Sim, John Aldin M.

BSIT - 3201

Software Evolution: From the first up to the latest version of Android

The version history of the Android mobile operating system began with the
public release of the Android beta on November 5, 2007. The first commercial
version, Android 1.0, was released on September 23, 2008. Android is
continually developed by Google and the Open Handset Alliance, and it has
seen a number of updates to its base operating system since the initial release.

The following shows the release dates and key features of all Android
operating system updates to date, listed chronologically by their
official application programming interface(API) levels.

Android 1.0 (API 1)

Android 1.0, the first commercial version of the software, was released on
September 23, 2008. The first commercially available Android device was the HTC
Dream. Android 1.0 incorporated the following features:

 Android Market allowed application downloads and updates through the Market
application
 Web browser to show, zoom and pan full HTML and XHTML web pages –
multiple pages show as windows ("cards")
 Camera support – however, this version lacked the option to change the camera's
resolution, white balance, quality, etc.
 Folders allowing the grouping of a number of application icons into a single
folder icon on the Home screen
 Access to web email servers, supporting POP3, IMAP4, and SMTP
 Gmail synchronization with the Gmail application
 Google Contacts synchronization with the People application
 Google Calendar synchronization with the Calendar application
 Google Maps with Street View to view maps and satellite imagery, as well as find
local business and obtain driving directions using GPS
 Google Sync, allowing management of over-the-air synchronization of Gmail,
People, and Calendar
 Google Search, allowing users to search the Internet and phone applications,
contacts, calendar, etc.
 Google Talk instant messaging
 Instant messaging, text messaging, and MMS
 Media Player, enabling management, importing, and playback of media files –
however, this version lacked video and stereo Bluetooth support
 Notifications appear in the Status bar, with options to set ringtone, LED or
vibration alerts
 Voice Dialer allows dialing and placing of phone calls without typing a name or
number
 Wallpaper allows the user to set the background image or photo behind the Home
screen icons and widgets
 YouTube video player
 Other applications include: Alarm Clock, Calculator, Dialer (Phone), Home
screen (Launcher), Pictures (Gallery), and Settings
 Wi-Fi and Bluetooth support

Android 1.1 (API 2)

On February 9, 2009, the Android 1.1 update was released, initially for the HTC
Dream only. Android 1.1 was known as "Petit Four" internally, though this name was
not used officially. The update resolved bugs, changed the Android API and added a
number of features:

 Details and reviews available when a user searches for businesses on Maps
 Longer in-call screen timeout default when using the speakerphone, plus ability
to show/hide dialpad
 Ability to save attachments in messages
 Support added for marquee in system layouts

Android 1.5 Cupcake(API 3)

On April 27, 2009, the Android 1.5 update was released, based on Linux
kernel 2.6.27. This was the first release to officially use a code name based on a
dessert item ("Cupcake"), a theme which would be used for all releases henceforth.
The update included several new features and UI amendments:

 Support for third-party virtual keyboards with text prediction and user dictionary
for custom words
 Support for Widgets – miniature application views that can be embedded in other
applications (such as the Home screen) and receive periodic updates
 Video recording and playback in MPEG-4 and 3GP formats
 Auto-pairing and stereo support for Bluetooth (A2DP and AVRCP profiles)
 Copy and paste features in web browser
 User pictures shown for Favorites in Contacts
 Specific date/time stamp shown for events in call log, and one-touch access to a
contact card from call log event
 Animated screen transitions
 Auto-rotation option
 New stock boot animation
 Ability to upload videos to YouTube
 Ability to upload photos to Picasa

Android 1.6 Donut(API 4)

On September 15, 2009, Android 1.6 – dubbed Donut – was released, based on
Linux kernel 2.6.29. Included in the update were numerous new features:
 Voice and text entry search enhanced to include bookmark history, contacts, and
the web
 Ability for developers to include their content in search results
 Multi-lingual speech synthesis engine to allow any Android application to
"speak" a string of text
 Easier searching and ability to view app screenshots in Android Market
 Gallery, camera and camcorder more fully integrated, with faster camera access
 Ability for users to select multiple photos for deletion
 Updated technology support for CDMA/EVDO, 802.1x, VPNs, and a
text-to-speech engine
 Support for WVGA screen resolutions
 Speed improvements in searching and camera applications
 Expanded Gesture framework and new GestureBuilder development tool

Android 2.0 Eclair(API 5)

On October 26, 2009, the Android 2.0 SDK was released, based on Linux kernel
2.6.29 and code named Eclair. Changes include the ones listed below:

 Expanded Account sync, allowing users to add multiple accounts to a device for
synchronization of email and contacts
 Microsoft Exchange email support, with combined inbox to browse email from
multiple accounts in one page
 Bluetooth 2.1 support
 Ability to tap a Contacts photo and
 select to call, SMS, or email the person
 Ability to search all saved SMS and MMS messages, with delete oldest messages
in a conversation automatically deleted when a defined limit is reached
 Numerous new camera features, including flash support, digital zoom, scene
mode, white balance, color effect and macro focus
 Improved typing speed on virtual keyboard, with smarter dictionary that learns
from word usage and includes contact names as suggestions
 Refreshed browser UI with bookmark thumbnails, double-tap zoom and support
for HTML5
 Calendar agenda view enhanced, showing attending status for each invitee, and
ability to invite new guests to events
 Optimized hardware speed and revamped UI
 Support for more screen sizes and resolutions, with better contrast ratio
 Improved Google Maps 3.1.2
 MotionEvent class enhanced to track multi-touch events
 Addition of live wallpapers, allowing the animation of home-screen background
images to show movement

On December 3, 2009 Android 2.0.1 Eclair(API 6) was released Minor API

changes, bugfixes and framework behavioral changes are it’s features. Android 2.1
Eclair(API 7) was released on January 12, 2010 just a Minor amendments to the API
and bugfixes

Android 2.2 Froyo(API 8)

On May 20, 2010, the SDK for Android 2.2 (Froyo, short for frozen yogurt) was
released, based on Linux kernel 2.6.32.

 Speed, memory, and performance optimizations

 Additional application speed improvements, implemented through JIT
compilation
 Integration of Chrome's V8 JavaScript engine into the Browser application
 Support for the Android Cloud to Device Messaging (C2DM) service,
enabling push notifications
 Improved Microsoft Exchange support, including security policies,
auto-discovery, GAL look-up, calendar synchronization and remote wipe
 Improved application launcher with shortcuts to Phone and Browser applications
 USB tethering and Wi-Fi hotspot functionality
 Option to disable data access over mobile network
 Updated Market application with batch and automatic update features
 Quick switching between multiple keyboard languages and their dictionaries
 Support for Bluetooth-enabled car and desk docks
 Support for numeric and alphanumeric passwords
 Support for file upload fields in the Browser application
 The browser now shows all frames of animated GIFs instead of just the first
frame only
 Support for installing applications to the expandable memory
 Adobe Flash support
 Support for high-PPI displays (up to 320 ppi), such as four-inch 720p screens
 Gallery allows users to view picture stacks using a zoom gesture

January 18, 2011, Android 2.2.1 Froyo was released for Bugfixes, security
updates and performance improvement. January 22, 2011, Android 2.2.2 Froyo was
released for Minor bugfixes, including SMS routing issues that affected the Nexus
One and lastly Android 2.2.3 Froyo was released last November 21, 2011 for two
security updates.

Android 2.3 Gingerbread(API 9)

On December 6, 2010, the Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) SDK was released, based
on Linux kernel 2.6.35. Changes included:

 Updated user interface design with increased simplicity and speed

 Support for extra-large screen sizes and resolutions (WXGA and higher)
 Native support for SIP VoIP internet telephony
 Faster, more intuitive text input in virtual keyboard, with improved accuracy,
better suggested text and voice input mode
 Enhanced copy/paste functionality, allowing users to select a word by press-hold,
copy, and paste
 Support for Near Field Communication (NFC), allowing the user to read an NFC
tag embedded in a poster, sticker, or advertisement
 New audio effects such as reverb, equalization, headphone virtualization, and
bass boost
 New Download Manager, giving users easy access to any file downloaded from
the browser, email, or another application
 Support for multiple cameras on the device, including a front-facing camera, if
available
 Support for WebM/VP8 video playback, and AAC audio encoding
 Improved power management with a more active role in managing applications
that are keeping the device awake for too long
 Enhanced support for native code development
 Switched from YAFFS to ext4 on newer devices
 Audio, graphical, and input enhancements for game developers
 Concurrent garbage collection for increased performance
 Native support for more sensors (such as gyroscopes and barometers)
 First Android version to feature an Easter egg. It was an image of the Bugdroid
standing next to a zombie gingerbread man, with many more zombies in the
background.

Android 2.3.3 Gingerbread it was released last February 9, 2011 for the several
improvements and API fixes. Android 2.3.4 Gingerbread it was released last April 28,
2011 for the Support for voice or video chat using Google Talk, Open Accessory
Library support, open Accessory was introduced in 3.1 (Honeycomb) but the Open
Accessory Library grants 2.3.4 added support when connecting to a USB peripheral
with compatible software and a compatible application on the device, Switched the
default encryption for SSL from AES256-SHA to RC4-MD5. July 25, 2011,
Improved network performance for the Nexus S 4G, among other fixes and
improvements, Fixed Bluetooth bug on Samsung Galaxy S, Improved Gmail
application, Shadow animations for list scrolling, Camera software enhancements,
Improved battery efficiency

Android 3.0 Honeycomb(API 11)

On February 22, 2011, the Android 3.0 (Honeycomb) SDK – the first tablet-only
Android update – was released, based on Linux kernel 2.6.36. The first device
featuring this version, the Motorola Xoom tablet, was released on February 24, 2011.
The update's features included:

 Optimized tablet support with a new “holographic” user interface (removed again
the following year with version 4.2)
 New easter egg, an image of a Tron-themed bumblebee
 Added System Bar, featuring quick access to notifications, status, and soft
navigation buttons, available at the bottom of the screen
 Added Action Bar, giving access to contextual options, navigation, widgets, or
other types of content at the top of the screen
 Simplified multitasking – tapping Recent Applications in the System Bar allows
users to see snapshots of the tasks underway and quickly jump from one
application to another
 Redesigned keyboard, making typing fast, efficient and accurate on larger screen
sizes
 Simplified, more intuitive copy/paste interface
 Multiple browser tabs replacing browser windows, plus form auto-fill and a new
“incognito” mode allowing anonymous browsing
 Quick access to camera exposure, focus, flash, zoom, front-facing camera,
time-lapse, and other camera features
 Ability to view albums and other collections in full-screen mode in Gallery, with
easy access to thumbnails for other photos
 New two-pane Contacts UI and Fast Scroll to let users easily organize and locate
contacts
 New two-pane Email UI to make viewing and organizing messages more efficient,
allowing users to select one or more messages
 Hardware acceleration
 Support for multi-core processors
 Ability to encrypt all user data
 HTTPS stack improved with Server Name Indication (SNI)
 Filesystem in Userspace (FUSE; kernel module)
 Disallows applications from having write access to secondary storage (memory
cards on devices with internal primary storage) outside of designated,
application-specific directories. Full access to primary internal storage is still
allowed through a separate application-level permission.
 Android 3.1 Honeycomb (API 12), release date May 10, 2011, features are: UI
refinements, Connectivity for USB accessories (USB On-The-Go), Expanded Recent
Applications list, Resizable Home screen widgets, Support for external keyboards
and pointing devices, Support for joysticks and gamepads, Support
for FLAC audio playback, High-performance Wi-Fi lock, maintaining
high-performance Wi-Fi connections when device screen is off and Support for
HTTP proxy for each connected Wi-Fi access point

Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich(API 14)

The SDK for Android 4.0.1 (Ice Cream Sandwich), based on Linux kernel
3.0.1, was publicly released on October 19, 2011. Google's Gabe Cohen stated that
Android 4.0 was "theoretically compatible" with any Android 2.3.x device in
production at that time.[92] The source code for Android 4.0 became available on
November 14, 2011. Ice Cream Sandwich was the last version to officially
support Adobe Systems' Flash player. The update introduced numerous new
features:

 Major refinements to the "Holo" interface with new Roboto font family
 Soft buttons from Android 3.x are now available for use on phones
 Separation of widgets in a new tab, listed in a similar manner to applications
 Easier-to-create folders, with a drag-and-drop style
 Improved visual voicemail with the ability to speed up or slow down voicemail
messages
 Pinch-to-zoom functionality in the calendar
 Integrated screenshot capture (accomplished by holding down the Power and
Volume-Down buttons)
 Improved error correction on the keyboard
 Ability to access applications directly from lock screen
 Improved copy and paste functionality
 Better voice integration and continuous, real-time speech to text dictation
 Face Unlock, a feature that allows users to unlock handsets using facial
recognition software
 Automatic syncing of browser with users' Chrome bookmarks
 Data Usage section in settings that lets users set warnings when they approach a
certain usage limit, and disable data use when the limit is exceeded
 Ability to shut down applications from the recent apps list with a swipe
 Improved camera application with zero shutter lag, time lapse settings, panorama
mode, and the ability to zoom while recording
 Built-in photo editor
 New gallery layout, organized by location and person
 Refreshed "People" application with social network integration, status updates
and hi-res images
 Android Beam, a near-field communication feature allowing the rapid short-range
exchange of web bookmarks, contact info, directions, YouTube videos and other
data
 Support for the WebP image format
 Hardware acceleration of the UI
 Wi-Fi Direct
 1080p video recording for stock Android devices
 Android VPN Framework (AVF), and TUN (but not TAP) kernel module. Prior
to 4.0, VPN software required rooted Android

Android 4.0.3 Ice Cream Sandwich(API 15)

December 16, 2011 released date.
Features: Numerous bugfixes and optimizations
Improvements to graphics, databases, spell-checking and Bluetooth functionality
New APIs for developers, including a social stream API in the Contacts provider
Calendar provider enhancements
New camera applications enhancing video stabilization and QVGA resolution
Accessibility refinements such as improved content access for screen readers

Android 4.0.4 Ice Cream Sandwich

Released date: March 29, 2012
Features: Stability improvements
Better camera performance
 Smoother screen rotation
Improved phone number recognition

Android 4.1 Jelly Bean (API 16)

Google announced Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean) at the Google I/O conference on
June 27, 2012. Based on Linux kernel 3.0.31, Jelly Bean was an incremental update
with the primary aim of improving the functionality and performance of the user
interface. The performance improvement involved "Project Butter", which uses touch
anticipation, triple buffering, extended vsync timing and a fixed frame rate of
60 fps to create a fluid and "buttery-smooth" UI. Android 4.1 Jelly Bean was
released to the Android Open Source Project on July 9, 2012, and the Nexus 7 tablet,
the first device to run Jelly Bean, was released on July 13, 2012.
Features:
 Smoother user interface:
 Vsync timing across all drawing and animation done by the Android framework,
including application rendering, touch events, screen composition and display
refresh
 Triple buffering in the graphics pipeline
 CPU input boost
 Synchronizing touch to vsync timing
 Enhanced accessibility
 Bi-directional text and other language support
 User-installable keyboard maps
 Expandable notifications
 Ability to turn off notifications on an application-specific basis
 Shortcuts and widgets can automatically be re-arranged or re-sized to allow new
items to fit on home screens
 Bluetooth data transfer for Android Beam
 Tablets with smaller screens now use an expanded version of the interface layout
and home screen used by phones.
 Improved camera application
 Multichannel audio
 The Fraunhofer FDK AAC codec becomes standard in Android, adding AAC 5.1
channel encoding/decoding
 USB audio (for external sound DACs)
 Audio chaining (also known as gapless playback)
 Ability for other launchers to add widgets from the application drawer without
requiring root access

Android 4.2 Jelly Bean (API 17)

Google was expected to announce Jelly Bean 4.2 at an event in New York
City on October 29, 2012, but the event was cancelled due to Hurricane
Sandy.[116] Instead of rescheduling the live event, Google announced the new
version with a press release, under the slogan "A new flavor of Jelly Bean". Jelly
Bean 4.2 was based on Linux kernel 3.4.0, and debuted on Google's Nexus
4 and Nexus 10, which were released on November 13, 2012.

Android 4.3 Jelly Bean (API 18)

Google released Jelly Bean 4.3 under the slogan "An even sweeter Jelly Bean" on
July 24, 2013, during an event in San Francisco called "Breakfast with Sundar Pichai".
Most Nexus devices received the update within a week, although
the second-generation Nexus 7 tablet was the first device to officially ship with
it.[128] A minor bugfix update was released on August 22, 2013.

Android 4.4 KitKat (API 19)

Google announced Android 4.4 KitKat on September 3, 2013. Although initially

under the "Key Lime Pie" ("KLP") codename, the name was changed because "very
few people actually know the taste of a ke

y lime pie." Some technology bloggers also expected the "Key Lime Pie" release
to be Android 5. KitKat debuted on Google's Nexus 5 on October 31, 2013, and was
optimized to run on a greater range of devices than earlier Android versions, having
512 MB of RAM as a recommended minimum; those improvements were known as
"Project Svelte" internally at Google. The required minimum amount of RAM
available to Android is 340 MB, and all devices with less than 512 MB of RAM must
report themselves as "low RAM" devices.

 Refreshed interface with white elements instead of blue

 Clock no longer shows bold hours; all digits are thin. The H, M, and S markings
for the stopwatch and timer have been removed, leaving just the numbers.
 Ability for applications to trigger translucency in the navigation and status bars
 Ability for applications to use "immersive mode" to keep the navigation and
status bars hidden while maintaining user interaction
 Action overflow menu buttons are always visible, even on devices with a "Menu"
key, which was officially deprecated by Android 4.0.
 Restriction for applications when accessing external storage, except for their own
directories
 Optimizations for performance on devices with lower specifications,
including zRAM support and "low RAM" device API
 Wireless printing capability
 NFC host card emulation, enabling a device to replace smart cards
 WebViews now based on Chromium engine (feature parity with Chrome for
Android 30)
 Expanded functionality for notification listener services
 Public API for developing and managing text messaging clients
 Storage Access Framework, an API allowing apps to retrieve files in a consistent
manner. As part of the framework, a new system file picker allows users to access
files from various sources (including those exposed by apps, such as online
storage services).
 New framework for UI transitions
 Sensor batching, step detector and counter APIs
 Settings application now makes it possible to select default text messaging and
home (launcher) application
 Audio tunneling, audio monitoring and loudness enhancer
 Built-in screen recording feature (primarily for developers, as usage of ADB is
required)
 Native infrared blaster API
 Verified boot
 Enforcing SELinux
 Expanded accessibility APIs and system-level closed captioning settings
 Android Runtime (ART) introduced as a new experimental application runtime
environment, not enabled by default, as a replacement for the Dalvik virtual
machine
 Bluetooth Message Access Profile (MAP) support
 Disabled access to battery statistics by third-party applications
 Settings application no longer uses a multi-pane layout on devices with larger
screens
 Wi-Fi and mobile data activity (TX/RX) indicators are moved to quick settings
 Disables text wrapping in the WebView browser component

Android 5.0 Lollipop (API 21)

Android 5.0 "Lollipop" was unveiled under the codename "Android L" on June
25, 2014, during Google I/O. It became available as official over-the-air (OTA)
updates on November 12, 2014, for select devices that run distributions of Android
serviced by Google, including Nexus and Google Play edition devices. Its source code
was made available on November 3, 2014.
Lollipop features a redesigned user interface built around a responsive design
language referred to as "material design". Other changes include improvements to the
notifications, which can be accessed from the lockscreen and displayed within
applications as top-of-the-screen banners. Furthermore, Google made internal changes
to the platform, with the Android Runtime (ART) officially replacing Dalvik for
improved application performance, and with chan
ges intended to improve and optimize battery usage, known internally as Project
Volta. Features:

 Android Runtime (ART) with ahead-of-time (AOT) compilation and improved

garbage collection (GC), replacing Dalvik that combines
bytecode interpretation with trace-based just-in-time (JIT) compilation
 Support for 64-bit CPUs
 OpenGL ES 3.1 and Android Extension Pack (AEP) on supported GPU
configurations
 Recent activities screen with tasks instead of applications, up to a configured
maximum of tasks per application
 Vector drawables, which scale without losing definition
 Support for print previews
 Material design, bringing a restyled user interface
 Refreshed lock screen, no longer supporting widgets
 Refreshed notification tray and quick settings pull-down
 Project Volta, for battery life improvements
 Searches can be performed within the system settings for quicker access to
particular settings
 Lock screen provides shortcuts to application and notification settings
 Guest logins and multiple user accounts are available on more devices, such as
phones.
 Audio input and output through USB devices
 Third-party applications regain the ability to read and modify data located
anywhere on external storage, such as on SD cards.
 Pinning of an application's screen for restricted user activity.
 Recently used applications are remembered even after restarting the devices
 WebViews receive updates independently through Google Play for security
reasons, instead of relying on system-wide vendor updates
 Addition of 15 new languages: Basque, Bengali, Burmese, Chinese (Hong Kong),
Galician, Icelandic, Kannada, Kyrgyz, Macedonian, Malayalam, Marathi, Nepali,
Sinhala, Tamil and Telugu
 Tap and Go allows users to quickly migrate to a new Android device, using NFC
and Bluetooth to transfer Google Account details, configuration settings, user
data and installed applications
 A flashlight-style application is included, working on supported devices with a
camera flash.
 User-customizable priorities for application notifications.
 Smart lock feature
 SELinux in enforcing mode for all domains
 Updated emoji
 Improved accessibility support (e.g. switch access support)
 Block-based over-the-air (OTA) updates for new devices
Android 6.0 Marshmallow(API 23)

Android 6.0 "Marshmallow" was unveiled under the codename "Android M"
during Google I/O on May 28, 2015, for the Nexus 5 and Nexus 6 phones, Nexus
9 tablet, and Nexus Player set-top box, under the build number MPZ44Q.[200] The
third developer preview (MPA44G) was released on August 17, 2015 for the Nexus 5,
Nexus 6, Nexus 9 and Nexus Player devices, and was updated to MPA44I that
brought fixes related to Android for Work profiles. Features:

 Contextual search from keywords within apps.

 Introduction of Doze mode, which reduces CPU speed while the screen is off in
order to save battery life
 App Standby feature
 Alphabetically accessible vertical application drawer
 Application search bar and favorites
 Native fingerprint reader support
 Direct Share feature for target-specific sharing between apps
 Renamed "Priority" mode to "Do Not Disturb" mode
 App Linking for faster instinctive opening of links with corresponding
applications
 Larger Application folders with multiple pages
 Post-install/run-time permission requests
 USB-C support
 Demo Mode feature for scr
 eenshot-capture usage
 Automatic full data backup and restore for apps
 4K display mode for apps
 Adoptable External storage to behave like Internal Storage (However, this causes
more actual problems than the hypothetical ones it was probably designed to
solve.)
 MIDI support for musical instruments
 Experimental multi-window feature
 Support for actions by third-party apps in the text selection menu
 App permissions now granted individually at run-time, not all-or-nothing at
install time.
 Miracast support dropped

Android 7.0 Nougat(API 24)

Android "Nougat" (codenamed N in-development) is the major 7.0 release of the

Android operating system. It was first released as a developer preview on March 9,
2016, with factory images for current Nexus devices, as well as with the new
"Android Beta Program" which allows supported devices to be upgraded directly to
the Android Nougat beta via over-the-air update. Final release was on August 22,
2016. The final preview build was released on July 18, 2016, with the build number
NPD90G.

 Support for file based encryption

 Unicode 9.0 emoji and skin tone modifier support (and exposes a subset
of ICU4J APIs).
 Ability to display color calibration
 Ability to screen zoom
 Ability to switch to the last opened app by double tapping the overview button
 Added Emergency information part
 Added the "Clear All" button in Overview screen
 Another system partition, which gets updated when not in use, allowing for
seamless system updates
 Daydream virtual reality platform (VR interface)
 Improved Doze functionality, which aims to prolong battery life
 Improvements to file browser
 More Quick Settings options

 Multi-window support, which supports floating apps on a desktop layout
 New Data Saver mode, which can force apps to reduce bandwidth usage
 New JIT Compiler, making for 75 percent faster app installations and a 50
percent reduction in compiled code size
 Just in Time (JIT) compiler with code profiling to ART, which lets it constantly
improve the performance of Android apps as they run
 Picture-in-picture support for Android TV
 Redesigned notification shade, featuring instant access to certain settings
 Redesigned Overview screen
 Replaced notification cards with notification sheets
 Settings app navigation drawer
 Vulkan 3D rendering API
 Multiple Device Locales

Android 8.0 Oreo(API 26)

Android Oreo is the 8th major release of the Android operating system. It was
first released as a developer preview on March 21, 2017, with factory images for
current Nexus and Pixel devices. The final developer preview was released on July 24,
2017, with the stable version released in August 2017.
 Project Treble, the biggest change to the foundations of Android to date: a
modular architecture that makes it easier and faster for hardware makers to
deliver Android updates
 Picture-in-picture support
 Support for Unicode 10.0 emoji (5.0) and replacement of all blob-shaped emojis
by round ones with gradient and outline
 Redesigned Quick Settings and Settings with white background and respectively
black and Accent font color
 Restructured Settings by regrouping in sections similar entries
 Adaptive icons
 Notification improvements
 Notification channels
 Notification dots (badges)
 Notification snoozing
 Notification shade multi-colors (for music album art, messengers etc)
 System-wide Autofill framework
 Sony LDAC codec support
 App-specific unknown sources
 Multi-display support
 2 times faster boot time compared to Nougat according to Google, testing on their
Pixel devices[230]
 Apps background execution and l
 ocation limits
 Google Play Protect
 Downloadable fonts
 Integrated printing support
 Color management (deep color and wide color gamut)
 Wi-Fi Assistant

Android Oreo is the 8th major release of the Android operating system. It was
first released as a developer preview on October 25, 2017, with factory images for
current Nexus and Pixel devices. A second developer preview was made available on
November 27, 2017 for Nexus and Pixel devices, before the stable version was
released on December 5, 2017 with its features:
 Neural networks API
 Shared memory API
 WallpaperColors API
 Bluetooth battery level for connected devices, accessible in Quick Settings
 Android Oreo Go Edition, an lightweight distribution of Android that runs better
than normal Android on devices with less than 1 GB of RAM
 Autofill framework updates
 Programmatic Safe Browsing actions
 Navigation buttons dim when not in use
 Visual changes to 'Power Off' and 'Restart' including a new screen and floating
toolbar
 Toast messages are now white in color with same existing transparency
 Automatic light and dark themes
 New Easter Egg in the form of an official Oreo cookie picture
 Hamburger emoji amended to move position of the cheese slice

Android 9.0 Pie (API 28)

Android Pie is the ninth major version of the Android operating system. It was
first announced by Google on March 7, 2018, and the first developer preview was
released on the same day. Second preview, considered beta quality, was released on
May 8, 2018. The final beta of Android P (fifth preview, also considered as a
"Release Candidate") was released on July 25, 2018. The first official release was
released on August 6, 2018.

 New user interface for the quick settings menu

 The clock has moved to the left of the notification bar.
 The "dock" now has a semi-transparent background.
 Battery saver no longer shows an
 orange overlay on the notification and status bars.
 A "screenshot" button has been added to the power options.
 A new "Lockdown" mode which disables biometric authentication once activated
 Rounded corners across the UI
 New transitions for switching between apps, or activities within apps
 Richer messaging notifications, where a full conversation can be had within a
notification, full scale images, and smart replies akin to Google's new app, Reply
 Support for display cutouts
 Redesigned volume slider
 Battery percentage now shown in Always-On Display
 Lock screen security changes include the possible return of an improved NFC
Unlock.
 Experimental features (which are currently hidden within a menu called Feature
Flags) such as a redesigned About Phone page in settings, and automatic
Bluetooth enabling while driving
 DNS over TLS
 A new optional gesture-based system interface, allowing users to navigate the OS
using swipes more often than the traditional UI
 Redesigned multitask app switcher with Google search bar and app drawer built
in.
 Android Dashboard, which tells the user how much time you're spending on your
device and in apps, and allows the user to set time limits on apps
 "Shush", an enhanced version of Do Not Disturb mode activated by placing the
phone face down, which mutes standard notifications
 "Adaptive Battery" prediction, which makes use of Doze to hibernate user apps
the OS determines the user will not use
 Auto Brightness feature modifies screen brightness based on user habits
 Wind Down option lets Android users set a specific bed time that enables Do Not
Disturb and turns the entire phone's interface gray to discourage further use at
night
 Vulkan 1.1 support

Android Q (API 29)

Android Q is the tenth major version of the Android operating system. It was first
announced by Google on March 13, 2019, and the first beta was released on the same
day. The second beta was released on April 3, 2019.