Android

Android

Distribution of Linux
Android 15 (emulator image) home screen
Architecture	arm64, armhf, x86_64, riscv
Release type	Fixed
Initial version	Android 1.x (23 September 2008)
Latest version	Android 15
User interface
Package manager
Terminal shell	toybox
Status
Active

Android is an operating system based on Linux produced by Google that targets smart, portable and/or embedded devices such as phones, tablets, smartwatches, televisions, cars and other embedded systems. Android was originally developed by a company called Android Inc. Google later acquired the company in July 2005 and then made the Android SDK available in November 2007. One year later, the first version of Android was released in September 2008.

From Android 1.5 until Android 10, every major Android version had a name based on different desserts in alphabetical order. From Android 10 until 12L, the version number is used instead in official releases, while the dessert names only remain for internal codenames. Starting from Android 13, the dessert name is mentioned in the public SDK and shown in developer previews and early beta versions.

Beginning with Android 14 QPR2, Android uses a trunk stable development model. Every quarter the platform will advance to a much more recent version of the primary development branch, with incomplete/unreleased functionality being disabled through configuration (aconfig) build system flags.

In January 2020, Microsoft released the first preview of their custom Android experience meant to run on the Surface Duo, build 2020.117.2.

Timeline

The codenames are named after desserts, similar to how Ubuntu's codenames were named after animals.

	Codename(s)	Release date	Notes
Android 1.x	Astro Boy, Bender, Petit Four, Cupcake, Donut	23 September 2008	HTC Dream was the first phone to be released with Android.
Android 2.x	Eclair, Froyo, Gingerbread	26 October 2009	Supported more screen resolutions.
Android 3.x	Honeycomb	22 February 2011	This version was targeted at tablets only.
Android 4.x	Ice Cream Sandwich, Jelly Bean, KitKat, Key Lime Pie (4.4 internal)	18 October 2011	First version to integrate the screenshot feature.
Android 5.x	Lollipop, Lemon Meringue Pie (internal)	12 November 2014	Introduced a new design known as Material Design.
Android 6.x	Marshmallow, Macadamia Nut Cookie (internal)	29 September 2015	First version to support USB-C and fingerprint sensors natively.
Android 7.x	Nougat, New York Cheesecake (internal)	22 August 2016	First version to have native multi-window support. First version to introduce A/B seamless update.
Android 8.x	Oreo, Oatmeal Cookie (internal)	21 August 2017	8.0: First version to have picture-in-picture support. 8.1: First version to introduce Project Treble and Vendor Native Development Kit.
Android 9	Pie, Pistachio Ice Cream (internal)	6 August 2018	First version to natively support screen cutouts. First version to have time limits for apps. First version without a minor version number.
Android 10	Quince Tart (internal), Queen Cake (planned but scrapped public codename), Q	3 September 2019	First released version to not publicly use a dessert codename. Added dark mode. First version to support LVM-like dynamic partitions and Dynamic System Updates.
Android 11	Red Velvet Cake (internal), R	8 September 2020	First version to support foldable devices. First version to introduce and mandate Generic Kernel Image (GKI) for new Android devices. First version to support a fragmented kernel ramdisk, contained in boot and vendor_boot partitions
Android 12	Snow Cone (internal), S	4 October 2021	Introduced a new design known as Material You or Material Design 3. First version to have system-as-root enforcement. First version with GKI 2.0. First version to natively support tri-fold devices.
Android 12L	Snow Cone 2 (internal), Sv2	7 March 2022	Introduced a new optimized layout for tablets and large-screen devices. Released as Android 12.1 for Pixel smartphones.
Android 13	Tiramisu	15 August 2022	First version since Android 10 that publicly uses a dessert codename. First version to have A/B seamless update enforcement on Vendor Test Suite. First version to move the kernel ramdisk from boot to a separate init_boot partition
Android 14	Upside Down Cake	4 October 2023	Adds support for satellite connectivity
Android 15	Vanilla Ice Cream	3 September 2024	First major version to use the trunk stable development model and configuration (aconfig) flags. First version to deprecate Vendor Native Development Kit. First version to deprecate Flattened APEX.
Android 16	Baklava	TBA