Android (operating system)

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Android is a mobile operating system (OS) based on the Linux kernel and currently
developed by Google. With a user interfacebased on direct manipulation, Android is designed
primarily for touchscreen mobile devices such as smartphones and tablet computers, with
specialized user interfaces for televisions (Android TV), cars (Android Auto), and wrist watches
(Android Wear). The OS uses touch inputs that loosely correspond to real-world actions, like
swiping, tapping, pinching, and reverse pinching to manipulate on-screen objects, and a virtual
keyboard. Despite being primarily designed for touchscreen input, it also has been used
in game consoles, digital cameras, regular PCs (e.g. the HP Slate 21) and other electronics.

Android is the most widely used mobile OS and, as of 2013, the highest selling OS overall.
Android devices sell more thanWindows, iOS, and Mac OS X devices combined, with [13][14][15][16][17]

sales in 2012, 2013 and 2014 close to the installed base of all PCs. As of July
[18] [19]

2013 the Google Play store has had over 1 million Android apps published, and over 50 billion
apps downloaded. A developer survey conducted in April–May 2013 found that 71% of
[20]

mobile developers develop for Android. AtGoogle I/O 2014, the company revealed that there
[21]

were over 1 billion active monthly Android users, up from 538 million in June 2013. [22]

Android's source code is released by Google under open source licenses, although most
Android devices ultimately ship with a combination of open source and proprietary software.
Initially developed by Android, Inc., which Google backed financially and later bought in
[3]

2005, Android was unveiled in 2007 along with the founding of the Open Handset Alliance—a
[23]

consortium of hardware, software, and telecommunication companies devoted to

advancing open standards for mobile devices. [24]

Android is popular with technology companies which require a ready-made, low-cost and
customizable operating system for high-tech devices. Android's open nature has encouraged
[25]

a large community of developers and enthusiasts to use the open-source code as a foundation
for community-driven projects, which add new features for advanced users or bring Android [26]

to devices which were officially released running other operating systems. The operating
system's success has made it a target for patent litigation as part of the so-called "smartphone
wars" between technology companies. [27][28]

Features
Interface
Android's default user interface is based on direct manipulation, using touch inputs, that [54]

loosely correspond to real-world actions, like swiping, tapping, pinching, and reverse pinching
to manipulate on-screen objects, and a virtual keyboard. The response to user input is [54]

designed to be immediate and provides a fluid touch interface, often using the vibration
capabilities of the device to providehaptic feedback to the user. Internal hardware such
as accelerometers, gyroscopes and proximity sensors are used by some applications to [55]

respond to additional user actions, for example adjusting the screen from portrait to landscape
depending on how the device is oriented, or allowing the user to steer a vehicle in a racing
game by rotating the device, simulating control of a steering wheel.[56]

Android devices boot to the homescreen, the primary navigation and information point on the
device, which is similar to the desktopfound on PCs. Android homescreens are typically made
up of app icons and widgets; app icons launch the associated app, whereas widgets display
live, auto-updating content such as the weather forecast, the user's email inbox, or a news
ticker directly on the homescreen. A homescreen may be made up of several pages that the
[57]

user can swipe back and forth between, though Android's homescreen interface is heavily
customisable, allowing the user to adjust the look and feel of the device to their tastes. Third-
[58]

party apps available on Google Play and other app stores can extensively re-theme the
homescreen, and even mimic the look of other operating systems, such as Windows Phone.
Most manufacturers, and some wireless carriers, customise the look and feel of their Android
[59]

devices to differentiate themselves from their competitors. [60]

Present along the top of the screen is a status bar, showing information about the device and
its connectivity. This status bar can be "pulled" down to reveal a notification screen where
apps display important information or updates, such as a newly received email or SMS text, in
a way that does not immediately interrupt or inconvenience the user. Notifications are
[61]

persistent until read (by tapping, which opens the relevant app) or dismissed by sliding it off
the screen. Beginning on Android 4.1, "expanded notifications" can display expanded details
or additional functionality; for instance, a music player can display playback controls, and a
"missed call" notification provides buttons for calling back or sending the caller an SMS
message. [62]

Android provides the ability to run applications which change the default launcher and hence
the appearance and externally visible behaviour of Android. These appearance changes
include a multi-page dock or no dock, and many more changes to fundamental features of the
user interface. [63]

Applications
Applications ("apps"), that extend the functionality of devices, are developed primarily in
the Java programming language using the Android software development kit (SDK). The SDK
[64]

includes a comprehensive set of development tools, including a debugger, software libraries,

[65]

a handset emulator based on QEMU, documentation, sample code, and tutorials. The officially
supported integrated development environment (IDE) is Eclipse using the Android
Development Tools (ADT) plugin. Other development tools are available, including a Native
Development Kit for applications or extensions in C or C++, Google App Inventor, a visual
environment for novice programmers, and variouscross platform mobile web applications
frameworks. In January 2014, Google unveiled an Apache Cordova–based framework for
porting Chrome HTML 5 applications to Android, wrapped in a native application shell. [66]

Android has a growing selection of third-party applications, which can be acquired by users by
downloading and installing the application's APK file, or by downloading them using
an application store program that allows users to install, update, and remove applications from
their devices. Google Play Store is the primary application store installed on Android devices
that comply with Google's compatibility requirements and license the Google Mobile Services
software. Google Play Store allows users to browse, download and update applications
[3][67]

published by Google and third-party developers; As of July 2013, there are more than one
million applications available for Android in Play Store. As of May 2013, 48 billion applications
[68]

have been installed from Google Play Store and in July 2013, 50 billion applications were
[69]

installed. Some carriers offer direct carrier billing for Google Play application purchases,
[70][71]

where the cost of the application is added to the user's monthly bill.
[72]

Due to the open nature of Android, a number of third-party application marketplace also exist
for Android, either to provide a substitute for devices that are not allowed to ship with Google
Play Store, provide applications that cannot be offered on Google Play Store due to policy
violations, or for other reasons. Examples of these third-party stores have included
the Amazon Appstore, GetJar, and SlideMe. F-Droid, another alternative marketplace, seeks
to only provide applications that are distributed under free and open source licenses. [3][73][74][75]

Memory management
Since Android devices are usually battery-powered, Android is designed to manage memory
(RAM) to keep power consumption at a minimum, in contrast to desktop operating systems
which generally assume they are connected to unlimited mains electricity. When an Android
application is no longer in use, the system will automatically suspend it in memory; while the
application is still technically "open", suspended applications consume no resources (for
example, battery power or processing power) and sit idly in the background until needed
again. This brings a dual benefit by increasing the general responsiveness of Android devices,
since applications do not need to be closed and reopened from scratch each time, and by
ensuring that background applications do not consume power needlessly. [76][77]

Android manages the applications stored in memory automatically: when memory is low, the
system will begin killing applications and processes that have been inactive for a while, in
reverse order since they were last used (oldest first). This process is designed to be invisible
to the user, so that users do not need to manage memory or the killing of applications
themselves. As of 2011, third-party task killers were reported by Lifehacker as doing more
[78][79]

harm than good. [80]

Hardware
The main hardware platform for Android is the ARM architecture (ARMv7 or later, Android 5.0
also supports ARMv8-A), with x86 and MIPS architectures also officially supported. Both 64-
bit and 32-bit variants of all three architectures are supported since the release of Android 5.0.
Since 2012, Android devices with Intel processors began to appear, including phones and
[81] [82]

tablets.

As of November 2013, Android 4.4 recommends at least 512 MB of RAM, while for "low
[83]

RAM" devices 340 MB is the required minimum amount that does not include memory
dedicated to various hardware components such as the baseband processor. Android 4.4 [84]

requires a 32-bit ARMv7, MIPS or x86 architecture processor (latter two through unofficial
ports), together with an OpenGL ES 2.0 compatible graphics processing unit (GPU).
[8][85]

Android supports OpenGL ES 1.1, 2.0, 3.0 and 3.1. Some applications may explicitly require
[86]
a certain version of the OpenGL ES, and suitable GPU hardware is required to run such
applications.
[86]

Android devices incorporate many optional hardware components, including still or video
cameras, GPS, orientation sensors, dedicated gaming controls, accelerometers,gyroscopes,
barometers,magnetometers,proximity sensors, pressure sensors, thermometers,
and touchscreens. Some hardware components are not required, but became standard in
certain classes of devices, such as smartphones, and additional requirements apply if they are
present. Some other hardware was initially required, but those requirements have been
relaxed or eliminated altogether. For example, as Android was developed initially as a phone
OS, hardware such as microphones were required, while over time the phone function
became optional. Android used to require an autofocus camera, which was relaxed to a fixed-
[71]

focus camera if it is even present at all, since the camera was dropped as a requirement
[71]

entirely when Android started to be used on set-top boxes.

In addition to running on smartphones and tablets, several vendors run Android natively on
regular PC hardware with a keyboard and mouse. In addition to their availability on
[87][88][89]

commercially available hardware, similar PC hardware–friendly versions of Android are freely

available from the Android-x86 project, including customized Android 4.4. Using the
[90]

Android emulator that is part of the Android SDK, or by using BlueStacks or Andy, Android can
also run non-natively on x86. Chinese companies are building a PC and mobile operating
[91][92]

system, based on Android, to "compete directly with Microsoft Windows and Google Android".
The Chinese Academy of Engineering noted that "more than a dozen" companies were
[93]

customising Android following a Chinese ban on the use of Windows 8 on government PCs.