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14,418 'Android' stories May 2011 - December 2014
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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).

Could the Palm brand be coming back in the form of an Android phone?

Avatar for Mike Beasley Dec 30 2014 - 10:07 pm PT
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The Palm smartphone brand may not be as dead it seemed. While parent company HP has already taken the company apart and sold off its remnants, there’s some new evidence pointing to the idea that the name, logo, and other related trademarks may be preparing to make a comeback.

Specifically, HP sold Palm’s trademarks to a company called Wide Progress Global Limited. Other trademarks owned by that company include… absolutely nothing. It seems Wide Progress Global was created solely to handle the Palm trademarks until some other company could put them to use.


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Alleged email leak confirms January for Samsung’s Lollipop rollout

Avatar for Stephen Hall Dec 30 2014 - 2:34 pm PT
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We already know that Android 5.0 Lollipop is likely on its way to Samsung’s current lineup of devices soon (in fact, it’s already hitting devices over-the-air in Spain and Poland). But now, thanks to a post on Reddit from a user claiming to be a Samsung employee, we have a tidbit of information that pinpoints January as the month that will begin to happen in more countries around the world.


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HTC says to “always Desire more,” teases new Desire smartphone launch for CES

Avatar for Stephen Hall Dec 30 2014 - 8:06 am PT
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As we reported yesterday, there are several rumors floating around that HTC intends to announce a new device of some kind at this year’s CES in Las Vegas, an event that’s typically fairly quiet for the Taiwanese corporation. But while many believed that the upcoming device might be the company’s next flagship, codenamed “Hima,” a new teaser image posted to the company’s official Weibo account would suggest otherwise. The image makes direct reference to the company’s “Desire” line of affordable phones.


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Moto G (2nd generation) with LTE shows up on Brazilian Motorola site

Avatar for Stephen Hall Dec 29 2014 - 12:56 pm PT
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According to the Moto G page on the Brazilian Motorola website, there appears to be another model of the company’s affordable Moto X alternative in the works, sporting LTE and a variety of other minor changes (via Android Police). It was only a matter of time before this device popped up consider its predecessor had 4G capable model, and now it’s (almost) here.


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Qualcomm teases a Snapdragon 800 phone to be announced at CES

Avatar for Stephen Hall Dec 29 2014 - 11:21 am PT
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Qualcomm has come out on Twitter to say that at least one device powered by the Snapdragon 800 series of processors will be launching next week at CES, and has attached an image that doesn’t really tell us much. It looks a bit like the back of an LG phone, considering the top center location of what I assume are the volume and power buttons. Additionally, you can see what looks to be a backplate made of brushed metal, but if this is indeed an LG phone, we all know that it’s not actually going to be brushed metal…

Of course, it’s possible that this isn’t an LG phone at all, with many manufacturers expected to introduce phones. For example, ASUS is expected to be launching some devices, Sony is expected to be showing off some kind of super slim device, and—as for some further reaching rumors—VAIO might also be launching a smartphone. This teased handset could be anything, really, but if we were to take a guess, we would say it’s an LG device based purely off of its physical appearance. With that said, it’s not time for the LG G4 just yet, so it’s likely one of the company’s other lines.

Non-Sony VAIO smartphones might make an appearance at CES

Avatar for Stephen Hall Dec 29 2014 - 11:02 am PT
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Sony sold off its VAIO PC brand earlier this year to investment firm Japan Industrial Partners, but it looks like Sony’s ex-brand might have some interesting new technology up its sleeves for 2015. According to a new report this morning out of Japanese paper Nikkei, the company is working on a line of smartphones to be announced in the coming months. And they might be coming sooner than anyone might have expected—possibly next week at CES 2015.


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Samsung Galaxy S5 now receiving Android Lollipop in Spain, more countries hopefully to come

Avatar for Stephen Hall Dec 29 2014 - 10:05 am PT
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The Samsung Galaxy S5 started receiving Android Lollipop in Poland early this month, but now it appears (via SamMobile) that the latest version of Google’s mobile operating system is now hitting the device in one more European country. Specifically, model SM-G900F of the Galaxy S5 is now receiving the update in Spain.


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HTC’s ‘Hima’ may be announced at CES 2015, shows up on AnTuTu reaffirming previous leaks

Avatar for Stephen Hall Dec 29 2014 - 8:40 am PT
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Specifications for HTC’s upcoming flagship—dubbed “Hima”—began leaking earlier this month when it purportedly began carrier testing. But today, the phone has apparently passed through an AnTuTu benchmark (via Nowhereelse.fr), and the resulting specification sheet seems to line up perfectly with what we saw before. Additionally, new evidence suggests that HTC has plans to introduce the device earlier than expected, at the annual CES 2015 which officially starts just over one week from today.


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Xiaomi valued at $45bn following $1.1bn funding round, new flagship coming in January

Avatar for Stephen Hall Dec 29 2014 - 7:47 am PT
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Xiaomi CEO Lei Jun announced this morning (via Weibo) that the company has completed its latest round of funding, securing another $1.1 billion for the startup to now be valued at $45 billion total. And in light of this news, the Chinese company has mentioned that it plans to announce its next flagship device at some point next month.


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Samsung plans to discontinue Galaxy Alpha in favor of mid-tier A5, says Korean rumor

Avatar for Ben Lovejoy Dec 29 2014 - 5:18 am PT
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The Galaxy Alpha – first announced in August – may turn out to be a short-lived model: rumors originating in Korea claim that the company plans to discontinue the model in favor of the Galaxy A5 as soon as current inventory is exhausted.

It was reported last month that Samsung planned to sell 30% fewer smartphones next year, as part of cost-cutting measures in response to declining profits … 
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Samsung’s new Galaxy Note 4 variant is the world’s first LTE-A Tri-Band CA phone

Avatar for Stephen Hall Dec 28 2014 - 10:01 pm PT
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It was rumored earlier this month that Samsung had plans to introduce a new variation of the Galaxy Note 4, but it’s now been confirmed by the Korean company that this is indeed the case. While there are already two distinct models of the Note 4 available worldwide (sporting slightly different processors), today’s announcement adds a third to the mix, packing Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 810 and a claim of being the world’s “first commercially available LTE Advanced (LTE-A) Tri-Band Carrier Aggregation (CA) smartphone.”


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Kodak set to announce Android-powered devices at CES 2015

Avatar for Stephen Hall Dec 26 2014 - 11:45 am PT
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Kodak has yet to announce a smartphone, but that’s about to change very soon. Announced earlier this week, the company has partnered with Bullit Group to introduce a line of Android-powered devices, somehow aimed at photography enthusiasts (we would hope) and “consumers who want a high-end experience but aren’t always as comfortable using increasingly complicated mobile devices.”


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Android 5.0.1 already landing on the NVIDIA Shield tablet

Avatar for Stephen Hall Dec 26 2014 - 9:12 am PT
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We told you last month that the NVIDIA Shield tablet would be getting Lollipop, and that time has since come and gone. Now, while most recently-released devices already have Lollipop (or are in line to get it soon), attention has been turned to see which devices are going to be first to get Google’s first bug fix release, 5.0.1. Most of the Nexus devices have received it already (and you can get those from Google’s factory image download page), but it appears NVIDIA is also making sure its Shield tablet receives a timely update.


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Delhi High Court temporarily lifts OnePlus One ban

Avatar for Stephen Hall Dec 25 2014 - 7:46 am PT
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Micromax (which recently launched the Yurkea smartphone under the brand name “YU Digital”), had an exclusivity agreement for using the Cyanogen OS in India, and took OnePlus to court earlier this month—banning them from selling their phone under order of the Delhi High Court. Now, it appears that very same court has had a change of heart, at least for now, and the ban on the OnePlus has been temporarily lifted (via India Times).

In a reprieve to the company, judges on Wednesday said the case “shall be heard and decided afresh”. The case will come up for hearing on January 7 under a single judge. “We dispose off the appeal, setting aside the impugned order dated December 16, 2014,” Justices Pradeep Nandrajog and RK Gauba said in their order on OnePlus’s petition, a copy of which was seen by ET.


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Nexus 7 (WiFi, 2012) OTA update download for 5.0.2 now available

Avatar for Stephen Hall Dec 24 2014 - 10:54 am PT
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A few days ago we noticed that Google had updated its factory image download page with a download link for Android Lollipop 5.0.2 (a build currently specific to the WiFi 2012 Nexus 7). Now, it appears that the you can now download the same software in the form of an OTA .zip straight from Google.

The update should be rolling out over-the-air currently (if you haven’t gotten it already), but if you need the OTA update to update your device manually, the above link is straight from Google’s servers. If you’ve never done a manual OTA update before, be sure to check out our guide.

Google now prohibits developers from including user testimonials in app descriptions

Avatar for Chance Miller Dec 23 2014 - 3:56 pm PT
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Google today has updated its Play Store guidelines with yet another restriction on what developers can put in the descriptions of their apps. With today’s update, developers are now forbidden to include user testimonials in their app’s description. Any developer who breaks this rule could see the app in question pulled (via Android Police).


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Galaxy Note 2 will get Lollipop according to Samsung’s Finnish website

Avatar for Stephen Hall Dec 23 2014 - 1:21 pm PT
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Every time a major new version of Android rolls around, it’s always uncertain whether or not older devices will be updated—and it’s always left in the hands of each individual manufacturer to make these happen. Devices older than a couple of years are usually forgotten, but sometimes there are exceptions to this rule. And a good example of that is what was found this morning: information on Samsung’s Finnish website suggesting that the Galaxy Note 2 will indeed be getting Lollipop.
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LG G3 explodes on a bed, flaming battery burns right through the mattress

Avatar for Stephen Hall Dec 23 2014 - 12:38 pm PT
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This is probably one of more dramatic smartphone explosion stories I’ve read lately. (But this is definitely not the first—almost every flagship phone has seemingly had a horror story like this one.) This time, it looks like an LG G3 was at one second sitting innocently on a mattress, but then erupted into flames so violently that its owners had to throw the mattress out the window.


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4 GB RAM smartphones incoming as Samsung starts production of new memory module

Avatar for Stephen Hall Dec 23 2014 - 11:29 am PT
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It seems as if smartphone specifications are looking more and more like the desktops of not long ago, and today’s news furthers this phenomenon. Samsung has announced that it has begun production of a LPDDR4 (low power double data rate 4) 8 Gigabit DRAM memory module based in its 20nm process, and says it will be ready by sometime in early 2015. This translates to a chip that’s 4 GB of usable memory, basically double of what most flagship smartphones have today.


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Purported ASUS ZenFone specs show up in Bluetooth certification, are less than spectacular

Avatar for Stephen Hall Dec 23 2014 - 9:08 am PT
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We told you yesterday about a new phone that ASUS is teasing, and the company made it look like it had some kind of interesting tricks up its sleeve (dual back cameras?) for the upcoming ZenFone refresh. But while the next ZenFone is definitely expected to be announced at the upcoming CES 2015, new specs have shown up in documents submitted to the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (via Android Police) for a phone dubbed the “ZC451CG,” and they aren’t all that spectacular.


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T-Mobile CEO John Legere wishes you a NSFW Christmas (Video)

Avatar for Stephen Hall Dec 22 2014 - 3:09 pm PT
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T-Mobile CEO John Legere is known for trolling his competitors, and it looks like he decided to—in the spirit of the season, of course—mock them some more as a Christmas gift. T-Mobile has spent the entire year going through several different “uncarrier” events (now totaling eight), attacking its competitors and introducing services and features that it hopes will set it apart. And as Legere touches on in the below video, plenty of people seem to have been convinced that switching is worth their time…


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AnTuTu Benchmark gets 5.5 update w/ 64-bit CPU testing, new design

Avatar for Stephen Hall Dec 22 2014 - 12:30 pm PT
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AnTuTu is likely a familiar name to you, as it’s probably one of the biggest sources of device specification leaks (most recently, a prototype Galaxy S6 was purportedly noticed). But unless it’s your job to test devices, it’s probably not likely that you actually use the AnTuTu Android app on a daily basis. Today, AnTuTu has updated said app to bring a completely new UI, support for 64 bit CPU testing, and a variety of bug fixes.
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ASUS ZenFone being teased in new video leading up to CES 2015

Avatar for Stephen Hall Dec 22 2014 - 9:43 am PT
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ASUS released the first devices part of the ZenFone line at CES in 2014, introducing some Intel-powered smartphones that had a decent amount of horsepower at a reasonable price. This year it looks like the company is ready to refresh its line of phones, and there’s a new video recently posted on the ASUS Facebook page teasing what one of them might look like.

We can’t see much, but there are a few seconds where we can see the light shine through and get a decent look at the back of the device:

In addition to a quick peek at the back, the video shows off what looks to be a dual-camera set up. While it doesn’t look exactly like what appears to be on the back of the device above, there must be a reason that the company let this little image show up in the video for a fraction of a second:

Sadly, besides these couple of images, we don’t really have much to go off. The rest of the video just sports the tagline “See what others can’t see” spread across the screen, followed by the ASUS logo. If you want to see the video for yourself and come to your own conclusions about what ASUS might have in store for us, head over to the company’s Facebook page.

Android One coming to Bangladesh, Nepal, and Sri Lanka in the coming weeks

Avatar for Stephen Hall Dec 21 2014 - 9:34 pm PT
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Google announced an initiative called Android One earlier this year that intends to bring some affordable smartphones to emerging markets, and now the Mountain View company says that the program is expanding beyond India (where it launched earlier this year in September). As noted on the company’s Asia Pacific Blog, the next few countries that will be getting Android One are three of India’s neighbors: Bangladesh, Nepal, and Sri Lanka.

In these countries — with a combined population of over 200 million people — a wide range of manufacturers and network partners such as Banglalink will begin to sell Android One smartphones. In addition to Micromax, Karbonn and Spice, Bangladesh’s own Symphony will launch their first Android One phone with the Symphony Roar A50. All these devices will give people a high quality mobile experience for an affordable price, running stock-Android with updates from Google.

This is the company’s first step at the “next 5 billion people” it says, with these three countries comprising more than 200 million of the world’s population. A variety of manufacturers will soon begin selling Android One devices in Bangladesh, Nepal, and Sri Lanka, including Micromax, Karbonn and Spice. But Google also says that Bangladesh-based manufacturer Symphony will be also be launching their first Android One device dubbed the Symphony Roar A50.

Recently, Karbonn committed to a long-term partnership with Android One in India, and it looks like the company is ready to push some high quality, affordable phones to a few new countries.