Android – What Is It, It’s Versions And More

What is Android

That said, it is quite clear that Android is a mobile operating system designed for touchscreen mobile devices such as smartphones or tablets, but that we also find it in other devices. Such as smartwatches, televisions, or even in the multimedia systems of some car models. An operating system developed by Google and based on the Linux Kernel and other open-source software, which has become the main responsible for the popularization of many smart devices by facilitating the use of a large number of applications in a way simple.

Versions and Updates

Since its launch and until today, Android has received numerous updates. Different versions of the system have been fixing detected bugs, adding new functions, supporting new technologies, etc. Some versions that curiously have developed under a code name of an element related to desserts or sweets have also rigorously respected an alphabetical order.

• [Android] Apple Pie: [version 1.0 and release date September 23, 2008.]
• [Android] Banana Bread: [version 1.1 and release date February 9, 2009.]
• [Android] Cupcake: [version 1.5 and release date April 25, 2009.]
• [Android] Donut: [version 1.6 and release date, September 15, 2009.]
• [Android] Eclair: [version 2.0-2.1 and release date, October 26, 2009.]
• [Android] Froyo: [version 2.2-2.3 and release date May 20, 2010.]
• [Android] Gingerbread: [version 2.3-2.7 and release date, December 6, 2010.]
• [Android] Honeycomb: [version 3.0-3.2.6 and release date, February 22, 2011.]
• [Android] Ice Cream Sandwich: [version 4.0-4.0.5 and release date October 18, 2011.]
• [Android] Jelly Bean: [version 4.1-4.3.1 and release date July 9, 2012.]
• [Android] KitKat: [version 4.4-4.4.4 and release date, October 31, 2012.]
• [Android] Lollipop: [version 5.0-5.1.1 and release date, November 12, 2014.]
• [Android] Marshmallow: [version 6.0-6.0.1 and release date, October 5, 2015.]
• [Android] Nougat: [version 7.0-7.1.2 and release date June 15, 2016.]
• [Android] Oreo: [version 8.0-8.1 and release date, August 21, 2017.]
• [Android] Pie: [version 9.0 and release date, August 6, 2018.]
• [Android] 10: [version 10.0 and release date, September 3, 2019.]

How to know what version I have of Android

It is possible that on certain occasions, we need to know what version of Android we have installed on our mobile Phone, although it may also be out of mere curiosity. To do this, access the settings or configuration of our smartphone and navigate the option that shows us the current version of the system.

This information is usually under the same path in many terminals; however, depending on the manufacturer and the Android customization layer that you use, the path may vary slightly. Either way, we must go to the Settings> System> About Phone> Android version.

There we can see the exact version that we have installed of the Google operating system. And other information regarding our device such as the exact model, build number, or the version of the manufacturer’s customization layer. If applicable, the IME, quantity memory, screen resolution, etc.

Main components of the Android operating system

Within the architecture of the system itself, we can highlight the main components of Android:

Linux kernel: The kernel of the system is Linux and acts as an abstraction layer between the device hardware and installed applications. Additionally, Google’s operating system relies on Linux for other basic services such as security, memory management, process management, network stack, or drivers.

Runtime: Google’s mobile operating system includes a set of libraries that provide most of the functionality available in the base libraries of the Java programming language. Each Android application runs its process with its instance to the Dalvik virtual machine. This machine ran up to version 5.0 files in .dex format, but from that version on, ART will be used, which fully compiled when the application installed.

Libraries: The Android operating system includes a set of C or C ++ libraries used by various system components. These features exposed to developers through the Android apps framework. These libraries include System C, media, graphics, 3D, or SQLite libraries, among others.

Applications framework: The Google environment allows developers to access the same framework APIs used by base applications. However, And is that the architecture of Android designed to simplify the reuse of components. Any application can publish its capabilities, and other applications can reuse them within security rules.

Applications: Android has certain base applications that allow the use of the basic functions of a device such as an email, SMS text messages, calendar, maps, browser, contacts, and others. Applications developed in Java language.

Android apps

If something characterizes the Android operating system, it is its great freedom for application development. So much so that it has a large app store available so that any user can install them on their smartphone or tablet and where developers can upload their creations and make it available to all users of the system.

Google Play is an online store or platform developed by the searched giant and where we can find all kinds of apps for Android. Its app is installed by default on all Android devices so that users can access the entire catalog of apps for music, games, news, weather, education, shopping, health, utilities, maps, sports, banking, etc.

To use the application store

To use the application store, it is necessary to associate a Gmail account. The truth is that, due to the great popularity of Google’s operating system, today, we can find other alternative application stores to Google Play, where we will find others many tools and applications.

Either way, Android applications are compressed in APK format, which makes it easy to install them from any file browser on most devices. Of course, it is possible that we have to access the system settings to activate the option that allows us to install applications from unknown sources. And it that Android configured. So that it is from Google Play from where the installation of all kinds of applications carried out.

However, by activating this option, we can install the APK that we have downloaded without any major problem by simply going to the folder. Where we have the app saved and touching the APK file. However, it is important to be extremely careful and choose the site from which we are going to download the apps. Well since many sites take advantage of this great popularity to offer apps with malware.

Also Read: Google – What Is It, It’s History And More

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