ARM64 (previous versions were also compatible with ARMv7, x86, x86-64, MIPS and RISC-V; these architectures are still unofficially supported via third-party solutions)[2][3]
Google says that over 1.3 million Android smartphones are sold every day.[5] Most mobile phones run Android, making it the most popular mobile operating system. It is also the most popular operating system in general.
It supports multitasking, and both two-dimensional and three-dimensional graphics.
Security updates are not provided on versions older than Android 10. Newer versions receive security updates if the phone manufacturer supports them. Phones which have Android 10 and above receive security updates (like app updates) directly from Google Play.
The current stable version is Android 15, released on September 3, 2024.
Android programs
Programs for Android, also called "apps" (short for applications), usually come from the Google Play Store. The Android programs have a file extension of .APK. On May 7, 2019, Kotlin replaced Java as Google’s preferred language for Android app development. Java is still supported, as is C++. Google states that[6] "Android apps can be written using Kotlin, Java, and C++ languages". Other languages may also be used; such as Python and Go, and those languages and even C++ may have restrictions. Large portions of the operating system itself are also written in Java. Over 2.6 million apps are available for Android in the Google Play Store.[7] Some apps are distributed elsewhere.
Android, Inc. began working on the Android operating system in 2003. In the future, Google bought it in 2005. The software development kit (SDK) for Android OS was launched on November 12, 2007, while the beta version was made available on November 5, 2007.
In October 2008, the T-Mobile G1 (also known as the HTC Dream) became the first Android smartphone to be made available to the general market.
Google revealed in August 2019 that the candy scheme was coming to an end and that future Android releases would instead use numerical ordering.
Android 10 was the first Android version to be made available in numerical order.
Android version numbers and names
Versions of Android have a number and have had a name based on confectioneries, up to and including Android 9 Pie, but since then it has mostly been a number, with the code name usually only being used internally and by Developers and manufacturers. The version numbers and names are:
↑12L launched as part of the March 2022 security update to supported Pixel devices. The factory images for March 2022 and subsequent updates display the version as 12.1.[12] The device's about page will still show the Android version as 12.[13]
↑ 11.011.1Gartenberg, Chaim (July 23, 2020). "Even Android 11 is cake". The Verge. Vox Media, LLC. Archived from the original on December 17, 2022. Retrieved July 27, 2021. Burke revealed last year that Android Q had been internally known as "Quince Tart"
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