipped (Reg. $180)

More deals still alive:

JBL Pebbles Plug and Play USB Desktop Speakers $25 shipped (Orig. $60)

New products & more:

Kitchenaid’s new Siphon Coffee Brewer brings fancy gourmet coffee to your kitchen

Dimensions compared: Apple Watch much smaller than Android Wear devices

Avatar for Stephen Hall Mar 12 2015 - 10:12 am PT
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The Apple Watch was once again shown off at Apple’s “Spring Forward” event on Monday, and many have been left wondering how the device compares to the Android Wear devices currently on the market. Technology has surely evolved a bit since the G Watch was announced, but how much have things changed?

There are several differences between the two platforms, but one that has now been brought to light is the device’s physical dimensions. Looking at Apple’s renders and images makes the device look big, but comparing its actual dimensions to Android Wear devices does the opposite. It’s tiny compared to most of what’s available today.


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Android 5.1 Lollipop OTA files start showing up for Nexus devices, here’s how to install them

Avatar for Stephen Hall Mar 12 2015 - 6:45 am PT
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Google recently started publishing Nexus factory images for Android 5.1, but now download links for the over-the-air update are hitting the Internet. It likely won’t be long before your Nexus device has the update up and running (5.1 for the Sprint Nexus 6 started rolling out yesterday, for example), but if you just can’t wait to get your hands on those performance improvements, we’ve got you covered…


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Google releases its first Android Wear watch face: Street Art

Avatar for Stephen Hall Mar 11 2015 - 1:37 pm PT
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Google has today released its very first official watch face for Android Wear, and it’s called “Street Art.” The watch face features several artistic selections from the Google Art Project, and while you get a decent variety in terms of the art you might want on your wrist, the app doesn’t have many configurable options beyond that.

You can choose one of three display options: analog, digital, or minimal. Analog is a pretty standard analog set up, the digital face will put the time at the bottom of the screen, and the minimal face is actually an analog face that uses circles instead of numbers as not to distract the viewer from the artwork.

Head over to the Play Store to get the watch face for free.

HTC One E9 leaks, sports a flatter and thinner body w/ a 5.5-inch screen

Avatar for Stephen Hall Mar 11 2015 - 10:46 am PT
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It looks like another HTC smartphone, this time the One E9 (rather than the M9), is on the way to market sometime soon. The images have shown up thanks to Chinese regulators (via Engadget), and as you can see above, they actually don’t look that similar to last year’s HTC One E8 (which came to Sprint in August). This device has a much larger camera on its rear, and sports a larger 5.5-inch screen (which is a half-an-inch bigger than that of its M9 relative)…
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Verizon finally offers Nexus 6 starting tomorrow – almost a half year late

Avatar for Seth Weintraub Mar 11 2015 - 8:55 am PT
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Remember the Nexus 6 launch waaaay back before the holiday shopping season last year? That’s when everyone except Verizon started carrying the Nexus 6 in the US. Shamefully, today, they are officially launching the phone almost 6 months after it launched on its competitors. It will be available to buy (After lots of rumors and delays) starting tomorrow and in Verizon Stores on March 19th for $250 on a 2 year Verizon plan or$27.08/month x24 on Verizon Edge (ouch – comparatively the $650 iPhone 6 is $199 subsidized).

A small bonus, it will ship with Android 5.1 and will come with 6 months of Google Play All Access – which will expire right about the time the next Nexus phone is launched. Verizon clearly has some catching up to do in the area of keeping modern and playing fair.

People have purchased the Nexus 6 from Google Play or other venues for $650 have had no issues putting in a Verizon SIM and at a $250 subsidized price, there is no reason to stop now. There is certainly some very bad blood between Google and Verizon – perhaps related to the latter’s MVNO ambitions. Verizon and Motorola continue to be good partners on their Droid lineup.

Press release follows:
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Android 5.1 is rolling out to the Sprint Nexus 6 starting today (and the Note 4 is getting 5.0)

Avatar for Stephen Hall Mar 11 2015 - 7:11 am PT
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Sprint has announced today that Android 5.1 is rolling out to the Nexus 6, marking yet another carrier launch of the latest version of Google’s mobile operating system. Recently, T-Mobile said that the Nexus 4 and the Nexus 5 have already started receiving the update, and now it looks like the first Nexus from Sprint is getting the same…


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Google launches first retail presence with the Google Shop in London, England

Avatar for Ben Lovejoy Mar 11 2015 - 6:22 am PT
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More than a year after a failed attempt at establishing a retail presence, Google has opened the first ever Google Shop, reports the Telegraph.

The store, to be called The Google shop, will sell the company’s range of Android phones and tablets, Chromebook laptops, and Chromecast TV services. The shop will hold tutorials showing consumers how to use the devices and hold demonstrations showing off key Google apps. It is the first time that Google has opened a shop under its own name.

The Google Shop is store-within-a-store in a flagship branch of Currys PC World, a large electronics retail chain on Tottenham Court Road. The road is gadget central in London, almost every other store on the street selling consumer electronics … 
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Nova Launcher gets Material Design refresh and dozens of new features in latest beta

Avatar for Stephen Hall Mar 10 2015 - 1:11 pm PT
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Nova Launcher is one of the best-known and most-praised third-party launchers out there, and today it’s getting a huge Material Design aesthetic refresh and several other new features…


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You can now build your own Moto 360 in Moto Maker

Avatar for Stephen Hall Mar 10 2015 - 9:55 am PT
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The Moto Maker has long been a great way to build your own custom Moto X, but now Motorola is letting you customize your Moto 360 smartwatch much the same way. We told you in February that the feature would be coming in March, and this morning it looks like Motorola has pulled the trigger…

With the Moto 360 Moto Maker, there are three main sections: case, band, and face. You can choose between three cases, including dark, light, and a “Champagne Gold” option—which is an additional $30. Bands come in a variety of options, including a 22mm Leather band (in 3 colors), a 24mm metal “Mono link” band, and both 18m and 23mm “Metal” bands available in a few colors.

Finally, while this may seem silly, the Moto Maker also lets you pick which watch face is going to be seen by default when your first turn the device on. You can pick between 6 “light” watch faces and 5 “dark” faces, all of which you’re probably familiar with if you’ve ever used a Moto 360 before.

To get started building, head over to Motorola’s website.

Purported LG G4 press renders show a LG G3 + G Flex 2 hybrid

Avatar for Stephen Hall Mar 10 2015 - 9:11 am PT
3 Comments

The same guy that leaked the HTC One M9 in late January, Steve Hemmerstoffer of the well-known French site Nowhereelse.fr, has today come out via his new “OnLeaks” Twitter account to share what he says are some “early” renders of the LG G4—and the device pictured looks a lot like the LG G Flex 2 that was announced earlier this year at CES…


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Android Wear update expected to bring easier access to apps, WiFi support, more

Avatar for Stephen Hall Mar 10 2015 - 7:22 am PT
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Android Wear is about to receive a very notable software update, and sources who are reportedly familiar with the smartwatch operating system’s roadmap (via The Verge) say that that it’s going to include support for WiFi among several other new features.

It looks like Google might be moving Android Wear to be more app-centric…


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