Android platform
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Android 8.1 Oreo home screen
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| Written in | Java (UI), C (core), C++ and more |
| OS family | Unix-like |
| Working state | Current |
| Source model | Open source (most devices include proprietary components, such as Google Play) |
| Initial release | September 23, 2008 |
| Latest release | 8.1.0 "Oreo" / December 5, 2017 |
| Marketing target | Smartphones, tablet computers, Android TV, Android Auto and Android Wear |
| Available in | 100+ languages |
| Package manager | APK (primarily through Google Play; installation of APKs also possible locally or from alternative sources such as F-Droid) |
| Platforms | 32- and 64-bit ARM, x86, x86-64, MIPS and MIPS64 |
| Kernel type | Monolithic (modified Linux kernel) |
| Userland | Bionic libc,mksh shell,Toybox as core utilities beginning with Android 6.0, previously native core utilities with a few from NetBSD |
| Default user interface | Graphical (multi-touch) |
| License |
Apache License 2.0 GNU GPL v2 for the Linux kernel modifications |
| Official website | android |
Android is a mobile operating system developed by Google, based on a modified version of the Linux kernel and other open source software and designed primarily for touchscreen mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets. In addition, Google has further developed Android TV for televisions, Android Auto for cars, and Android Wear for wrist watches, each with a specialized user interface. Variants of Android are also used on game consoles, digital cameras, PCs and other electronics.
Initially developed by Android Inc., which Google bought in 2005, Android was unveiled in 2007, with the first commercial Android device launched in September 2008. The operating system has since gone through multiple major releases, with the current version being 8.1 "Oreo", released in December 2017.
Android has been the best-selling OS worldwide on smartphones since 2011 and on tablets since 2013. As of May 2017[update], it has over two billion monthly active users, the largest installed base of any operating system, and as of 2017, the Google Play store features over 3.5 million apps.
Android Inc. was founded in Palo Alto, California in October 2003 by Andy Rubin, Rich Miner, Nick Sears, and Chris White. Rubin described the Android project as "tremendous potential in developing smarter mobile devices that are more aware of its owner's location and preferences". The early intentions of the company were to develop an advanced operating system for digital cameras, and this was the basis of its pitch to investors in April 2004. The company then decided that the market for cameras was not large enough for its goals, and by five months later it had diverted its efforts and was pitching Android as a handset operating system that would rival Symbian and Microsoft Windows Mobile.
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