Android (operating system)

Android is a mobile operating system developed by the so-called "smartphone wars" between technology
Google, based on the Linux kernel and designed primar- companies.[27][28]
ily for touchscreen mobile devices such as smartphones
and tablets. Android’s user interface is mainly based on
direct manipulation, using touch gestures that loosely cor- 1 History
respond to real-world actions, such as swiping, tapping
and pinching, to manipulate on-screen objects, along with
See also: Android version history
a virtual keyboard for text input. In addition to touch-
Android, Inc. was founded in Palo Alto, California in
screen devices, Google has further developed Android
TV for televisions, Android Auto for cars, and Android
Wear for wrist watches, each with a specialized user in-
terface. Variants of Android are also used on notebooks,
game consoles, digital cameras, and other electronics.
Former Android logo wordmark (2007-2014)
Android has the largest installed base of all operating sys-
tems (OS) of any kind.[lower-alpha 2] Android has been the October 2003 by Andy Rubin (co-founder of Danger),[29]
best selling OS on tablets since 2013, and on smartphones Rich Miner (co-founder of Wildfire Communications,
it is dominant by any metric.[15][16] Inc.),[30] Nick Sears (once VP at T-Mobile),[31] and
Initially developed by Android, Inc., which Google Chris White (headed design and interface development at
[17]
bought in 2005,[17] Android was unveiled in 2007 along WebTV ) to develop, in Rubin’s words, “smarter mo-
with the founding of the Open Handset Alliance – a con- bile devices that are more aware of its owner’s location
[17]
sortium of hardware, software, and telecommunication and preferences”. The early intentions of the company
companies devoted to advancing open standards for mo- were to develop an advanced operating system for digital
bile devices.[18] As of July 2013, the Google Play store cameras. Though, when it was realized that the mar-
has had over one million Android applications (“apps”) ket for the devices was not large enough, the company
published – including many “business-class apps”[19] that diverted its efforts toward producing a smartphone op-
rival competing mobile platforms[20] – and over 50 billion erating system that would rival Symbian and Microsoft
[32]
applications downloaded.[21] An April–May 2013 survey Windows Mobile. Despite the past accomplishments
of mobile application developers found that 71% of de- of the founders and early employees, Android Inc. oper-
velopers create applications for Android,[22] and a 2015 ated secretly, revealing only that it was working on soft-
[17]
survey found that 40% of full-time professional develop- ware for mobile phones. That same year, Rubin ran
ers see Android as their priority target platform, which is out of money. Steve Perlman, a close friend of Rubin,
comparable to Apple's iOS on 37% with both platforms brought him $10,000 in cash in an envelope and refused
[33]
far above others.[23] In September 2015, Android had 1.4 a stake in the company.
[24]
billion monthly active devices. In July 2005, Google acquired Android Inc. for at
Android’s source code is released by Google under open least $50 million, whose key employees, including Ru-
source licenses, although most Android devices ulti- bin, Miner and White, stayed at the company after the
mately ship with a combination of open source and acquisition.[15][17] Not much was known about Android
proprietary software, including proprietary software re- Inc. at the time, but many assumed that Google was plan-
quired for accessing Google services.[3] Android is pop- ning to enter the mobile phone market with this move.[17]
ular with technology companies that require a ready- At Google, the team led by Rubin developed a mobile
made, low-cost and customizable operating system for device platform powered by the Linux kernel. Google
high-tech devices.[25] Its open nature has encouraged a marketed the platform to handset makers and carriers on
large community of developers and enthusiasts to use the promise of providing a flexible, upgradeable system.
the open-source code as a foundation for community- Google had lined up a series of hardware component and
driven projects, which deliver updates to older devices, software partners and signaled to carriers that it was open
add new features for advanced users[26] or bring An- to various degrees of cooperation on their part.[34][35][36]
droid to devices originally shipped with other operat- Speculation about Google’s intention to enter the mo-
ing systems. The success of Android has made it a bile communications market continued to build through
target for patent (and copyright) litigation as part of December 2006.[37] An earlier prototype codenamed

1
2 2 FEATURES

“Sooner” had a closer resemblance to a BlackBerry and Google I/O, Google’s annual developer-focused con-
phone, with no touchscreen, and a physical, QWERTY ference. Barra’s product involvement included the en-
keyboard, but was later re-engineered to support a tire Android ecosystem of software and hardware, includ-
touchscreen, to compete with other announced de- ing Honeycomb, Ice Cream Sandwich, Jelly Bean and
vices such as the 2006 LG Prada and 2007 Apple KitKat operating system launches, the Nexus 4 and Nexus
iPhone.[38][39] In September 2007, InformationWeek cov- 5 smartphones, the Nexus 7[45] and Nexus 10 tablets,[46]
ered an Evalueserve study reporting that Google had and other related products such as Google Now[47] and
filed several patent applications in the area of mobile Google Voice Search, Google’s speech recognition prod-
telephony.[40][41] uct comparable to Apple’s Siri.[47] In 2013, Barra left the
Android team for Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi.[48]
The same year, Larry Page announced in a blog post that
Andy Rubin had moved from the Android division to take
on new projects at Google.[49] He was replaced by Sundar
Pichai who became the new head of Android and Chrome
OS,[50] and, later, by Hiroshi Lockheimer when Pichai
became CEO of Google.[51]
In 2014, Google launched Android One, a line of smart-
phones mainly targeting customers in the developing
world. In May 2015, Google announced Project Brillo as
a cut-down version of Android that uses its lower levels
Eric Schmidt, Andy Rubin and Hugo Barra at a 2012 press con- (excluding the user interface), intended for the "Internet
ference announcing Google’s Nexus 7 tablet of Things" (IoT) embedded systems.[52]
University of Cambridge research in 2015, concluded
On November 5, 2007, the Open Handset Alliance, a that almost 90% of Android phones in use had known
consortium of technology companies including Google, but unpatched security vulnerabilities due to lack of up-
device manufacturers such as HTC, Sony and Samsung, dates and support.[53][54] In a year since (mid-2015) that
wireless carriers such as Sprint Nextel and T-Mobile, report, well over a billion Android smartphones have been
and chipset makers such as Qualcomm and Texas Instru- sold (more than the just over billion sold in 2014); and
ments, unveiled itself, with a goal to develop open stan- Android 5.0 (with better security) and later, went from
dards for mobile devices.[18] That day, Android was un- 5.4% market share to currently over half, which means
veiled as its first product, a mobile device platform built that the 90% number must be very outdated; those phones
on the Linux kernel.[18][42] The first commercially avail- now very likely represent less than half of all Android
able smartphone running Android was the HTC Dream, phones. Recent devices do get security updates;[55][56]
released on October 22, 2008.[43] Android 5.0 introduced an improved centralized update
[57][58]
Since 2008, Android has seen numerous updates which system.
have incrementally improved the operating system,
adding new features and fixing bugs in previous releases.
Each major release is named in alphabetical order after a 2 Features
dessert or sugary treat; for example, version 1.5 “Cup-
cake” was followed by 1.6 “Donut”. In 2010, Google
See also: List of features in Android
launched its Nexus series of devices – a line of smart-
phones and tablets running the Android operating system,
and built by manufacturing partners. HTC collaborated
with Google to release the first Nexus smartphone,[44] 2.1 Interface
the Nexus One. Google has since updated the series
with newer devices, such as the Nexus 5 phone (made Android’s default user interface is mainly based on direct
by LG) and the Nexus 7 tablet (made by Asus). Google manipulation,[59] using touch inputs that loosely cor-
releases the Nexus phones and tablets to act as their respond to real-world actions, like swiping, tapping,
flagship Android devices, demonstrating Android’s lat- pinching, and reverse pinching to manipulate on-screen
est software and hardware features. From 2013 until objects, along with a virtual keyboard.[59] Game con-
2015, Google offered several Google Play Edition de- trollers and full-size physical keyboards are supported via
vices over Google Play. While not carrying the Google Bluetooth or USB.[60] The response to user input is de-
Nexus branding, these were Google-customized Android signed to be immediate and provides a fluid touch inter-
phones and tablets that also ran the latest version of An- face, often using the vibration capabilities of the device
droid, free from manufacturer or carrier modifications. to provide haptic feedback to the user. Internal hard-
From 2010 to 2013, Hugo Barra served as product ware, such as accelerometers, gyroscopes and proximity
spokesperson, representing Android at press conferences sensors[61] are used by some applications to respond to
2.3 Memory management 3

additional user actions, for example adjusting the screen guage that has complete access to the Android APIs.
from portrait to landscape depending on how the device Java may be combined with C/C++, together with a
is oriented, or allowing the user to steer a vehicle in a rac- choice of non-default runtimes that allow better C++
ing game by rotating the device, simulating control of a support;[70][71][72] the Go programming language is also
steering wheel.[62] supported since its version 1.4, which can also be used
Android devices boot to the homescreen, the primary exclusively although with a restricted set of Android
navigation and information “hub” on Android devices that APIs.[73] The SDK includes a comprehensive set of devel-
is analogous to the desktop found on personal computers. opment tools,[74] including a debugger, software libraries,
a handset emulator based on QEMU, documentation,
(Android also runs on regular personal computers, as de-
scribed below). Android homescreens are typically made sample code, and tutorials. Initially, Google’s supported
integrated development environment (IDE) was Eclipse
up of app icons and widgets; app icons launch the asso-
ciated app, whereas widgets display live, auto-updating using the Android Development Tools (ADT) plugin; in
December 2014, Google released Android Studio, based
content, such as the weather forecast, the user’s email in-
box, or a news ticker directly on the homescreen.[63] A on IntelliJ IDEA, as its primary IDE for Android applica-
homescreen may be made up of several pages, between tion development. Other development tools are available,
which the user can swipe back and forth, though An- including a native development kit (NDK) for applica-
droid’s homescreen interface is heavily customisable, al- tions or extensions in C or C++, Google App Inventor,
lowing users to adjust the look and feel of the devices a visual environment for novice programmers, and vari-
to their tastes.[64] Third-party apps available on Google ous cross platform mobile web applications frameworks.
Play and other app stores can extensively re-theme the In January 2014, Google unveiled an framework based
homescreen, and even mimic the look of other operating on Apache Cordova for porting Chrome HTML 5 web
systems, such as Windows Phone.[65] Most manufactur- applications to Android, wrapped in a native application
ers, and some wireless carriers, customise the look and shell.[75]
feel of their Android devices to differentiate themselves Android has a growing selection of third-party appli-
from their competitors.[66] Applications that handle in- cations, which can be acquired by users by download-
teractions with the homescreen are called “launchers” be- ing and installing the application’s APK (Android appli-
cause they, among other purposes, launch the applications cation package) file, or by downloading them using an
installed on a device. application store program that allows users to install, up-
Along the top of the screen is a status bar, showing in- date, and remove applications from their devices. Google
Play Store is the primary application store installed on
formation about the device and its connectivity. This
status bar can be “pulled” down to reveal a notification Android devices that comply with Google’s compatibil-
ity requirements and license the Google Mobile Services
screen where apps display important information or up-
dates, such as a newly received email or SMS text, in software.[3][76] Google Play Store allows users to browse,
download and update applications published by Google
a way that does not immediately interrupt or inconve-
nience the user.[67] Notifications are persistent until read and third-party developers; as of July 2013, there are
more than one million applications available for Android
by tapping it, which opens the relevant app, or dismissed
by sliding it off the screen. Beginning on Android 4.1, in Play Store.[77] As of July 2013, 50 billion applications
“expanded notifications” can display expanded details or have been installed.[78][79] Some carriers offer direct car-
additional functionality; for instance, a music player can rier billing for Google Play application purchases, where
display playback controls, and a “missed call” notification the cost of the application is added to the user’s monthly
provides buttons for calling back or sending the caller an bill.[80]
SMS message.[68] Due to the open nature of Android, a number of third-
Android provides the ability to run applications that party application marketplaces also exist for Android, ei-
change the default launcher, and hence the appearance ther to provide a substitute for devices that are not allowed
and externally visible behaviour of Android. These ap- to ship with Google Play Store, provide applications that
pearance changes include a multi-page dock or no dock, cannot be offered on Google Play Store due to policy vi-
and many more changes to fundamental features of the olations, or for other reasons. Examples of these third-
user interface.[69] party stores have included the Amazon Appstore, GetJar,
and SlideMe. F-Droid, another alternative marketplace,
seeks to only provide applications that are distributed un-
2.2 Applications der free and open source licenses.[3][81][82][83]

See also: Android software development and Google Play

2.3 Memory management
Applications ("apps"), which extend the functionality of Since Android devices are usually battery-powered, An-
devices, are written using the Android software develop- droid is designed to manage processes to keep power con-
ment kit (SDK) and, often, the Java programming lan- sumption at a minimum. When an application is not in
4 4 DEVELOPMENT

use the system suspends its operation so that, while avail- Requirements for the minimum amount of RAM for de-
able for immediate use rather than closed, it does not use vices running Android 5.1 range from 512 MB of RAM
battery power or CPU resources.[84][85] for normal-density screens, to about 1.8 GB for high-
[93]
Android manages the applications stored in memory density screens. The recommendation for Android
automatically: when memory is low, the system will 4.4 is to have at least 512 MB of RAM,[94] while for
begin invisibly and automatically closing inactive pro- “low RAM” devices 340 MB is the required minimum
cesses, starting with those that have been inactive for amount that does not include memory dedicated to var-
longest.[86][87] Lifehacker reported in 2011 that third- ious[95] hardware components such as the baseband proces-
[88] sor. Android 4.4 requires a 32-bit ARMv7, MIPS or
party task killers were doing more harm than good.
x86 architecture processor (latter two through unofficial
ports),[6][96] together with an OpenGL ES 2.0 compati-
ble graphics processing unit (GPU).[97] Android supports
2.4 Virtual reality
OpenGL ES 1.1, 2.0, 3.0, 3.1 and as of latest major ver-
sion, 3.2 and Vulkan. Some applications may explicitly
At Google I/O on May 2016, Google announced
require a certain version of the OpenGL ES, and suitable
Daydream, a virtual reality platform that relies on a
GPU hardware is required to run such applications.[97]
smartphone and provides VR capabilities through a
virtual reality headset and controller designed by Google Android devices incorporate many optional hard-
itself.[89] The platform is built into Android starting with ware components, including still or video cameras,
Android Nougat, differentiating from standalone support GPS, orientation sensors, dedicated gaming controls,
for VR capabilities. The software is available for devel- accelerometers, gyroscopes, barometers, magnetometers,
opers, and was released in 2016. proximity sensors, pressure sensors, thermometers, and
touchscreens. Some hardware components are not re-
quired, but became standard in certain classes of devices,
such as smartphones, and additional requirements apply
3 Hardware 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.[79] Android used to require
an autofocus camera, which was relaxed to a fixed-focus
camera[79] if present at all, since the camera was dropped
as a requirement entirely when Android started to be
used on set-top boxes.
In addition to running on smartphones and tablets, sev-
eral vendors run Android natively on regular PC hardware
with a keyboard and mouse.[98][99][100][101] In addition
to their availability on commercially available hardware,
similar PC hardware-friendly versions of Android are
HTC Dream or T-Mobile G1, the first commercially released de- freely available from the Android-x86 project, including
vice running Android (2008). customized Android 4.4.[102] Using the Android emulator
that is part of the Android SDK, or by using BlueStacks or
See also: Android hardware requirements Andy, Android can also run non-natively on x86.[103][104]
Chinese companies are building a PC and mobile operat-
ing system, based on Android, to “compete directly with
The main hardware platform for Android is the ARM Microsoft Windows and Google Android”.[105] The Chi-
(ARMv7 and ARMv8-A architectures), with x86 and nese Academy of Engineering noted that “more than a
MIPS architectures also officially supported in later ver- dozen” companies were customising Android following
sions of Android. Since Android 5.0 “Lollipop”, 64-bit a Chinese ban on the use of Windows 8 on government
variants of all platforms are supported in addition to the PCs.[106][107][108]
32-bit variants.[90] The unofficial Android-x86 project
provided support for the x86 architectures ahead of the
official support.[6][91] MIPS architecture was also sup-
ported before Google did. Since 2012, Android de- 4 Development
vices with Intel processors began to appear, including
phones[92] and tablets. While gaining support for 64-bit Android is developed in private by Google until the lat-
platforms, Android was first made to run on 64-bit x86 est changes and updates are ready to be released, at which
and then on ARM64. point the source code is made available publicly.[109] This
4.2 Linux kernel 5

for device manufacturers, who prioritize their newest de-

vices and often leave older ones behind.[114] Hence, older
smartphones are frequently not updated if the manufac-
turer decides it is not worth the investment of resources,
although the device may be compatible. This problem
is compounded when manufacturers customize Android
with their own interface and apps, which must be reap-
plied to each new release. Additional delays can be intro-
duced by wireless carriers who, after receiving updates
from manufacturers, further customize and brand An-
droid to their needs and conduct extensive testing on their
networks before sending the upgrade out to users.[114]
The lack of after-sale support from manufacturers and
carriers has been widely criticized by consumer groups
Android green figure, next to its original packaging and the technology media.[115][116] Some commentators
have noted that the industry has a financial incentive
not to upgrade their devices, as the lack of updates for
source code will only run without modification on se-
existing devices fuels the purchase of newer ones,[117]
lect devices, usually the Nexus series of devices. The
an attitude described as “insulting”.[116] The Guardian
source code is, in turn, adapted by original equipment
complained that the method of distribution for updates
manufacturers (OEMs) to run on their hardware.[110] An-
is complicated only because manufacturers and carriers
droid’s source code does not contain the often propri-
have designed it that way.[116] In 2011, Google partnered
etary device drivers that are needed for certain hardware
with a number of industry players to announce an “An-
components.[111]
droid Update Alliance”, pledging to deliver timely up-
In 2007, the green Android logo was designed for Google dates for every device for 18 months after its release;[118]
by graphic designer Irina Blok. The design team was however, there has not been another official word about
tasked with a project to create a universally identifiable that alliance since its announcement.[114][119]
icon with the specific inclusion of a robot in the final
In 2012, Google began decoupling certain aspects of the
design. After numerous design developments based on
operating system (particularly core applications) so they
science-fiction and space movies, the team eventually
could be updated through Google Play Store indepen-
sought inspiration from the human symbol on restroom
dently of the operating system. One of these components,
doors and modified the figure into a robot shape. As
Google Play Services, is a closed-source system-level pro-
Android is open-sourced, it was agreed that the logo
cess providing APIs for Google services, installed auto-
should be likewise, and since its launch the green logo has
matically on nearly all devices running Android version
been reinterpreted into countless variations on the origi-
2.2 and higher. With these changes, Google can add new
nal design.[112]
operating system functionality through Play Services and
application updates without having to distribute an up-
grade to the operating system itself. As a result, An-
4.1 Update schedule droid 4.2 and 4.3 contained relatively fewer user-facing
changes, focusing more on minor changes and platform
See also: Android version history improvements.[3][120]
In May 2016, it was announced that Google is considering
Google provides major incremental upgrades to Android “shaming” smartphone makers who fail to release updated
every six to nine months, with confectionery-themed versions of Android to their devices.[121]
names, which most devices are capable of receiving
over the air.[113] The latest major release is Android 7.0
“Nougat”. 4.2 Linux kernel
Compared to its primary rival mobile operating sys-
tem, iOS, Android updates typically reach various de- Android’s kernel is based on one of the Linux kernel's
vices with significant delays. Except for devices with the long-term support (LTS) branches. Since April 2014,
Google Nexus brand, updates often arrive months after Android devices mainly use versions 3.4, 3.10 or 3.18
the release of the new version, or not at all.[114] This is of the Linux kernel.[122][123] The specific kernel version
partly due to the extensive variation in hardware of An- depends on the actual Android device and its hardware
droid devices, to which each upgrade must be specifi- platform;[124][125][126] Android has used various kernel
cally tailored, as the official Google source code only runs versions since the version 2.6.25 that was used in Android
on their own Nexus devices. Porting Android to spe- 1.0.[42]
cific hardware is a time- and resource-consuming process Android’s variant of the Linux kernel has further archi-
6 4 DEVELOPMENT

tectural changes that are implemented by Google outside 4.3 Software stack
the typical Linux kernel development cycle, such as the
inclusion of components like Binder, ashmem, pmem,
logger, wakelocks, and different out-of-memory (OOM)
handling.[127][128][129] Certain features that Google con-
tributed back to the Linux kernel, notably a power man-
agement feature called “wakelocks”, were rejected by
mainline kernel developers partly because they felt that
Google did not show any intent to maintain its own
code.[130][131][132] Google announced in April 2010 that
they would hire two employees to work with the Linux
kernel community,[133] but Greg Kroah-Hartman, the
current Linux kernel maintainer for the stable branch,
said in December 2010 that he was concerned that Google
was no longer trying to get their code changes included in
mainstream Linux.[131] Some Google Android developers
hinted that “the Android team was getting fed up with the
process,” because they were a small team and had more
urgent work to do on Android.[134] Android’s architecture diagram

In August 2011, Linus Torvalds said that “eventually An-

droid and Linux would come back to a common kernel, On top of the Linux kernel, there are the middleware,
but it will probably not be for four to five years”.[135] libraries and APIs written in C, and application soft-
In December 2011, Greg Kroah-Hartman announced the ware running on an application framework which includes
start of Android Mainlining Project, which aims to put Java-compatible libraries. Development of the Linux
some Android drivers, patches and features back into the kernel continues independently of other Android’s source
Linux kernel, starting in Linux 3.3.[136] Linux included code bases.
the autosleep and wakelocks capabilities in the 3.5 ker- Until version 5.0, Android used Dalvik as a process vir-
nel, after many previous attempts at merger. The inter- tual machine with trace-based just-in-time (JIT) compila-
faces are the same but the upstream Linux implementa- tion to run Dalvik “dex-code” (Dalvik Executable), which
tion allows for two different suspend modes: to memory is usually translated from the Java bytecode. Following
(the traditional suspend that Android uses), and to disk the trace-based JIT principle, in addition to interpreting
(hibernate, as it is known on the desktop).[137] Google the majority of application code, Dalvik performs the
maintains a public code repository that contains their ex- compilation and native execution of select frequently ex-
perimental work to re-base Android off the latest stable ecuted code segments (“traces”) each time an application
Linux versions.[138][139] is launched.[148][149][150] Android 4.4 introduced Android
The flash storage on Android devices is split into several Runtime (ART) as a new runtime environment, which
partitions, such as /system for the operating system itself, uses ahead-of-time (AOT) compilation to entirely com-
and /data for user data and application installations.[140] pile the application bytecode into machine code upon the
In contrast to desktop Linux distributions, Android de- installation of an application. In Android 4.4, ART was
vice owners are not given root access to the operating an experimental feature and not enabled by default; it be-
system and sensitive partitions such as /system are read- came the only runtime option in the next major version
only. However, root access can be obtained by exploit- of Android, 5.0.[151]
ing security flaws in Android, which is used frequently For its Java library, the Android platform uses a subset
by the open-source community to enhance the capabili- of the now discontinued Apache Harmony project.[152] In
ties of their devices,[141] but also by malicious parties to
December 2015, Google announced that the next version
install viruses and malware.[142] of Android would switch to a Java implementation based
[153]
Android is a Linux distribution according to the Linux on OpenJDK.
[143]
Foundation, Google’s open-source chief Chris Di- Android’s standard C library, Bionic, was developed by
Bona,[144] and several journalists.[145][146] Others, such Google specifically for Android, as a derivation of the
as Google engineer Patrick Brady, say that Android is BSD's standard C library code. Bionic itself has been de-
not Linux in the traditional Unix-like Linux distribution signed with several major features specific to the Linux
sense; Android does not include the GNU C Library (it kernel. The main benefits of using Bionic instead of the
uses Bionic as an alternative C library) and some of other GNU C Library (glibc) or uClibc are its smaller runtime
components typically found in Linux distributions.[147] footprint, and optimization for low-frequency CPUs. At
the same time, Bionic is licensed under the terms of the
BSD licence, which Google finds more suitable for the
Android’s overall licensing model.[150]
 7

Aiming for a different licensing model, toward the end of notably the iDroid Project.[162]
2012, Google switched the Bluetooth stack in Android Historically, device manufacturers and mobile carriers
from the GPL-licensed BlueZ to the Apache-licensed have typically been unsupportive of third-party firmware
BlueDroid.[154] development. Manufacturers express concern about im-
Android does not have a native X Window System by de- proper functioning of devices running unofficial soft-
fault, nor does it support the full set of standard GNU ware and the support costs resulting from this.[163] More-
libraries. This made it difficult to port existing Linux over, modified firmwares such as CyanogenMod some-
applications or libraries to Android,[147] until version r5 times offer features, such as tethering, for which car-
of the Android Native Development Kit brought support riers would otherwise charge a premium. As a result,
for applications written completely in C or C++.[155] Li- technical obstacles including locked bootloaders and re-
braries written in C may also be used in applications by stricted access to root permissions are common in many
injection of a small shim and usage of the JNI.[156] devices. However, as community-developed software
Since Marshmallow, "Toybox", a collection of command has grown more popular, and following a statement by
line utilities (mostly for use by apps, as Android doesn't the Librarian of Congress in the United States that per-
provide a command line interface by default), replaced mits the "jailbreaking" of mobile devices,[164] manufac-
similar “Toolbox” collection.[157] turers and carriers have softened their position regarding
third party development, with some, including HTC,[163]
Android has another operating system, Trusty OS, within Motorola,[165] Samsung[166][167] and Sony,[168] providing
it, as a part of “Trusty” “software components supporting support and encouraging development. As a result of
a Trusted Execution Environment (TEE) on mobile de- this, over time the need to circumvent hardware restric-
vices.” “Trusty and the Trusty API are subject to change. tions to install unofficial firmware has lessened as an in-
[..] Applications for the Trusty OS can be written in creasing number of devices are shipped with unlocked
C/C++ (C++ support is limited), and they have access or unlockable bootloaders, similar to Nexus series of
to a small C library. [..] All Trusty applications are phones, although usually requiring that users waive their
single-threaded; multithreading in Trusty userspace cur- devices’ warranties to do so.[163] However, despite manu-
rently is unsupported. [..] Third-party application de- facturer acceptance, some carriers in the US still require
velopment is not supported in” the current version, and that phones are locked down, frustrating developers and
software running on the OS and processor for it, run the customers.[169]
"DRM framework for protected content. [..] There are
many other uses for a TEE such as mobile payments, se-
cure banking, full-disk encryption, multi-factor authen-
tication, device reset protection, replay-protected persis- 5 Security and privacy
tent storage, wireless display (“cast”) of protected con-
tent, secure PIN and fingerprint processing, and even mal- See also: Mobile security and WARRIOR PRIDE
ware detection.”[158]

4.4 Open-source community 5.1 Scope of surveillance by public institu-

tions
Android has an active community of developers and
enthusiasts who use the Android Open Source Project As part of the broader 2013 mass surveillance disclosures
(AOSP) source code to develop and distribute their own it was revealed in September 2013 that the American
modified versions of the operating system.[159] These and British intelligence agencies, the National Security
community-developed releases often bring new features Agency (NSA) and Government Communications Head-
and updates to devices faster than through the official quarters (GCHQ), respectively, have access to the user
manufacturer/carrier channels, with a comparable level data on iPhone, BlackBerry, and Android devices. They
of quality;[26] provide continued support for older devices are reportedly able to read almost all smartphone infor-
that no longer receive official updates; or bring Android mation, including SMS, location, emails, and notes.[170]
to devices that were officially released running other op- In January 2014, further reports revealed the intelligence
erating systems, such as the HP TouchPad. Commu- agencies’ capabilities to intercept the personal informa-
nity releases often come pre-rooted and contain mod- tion transmitted across the Internet by social networks
ifications not provided by the original vendor, such as and other popular applications such as Angry Birds,
the ability to overclock or over/undervolt the device’s which collect personal information of their users for ad-
processor.[160] CyanogenMod is the most widely used vertising and other commercial reasons. GCHQ has, ac-
community firmware,[161] and acts as a foundation for nu- cording to The Guardian, a wiki-style guide of differ-
merous others. Android-x86 is a version of Android for ent apps and advertising networks, and the different data
IBM PC compatibles. There have also been attempts with that can be siphoned from each.[171] Later that week, the
varying degrees of success to port Android to iPhones, Finnish Angry Birds developer Rovio announced that it
8 5 SECURITY AND PRIVACY

was reconsidering its relationships with its advertising software such as TaintDroid,[184] an academic research-
platforms in the light of these revelations, and called upon funded project, can, in some cases, detect when personal
the wider industry to do the same.[172] information is being sent from applications to remote
[185]
The documents revealed a further effort by the intelli- servers.
gence agencies to intercept Google Maps searches and
queries submitted from Android and other smartphones
to collect location information in bulk.[171] The NSA and 5.3 Technical security features
GCHQ insist their activities are in compliance with all
relevant domestic and international laws, although the Android applications run in a sandbox, an isolated area
Guardian stated “the latest disclosures could also add to of the system that does not have access to the rest of the
mounting public concern about how the technology sec- system’s resources, unless access permissions are explic-
tor collects and uses information, especially for those out- itly granted by the user when the application is installed.
side the US, who enjoy fewer privacy protections than Before installing an application, Play Store displays all
Americans.”[171] required permissions: a game may need to enable vibra-
tion or save data to an SD card, for example, but should
not need to read SMS messages or access the phonebook.
5.2 Common security threats After reviewing these permissions, the user can choose
to accept or refuse them, installing the application only if
Research from security company Trend Micro lists pre- they accept.[186] The sandboxing and permissions system
lessens the impact of vulnerabilities and bugs in applica-
mium service abuse as the most common type of An-
droid malware, where text messages are sent from in- tions, but developer confusion and limited documentation
has resulted in applications routinely requesting unneces-
fected phones to premium-rate telephone numbers with-
out the consent or even knowledge of the user.[173] Other sary permissions, reducing its effectiveness.[187] Google
malware displays unwanted and intrusive advertisements has now pushed an update to Android Verify Apps fea-
on the device, or sends personal information to unautho- ture, which will now run in background to detect mali-
rised third parties.[173] Security threats on Android are cious processes and crack them down.[188]
reportedly growing exponentially; however, Google en- In Android 6.0 Marshmallow, the permissions system
gineers have argued that the malware and virus threat was changed to allow the user to control an applica-
on Android is being exaggerated by security companies tion’s permissions individually, to block applications if
for commercial reasons,[174][175] and have accused the se- desired from having access to the device’s contacts, cal-
curity industry of playing on fears to sell virus protec- endar, phone, sensors, SMS, location, microphone and
tion software to users.[174] Google maintains that danger- camera.[189] Full permission control is only possible with
ous malware is actually extremely rare,[175] and a survey root access to the device.[190]
conducted by F-Secure showed that only 0.5% of An- Google uses Google Bouncer malware scanner to watch
droid malware reported had come from the Google Play over and scan applications available in the Google Play
store.[176] Store.[191] It is intended to flag suspicious apps and warn
Android’s fragmentation is a problem for security, since users of any potential threat with an application before
patches to bugs found in the core operating system they download it.[192] Android version 4.2 Jelly Bean was
often do not reach users of older and lower-price released in 2012, with enhanced security features, includ-
devices.[177][178] One set of researchers say that the fail- ing a malware scanner built into the system, which works
ure of vendors to support older devices with patches in combination with Google Play but can scan apps in-
and updates leaves more than 87% of active devices stalled from third party sources as well, and an alert sys-
vulnerable.[179][180] However, the open-source nature of tem which notifies the user when an app tries to send a
Android allows security contractors to take existing de- premium-rate text message, blocking the message unless
vices and adapt them for highly secure uses. For ex- the user explicitly authorises it.[193] Several security firms,
ample, Samsung has worked with General Dynamics such as Lookout Mobile Security,[194] AVG Technolo-
through their Open Kernel Labs acquisition to rebuild gies,[195] and McAfee,[196] have released antivirus soft-
Jelly Bean on top of their hardened microvisor for the ware for Android devices. This software is ineffective
“Knox” project.[181][182] as sandboxing also applies to such applications, limiting
Android smartphones have the ability to report the lo- their ability to scan the deeper system for threats.[197][198]
cation of Wi-Fi access points, encountered as phone In August 2013, Google released Android Device Man-
users move around, to build databases containing the ager (ADM), a component that allows users to remotely
physical locations of hundreds of millions of such ac- track, locate, and wipe their Android device through a
cess points. These databases form electronic maps web interface.[120][199] In December 2013, Google re-
to locate smartphones, allowing them to run apps like leased ADM as an Android application on the Google
Foursquare, Google Latitude, Facebook Places, and to Play store, where it is available to devices running An-
deliver location-based ads.[183] Third party monitoring droid version 2.2 and higher.[200][201]
6.1 Leverage over manufacturers 9

6 Licensing whose code is embedded within that of the main Google

application).[3][207][208][209]

The source code for Android is open-source: it is de- Richard Stallman and the Free Software Foundation have
veloped in private by Google, with the source code re- been critical of Android and have recommended the us-
leased publicly when a new version of Android is re- age of alternatives such as Replicant, because drivers
leased. Google publishes most of the code (including and firmware vital for the proper functioning of An-
network and telephony stacks) under the non-copyleft droid devices are usually proprietary, and because the
Apache License version 2.0. which allows modifica- Google Play Store application can forcibly install or
tion and redistribution.[202][203] The license does not grant deinstall applications and, as a result, invite non-free
rights to the “Android” trademark, so device manufactur- software.[210][211]
ers and wireless carriers have to license it from Google
under individual contracts. Associated Linux kernel
changes are released under the copyleft GNU General 6.1 Leverage over manufacturers
Public License version 2, developed by the Open Hand-
set Alliance, with the source code publicly available at Google licenses their Google Mobile Services software,
all times. Typically, Google collaborates with a hard- along with Android trademarks, only to hardware man-
ware manufacturer to produce a flagship device (part of ufacturers for devices that meet Google’s compatibility
the Nexus series) featuring the new version of Android, standards specified in the Android Compatibility Pro-
then makes the source code available after that device gram document.[212] Thus, forks of Android that make
has been released.[204] The only Android release which major changes to the operating system itself do not in-
was not immediately made available as source code was clude any of Google’s non-free components, stay incom-
the tablet-only 3.0 Honeycomb release. The reason, ac- patible with applications that require them, and must
cording to Andy Rubin in an official Android blog post, ship with an alternative software marketplace in lieu of
was because Honeycomb was rushed for production of the Google Play Store.[3] Examples of such Android forks
Motorola Xoom,[205] and they did not want third parties are Amazon's Fire OS (which is used on the Kindle Fire
creating a “really bad user experience” by attempting to line of tablets, and oriented toward Amazon services), the
put onto smartphones a version of Android intended for Nokia X Software Platform (a fork used by the Nokia X
tablets.[206] family, oriented primarily toward Nokia and Microsoft
services), and other forks that exclude Google apps due
Only the base Android operating system (including some to the general unavailability of Google services in cer-
applications) is open-source software, whereas most An- tain regions (such as China).[213][214] In 2014, Google also
droid devices ship with a substantial amount of propri- began to require that all Android devices which license
etary software, such as Google Mobile Services, which the Google Mobile Services software display a prominent
includes applications such as Google Play Store, Google “Powered by Android” logo on their boot screens.[76]
Search, and Google Play Services – a software layer that
provides APIs for the integration with Google-provided Members of the Open Handset Alliance, which include
services, among others. These applications must be li- the majority of Android OEMs, are also contractually
censed from Google by device makers, and can only forbidden from producing Android devices based on
be shipped on devices which meet its compatibility forks of the OS;[3][215] in 2012, Acer Inc. was forced
guidelines and other requirements.[76][120] Custom, certi- by Google to halt production on a device powered by
fied distributions of Android produced by manufacturers Alibaba Group's Aliyun OS with threats of removal from
(such as TouchWiz and HTC Sense) may also replace cer- the OHA, as Google deemed the platform to be an incom-
tain stock Android apps with their own proprietary vari- patible version of Android. Alibaba Group defended the
ants and add additional software not included in the stock allegations, arguing that the OS was a distinct platform
Android operating system.[3] There may also be "binary from Android (primarily using HTML5 apps), but incor-
blob" drivers required for certain hardware components porated portions of Android’s platform to allow back-
in the device.[3][111] wards compatibility with third-party Android software.
Indeed, the devices did ship with an application store
Some stock applications in AOSP code that were for- which offered Android apps; however, the majority of
merly used by earlier versions of Android, such as Search, them were pirated.[216][217][218]
Music, and Calendar, have been abandoned by Google
in favor of non-free replacements distributed through
Play Store (Google Search, Google Play Music, and
Google Calendar) that are no longer open-source. More- 7 Reception
over, open-source variants of some applications also ex-
clude functions that are present in their non-free ver- Android received a lukewarm reaction when it was un-
sions, such as Photosphere panoramas in Camera, and veiled in 2007. Although analysts were impressed with
a Google Now page on the default home screen (exclu- the respected technology companies that had partnered
sive to the proprietary version “Google Now Launcher”, with Google to form the Open Handset Alliance, it was
10 7 RECEPTION

does not include or support any of Google’s proprietary

components, and requires that users obtain software from
its competing Amazon Appstore instead of Play Store.[3]
In 2014, in an effort to improve prominence of the An-
droid brand, Google began to require that devices featur-
ing its proprietary components display an Android logo
on the boot screen.[76]
Android has suffered from “fragmentation”,[228] a situa-
tion where the variety of Android devices, in terms of
both hardware variations and differences in the software
running on them, makes the task of developing applica-
tions that work consistently across the ecosystem harder
than rival platforms such as iOS where hardware and
software varies less. For example, according to data
Android-x86 running on an ASUS EeePC netbook; Android has from OpenSignal in July 2013, there were 11,868 models
been unofficially ported to traditional PCs for use as a desktop
of Android device, numerous different screen sizes and
operating system.
eight Android OS versions simultaneously in use, while
the large majority of iOS users have upgraded to the lat-
unclear whether mobile phone manufacturers would be est iteration of that OS.[229] Critics such as Apple Insider
willing to replace their existing operating systems with have asserted that fragmentation via hardware and soft-
Android.[219] The idea of an open-source, Linux-based ware pushed Android’s growth through large volumes of
development platform sparked interest,[220] but there low end, budget-priced devices running older versions of
were additional worries about Android facing strong com- Android. They maintain this forces Android developers
petition from established players in the smartphone mar- to write for the “lowest common denominator” to reach
ket, such as Nokia and Microsoft, and rival Linux mobile as many users as possible, who have too little incentive to
operating systems that were in development.[221] These make use of the latest hardware or software features only
established players were skeptical: Nokia was quoted as available on a smaller percentage of devices.[230] How-
saying “we don't see this as a threat,”[222] and a member ever, OpenSignal, who develops both Android and iOS
of Microsoft’s Windows Mobile team stated “I don't un- apps, concluded that although fragmentation can make
derstand the impact that they are going to have.”[222] development trickier, Android’s wider global reach also
increases the potential reward.[229]
Since then Android has grown to become the most widely
used smartphone operating system[25][223] and “one of the
fastest mobile experiences available.”[224] Reviewers have 7.1 Market share
highlighted the open-source nature of the operating sys-
tem as one of its defining strengths, allowing companies Main article: Usage share of operating systems
such as Nokia (Nokia X family),[225] Amazon (Kindle
Fire), Barnes & Noble (Nook), Ouya, Baidu and oth-
ers to fork the software and release hardware running Research company Canalys estimated in the second quar-
ter of 2009, that Android had a 2.8% share of world-
their own customised version of Android. As a result, it
has been described by technology website Ars Technica wide smartphone shipments.[231] By the fourth quarter
of 2010, this had grown to 33% of the market becom-
as “practically the default operating system for launch-
ing new hardware” for companies without their own mo- ing the top-selling smartphone platform,[232] overtaking
Symbian.[233] By the third quarter of 2011, Gartner es-
bile platforms.[25] This openness and flexibility is also
present at the level of the end user: Android allows ex- timated that more than half (52.5%) of the smartphone
tensive customisation of devices by their owners and apps sales belonged to Android.[234] By the third quarter of
are freely available from non-Google app stores and third 2012 Android had a 75% share of the global smartphone
party websites. These have been cited as among the main market according to the research firm IDC.[235]
advantages of Android phones over others.[25][226] In July 2011, Google said that 550,000 Android devices
Despite Android’s popularity, including an activation rate were being activated every day,[236] up from 400,000
three times that of iOS, there have been reports that per day in May,[237] and more than 100 million devices
Google has not been able to leverage their other products had been activated[238] with 4.4% growth per week.[236]
and web services successfully to turn Android into the In September 2012, 500 million devices had been acti-
money maker that analysts had expected.[227] The Verge vated with 1.3 million activations per day.[239][240] In May
suggested that Google is losing control of Android due 2013, at Google I/O, Sundar Pichai announced that 900
to the extensive customization and proliferation of non- million Android devices had been activated.[241]
Google apps and services – Amazon’s Kindle Fire line Android market share varies by location. In July 2012,
uses Fire OS, a heavily modified fork of Android which “mobile subscribers aged 13+" in the United States us-
7.2 Adoption on tablets 11

ing Android were up to 52%,[242] and rose to 90% sia (31%), India (21%), Malaysia (24%), Mexico (18%),
in China.[243] During the third quarter of 2012, An- Brazil (9%).[258]
droid’s worldwide smartphone shipment market share According to a January 2015 Gartner report, “Android
was 75%,[235] with 750 million devices activated in to- surpassed a billion shipments of devices in 2014, and
tal. In April 2013 Android had 1.5 million activations per will continue to grow at a double-digit pace in 2015, with
day.[240] As of May 2013, 48 billion applications (“apps”) a 26 percent increase year over year.” This made it the
have been installed from the Google Play store,[244] and first time that any general-purpose operating system has
by September 2013, one billion Android devices have reached more than one billion end users within a year:
been activated.[245]
by reaching close to 1.16 billion end users in 2014, An-
As of July 2013, the Google Play store has had over droid shipped over four times more than iOS and OS
one million Android applications published, and over 50 X combined, and over three times more than Microsoft
billion applications downloaded.[21] A developer survey Windows. Gartner expected the whole mobile phone
conducted in April–May 2013 found that Android is used market to “reach two billion units in 2016”, including
by 71% of mobile developers.[22] The operating system’s Android.[259]
success has made it a target for patent litigation as part According to a Statistica's estimate, Android smart-
of the so-called "smartphone wars" between technology phones had an installed base of 1.8 billion units in 2015,
companies.[27][28] which was 76% of the estimated total number of smart-
Android devices account for more than half of smart- phones worldwide.[260][261][lower-alpha 3] Android has the
phone sales in most markets, including the US, while largest installed base of any mobile operating system
“only in Japan was Apple on top” (September–November and, since 2013, the highest-selling operating system
2013 numbers).[246] At the end of 2013, over 1.5 billion overall[250][253][263][264][265] with sales in 2012, 2013 and
Android smartphones have been sold in the four years 2014[266] close to the installed base of all PCs.[267] In
since 2010,[247][248] making Android the most sold phone the third quarter of 2015, Android’s share of the global
and tablet OS. Three billion Android smartphones are es- smartphone shipment market was 84.7%, the highest
timated to be sold by the end of 2014 (including pre- ever.[268] As of September 28, 2016, with 52.5% market
vious years). According to Gartner research company, share, Samsung remains the leading OEM for shipping
Android-based devices outsold all contenders, every year Android running smartphoens and tablets, followed by
since 2012.[249] In 2013, it outsold Windows 2.8:1 or by followed by LG, Huawei, Motorola, Lenovo, Sony, HTC,
573 million.[250][251][252] As of 2015, Android has the Asus, Alcatel and Xiaomi.[269]
largest installed base of all operating systems;[15] Since By August 2016, the two biggest continents have gone
2013, devices running it also sell more than Windows, mobile-majority, judged by web use (“desktop” has
iOS and Mac OS X devices combined.[253] 46.92%–55.16% use worldwide, depending on day of
According to StatCounter, which tracks only the use for the week, making some weeks desktop-minority;[270]
browsing the web, Android is the most popular mobile lowest full month was at 50.05%[271] ); because of An-
operating system since August 2013.[254] Android is the droid (see usage share of operating systems), that has
most popular operating system for web browsing in India majority use on smartphones in virtually all countries
and several other countries (e.g. virtually all of Asia, with (all continents have gone Android-majority, including
Japan and North Korea exceptions). According to Stat- North America[272][273] except for Oceania, because of
Counter, Android is most used on mobile in all African Australia),[274] with few exceptions (all of which have
countries, and it stated “mobile usage has already over- iOS-majority); in the US, Android is close to iOS, hav-
taken desktop in several countries including India, South ing exchanged majority position a few times,[275] Canada
Africa and Saudi Arabia”,[255] with virtually all countries and the following are also exceptions: Japan, Philippines,
in Africa having done so already (except for seven coun- Australia and the only exceptions in Europe are the UK,
tries, including Egypt), such as Ethiopia and Kenya in Switzerland, Belgium and the Nordic countries Denmark,
which mobile (including tablets) usage is at 90.46% (An- Iceland, Sweden and Norway.[276]
droid only, accounts for 75.81% of all use there[256] ).[257] By 2016, Android was on the majority of smartphones
While Android phones in the Western world commonly in virtually all countries in the world,[16][277] excluding
include Google’s proprietary add-ons (such as Google United States and Canada (while including North Amer-
Play) to the otherwise open-source operating system, this ica continent as a whole[278] ), Australia and Japan. A
is increasingly not the case in emerging markets; “ABI few countries, such as the UK, lose Android-majority if
Research claims that 65 million devices shipped glob- tablets are included.
ally with open-source Android in the second quarter of
[2014], up from 54 million in the first quarter"; depending
on country, percent of phones estimated to be based only 7.2 Adoption on tablets
on Android’s source code (AOSP), forgoing the Android
trademark: Thailand (44%), Philippines (38%), Indone- Despite its success on smartphones, initially Android
tablet adoption was slow.[279] One of the main causes was
12 7 RECEPTION

with consumers as well as damaging the early reputation

of Android tablets.[283][284] Furthermore, several Android
tablets such as the Motorola Xoom were priced the same
or higher than the iPad, which hurt sales. An exception
was the Amazon Kindle Fire, which relied upon lower
pricing as well as access to Amazon’s ecosystem of ap-
plications and content.[281][285]
This began to change in 2012, with the release of the af-
fordable Nexus 7 and a push by Google for developers to
write better tablet applications.[286] According to Interna-
tional Data Corporation, shipments of Android-powered
tablets surpassed iPads in Q3 2012.[287]
As of the end of 2013, over 191.6 million Android tablets
had sold in three years since 2011.[288][289] This made An-
droid tablets the most-sold type of tablet in 2013, surpass-
ing iPads in the second quarter of 2013.[290]
According to the StatCounter’s June 2015 web use statis-
tics, Android tablets represent the majority of tablet de-
vices used on the South American[291] (then lost major-
ity) and African continents (60.23%),[292] while they have
equaled with the iPad’s market share in major countries
on all continents (with the North America as an excep-
tion, though in El Salvador Android has the majority[293] ),
and getting close to representing the majority on the
whole Asian continent[294] having done so already in
India (65.9%),[295] Indonesia (62.22%),[296] and most
Middle-Eastern countries.[297] In about half of the Eu-
ropean countries, Android tablets have a majority market
The first-generation Nexus 7 tablet, running Android 4.1 Jelly
share.[298] China is an exception for the major developing
Bean
countries, in which Android phablets (classified as smart-
phones while similar in size to tablets) are more popular
than Android tablets or iPads.
the chicken or the egg situation where consumers were
By March 2016, Infoworld stated that Android tablets
hesitant to buy an Android tablet due to a lack of high
and smartphones can be a “real part of your business
quality tablet applications, but developers were hesitant to
[..] there’s no longer a reason to keep Android at arm’s
spend time and resources developing tablet applications
length. It can now be as integral to your mobile portfo-
until there was a significant market for them.[280][281]
lio as Apple’s iOS devices are”[19] as they have “business-
The content and app “ecosystem” proved more impor-
class apps”,[19] no longer just “OK for email”.[19] In 2015,
tant than hardware specs as the selling point for tablets.
they stated that “Microsoft’s Office UI is better on iOS
Due to the lack of Android tablet-specific applications in
and Android”[20] than in Microsoft’s own mobile app for
2011, early Android tablets had to make do with exist-
Windows.
ing smartphone applications that were ill-suited to larger
screen sizes, whereas the dominance of Apple’s iPad was
reinforced by the large number of tablet-specific iOS
applications.[281][282]
Despite app support in its infancy, a considerable number
of Android tablets (alongside those using other operat-
ing systems, such as the HP TouchPad and BlackBerry
PlayBook) were rushed out to market in an attempt
to capitalize on the success of the iPad.[281] InfoWorld
has suggested that some Android manufacturers ini-
tially treated their first tablets as a “Frankenphone busi-
ness”, a short-term low-investment opportunity by plac-
ing a smartphone-optimized Android OS (before An-
droid 3.0 Honeycomb for tablets was available) on a de-
vice while neglecting user interface. This approach, such
as with the Dell Streak, failed to gain market traction
 13

7.3 Platform usage 8 Legal issues

Further information: Oracle v. Google, Smartphone
wars, and Patent troll

Both Android and Android phone manufacturers have

been involved in numerous patent lawsuits. On August
12, 2010, Oracle sued Google over claimed infringement
of copyrights and patents related to the Java program-
ming language.[306] Oracle originally sought damages up
to $6.1 billion,[307] but this valuation was rejected by a
United States federal judge who asked Oracle to revise
the estimate.[308] In response, Google submitted multiple
lines of defense, counterclaiming that Android did not
Nougat (0.3%)
infringe on Oracle’s patents or copyright, that Oracle’s
Marshmallow (24.0%)
patents were invalid, and several other defenses. They
Lollipop (34.1%)
said that Android’s Java runtime environment is based on
KitKat (24.2%)
Apache Harmony, a clean room implementation of the
Jelly Bean (13.7%)
Java class libraries, and an independently developed vir-
Ice Cream Sandwich (1.3%)
tual machine called Dalvik.[309] In May 2012, the jury in
Gingerbread (1.3%)
this case found that Google did not infringe on Oracle’s
Froyo (0.1%)
patents, and the trial judge ruled that the structure of the
Java APIs used by Google was not copyrightable.[310][311]
Charts in this section provide breakdowns of Android The parties agreed to zero dollars in statutory damages for
versions, based on devices accessing the Google Play a small amount of copied code.[312] On May 9, 2014, the
Store in a seven-day period ending on November 7, Federal Circuit partially reversed the district court rul-
2016.[299][lower-alpha 4] Therefore, these statistics exclude ing, ruling in Oracle’s favor on the copyrightability is-
devices running various Android forks that do not access sue, and remanding the issue of fair use to the district
the Google Play Store, such as Amazon’s Fire tablets. court.[313][314]
Since May 2016, more than half of devices have OpenGL In December 2015, Google announced that the next ma-
ES 3.0 or higher. jor release of Android (Android Nougat) would switch
to OpenJDK, which is the official open-source imple-
mentation of the Java platform, instead of using the
now-discontinued Apache Harmony project as its run-
time. Code reflecting this change was also posted to
7.4 Application piracy the AOSP source repository.[152] In its announcement,
Google claimed this was part of an effort to create a
In general, paid Android applications can easily be “common code base” between Java on Android and other
pirated.[300] In a May 2012 interview with Eurogamer, platforms.[153] Google later admitted in a court filing that
the developers of Football Manager stated that the ratio this was part of an effort to address the disputes with Or-
of pirated players vs legitimate players was 9:1 for their acle, as its use of OpenJDK code is governed under the
game Football Manager Handheld.[301] However, not ev- GNU General Public License (GPL) with a linking ex-
ery developer agreed that piracy rates were an issue; for ception, and that “any damages claim associated with the
example, in July 2012 the developers of the game Wind- new versions expressly licensed by Oracle under Open-
up Knight said that piracy levels of their game were only JDK would require a separate analysis of damages from
12%, and most of the piracy came from China, where earlier releases”.[152] In June 2016, a United States fed-
people cannot purchase apps from Google Play.[302] eral court ruled in favor of Google, stating that its use of
[315]
In 2010, Google released a tool for validating authorized the APIs was fair use.
purchases for use within apps, but developers complained In addition to lawsuits against Google directly, various
that this was insufficient and trivial to crack. Google re- proxy wars have been waged against Android indirectly
sponded that the tool, especially its initial release, was by targeting manufacturers of Android devices, with the
intended as a sample framework for developers to mod- effect of discouraging manufacturers from adopting the
ify and build upon depending on their needs, not as a platform by increasing the costs of bringing an Android
finished piracy solution.[303] Android “Jelly Bean” intro- device to market.[316] Both Apple and Microsoft have
duced the ability for paid applications to be encrypted, sued several manufacturers for patent infringement, with
so that they may work only on the device for which they Apple’s ongoing legal action against Samsung being a par-
were purchased.[304][305] ticularly high-profile case. In October 2011, Microsoft
14 9 OTHER USES

said they had signed patent license agreements with ten be used on other electronics aside from smartphones and
Android device manufacturers, whose products account tablets, including laptops and netbooks, smartbooks,[326]
for “70% in the U.S.”. and 55% of the worldwide revenue smart TVs (Android TV, Google TV) and cameras (E.g.
for Android devices.[317] These include Samsung and Galaxy Camera).[327] In addition, the Android operating
HTC.[318] Samsung’s patent settlement with Microsoft in- system has seen applications on smart glasses (Google
cluded an agreement to allocate more resources to de- Glass), smartwatches,[328] headphones,[329] car CD and
veloping and marketing phones running Microsoft’s Win- DVD players,[330] mirrors,[331] portable media play-
dows Phone operating system.[316] Microsoft has also tied ers,[332] landline[333] and Voice over IP phones.[334] Ouya,
its own Android software to patent licenses, requiring the a video game console running Android, became one of
bundling of Microsoft Office Mobile and Skype applica- the most successful Kickstarter campaigns, crowdfunding
tions on Android devices to subsidize the licensing fees, US$8.5m for its development,[335][336] and was later fol-
while at the same time helping to promote its software lowed by other Android-based consoles, such as Nvidia's
lines.[319][320] Shield Portable – an Android device in a video game con-
[337]
Google has publicly expressed its frustration for the cur- troller form factor.
rent patent landscape in the United States, accusing Ap- In 2011, Google demonstrated “Android@Home”, a
ple, Oracle and Microsoft of trying to take down An- home automation technology which uses Android to con-
droid through patent litigation, rather than innovating trol a range of household devices including light switches,
and competing with better products and services.[321] In power sockets and thermostats.[338] Prototype light bulbs
September 2011, Google purchased Motorola Mobility were announced that could be controlled from an Android
for US$12.5 billion, which was viewed in part as a defen- phone or tablet, but Android head Andy Rubin was cau-
sive measure to protect Android, since Motorola Mobility tious to note that “turning a lightbulb on and off is nothing
held more than 17,000 patents.[322] In December 2011, new”, pointing to numerous failed home automation ser-
Google bought over a thousand patents from IBM.[323] vices. Google, he said, was thinking more ambitiously
In 2013, FairSearch, a lobbying organization supported and the intention was to use their position as a cloud ser-
by Microsoft, Oracle and others, filed a complaint re- vices provider
[339][340]
to bring Google products into customers’
garding Android with the European Commission, alleg- homes.
ing that its free-of-charge distribution model constituted Parrot unveiled an Android-based car stereo system
anti-competitive predatory pricing. The Free Software known as Asteroid in 2011,[341] followed by a successor,
Foundation Europe, whose donors include Google, dis- the touchscreen-based Asteroid Smart, in 2012.[342] In
puted the Fairsearch allegations.[324] On April 20, 2016, 2013, Clarion released its own Android-based car stereo,
the EU filed a formal antitrust complaint against Google the AX1.[343] In January 2014, at the Consumer Elec-
based upon the FairSearch allegations, arguing that its tronics Show (CES), Google announced the formation of
leverage over Android vendors, including the mandatory the Open Automotive Alliance, a group including sev-
bundling of the entire suite of proprietary Google soft- eral major automobile makers (Audi, General Motors,
ware, hindering the ability for competing search providers Hyundai, and Honda) and Nvidia, which aims to produce
to be integrated into Android, and barring vendors from Android-based in car entertainment systems for automo-
producing devices running forks of Android, constituted biles, "[bringing] the best of Android into the automobile
anti-competitive practices.[325] in a safe and seamless way.”[344]
On March 18, 2014, Google announced Android Wear,
an Android-based platform specifically intended for
9 Other uses smartwatches and other wearable devices; only a devel-
oper preview was made publicly available.[345] This was
followed by the unveiling of two Android-Wear-based de-
vices, the LG G Watch and Moto 360.[346]
On June 25, 2014, at Google I/O, it was announced
that Android TV, a Smart TV platform, is replacing the
previously released Google TV. Google also announced
Android Auto for use in cars.[347]
Android comes preinstalled on a few laptops (a simi-
lar functionality of running Android applications is also
available in Google’s Chrome OS) and can also be in-
stalled on personal computers by end users.[348] On those
platforms Android provides additional functionality for
Ouya, a video game console which runs Android physical keyboards[349] and mice, together with the "Alt-
Tab" key combination for switching applications quickly
with a keyboard. In December 2014, one reviewer com-
The open and customizable nature of Android allows it to
 15

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26 14 TEXT AND IMAGE SOURCES, CONTRIBUTORS, AND LICENSES

14 Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses

14.1 Text
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dark, The Anome, AlexWasFirst, Ed Poor, XJaM, SJK, Graft, Nyco~enwiki, Frecklefoot, Edward, Bdesham, Nealmcb, Patrick, Void-
vector, Taras, KAMiKAZOW, Haakon, Mac, Docu, Plop, Ijon, Julesd, Ciphergoth, Stefan-S, Scott, Jordi Burguet Castell, Cherkash,
Conti, Feedmecereal, Royce, Geary, Greenrd, Traal, Espertus, Furrykef, Bevo, Quoth-22, AnonMoos, Secretlondon, Jeffq, Icestryke,
Dale Arnett, PBS, ZimZalaBim, Naddy, Pjedicke, DHN, Sunray, David Edgar, HaeB, Mattflaschen, Tea2min, David Gerard, Ancheta
Wis, Graeme Bartlett, Harp, Ævar Arnfjörð Bjarmason, Lethe, Wwoods, Jonabbey, Fleminra, Joconnor, Varlaam, RScheiber, Sukael,
Joe Sewell, Jorge Stolfi, Robbrown, Prosfilaes, Rchandra, AlistairMcMillan, Khalid hassani, ElfMage, Alvestrand, Matt Darby, Un-
knownwarrior33, Vadmium, Jamougha, SoWhy, Pgan002, SarekOfVulcan, Gdm, Sreyan, Beland, PhosphoricX, IGEL, ShakataGaNai,
CaribDigita, OwenBlacker, Paulscrawl, Elektron, Pomegranate, Gscshoyru, Nerd65536, TonyW, [Link], SSherris, Kle-
men Kocjancic, Sasank, DmitryKo, BenjaminFerrari, Thorwald, Mike Rosoft, Imroy, Erc, Discospinster, Herzen, Rich Farmbrough,
Hydrox, Pmsyyz, TrbleClef, Smyth, Shevett, Jamadagni, D-Notice, Alistair1978, Dbachmann, Gronky, Joepearson, Bender235, ES-
kog, PutzfetzenORG, Syp, Kwamikagami, Mr. Strong Bad, RoyBoy, Cacophony, AladdinSE, Causa sui, Wee Jimmy, Nigelj, Dcxf,
JeR, Richi, Hoss789, Giraffedata, Sriram sh, Jinmyo, Goa103~enwiki, Steveklein, James Foster, Teeks99, Alansohn, Gary, Thüringer,
Walter Görlitz, Guy Harris, Conan, Atlant, Diego Moya, Barte, Jtalledo, Yamla, Axl, Psz, Sligocki, Eno~enwiki, Denniss, Miltonhowe,
Wtmitchell, Wintermute115, Cgmusselman, SidP, Richard Taytor, Cburnett, Uffish, Vcelloho, Runtime, Tony Sidaway, VoluntarySlave,
Tomlzz1, Henry W. Schmitt, Drbreznjev, Ringbang, Ceyockey, Dismas, Oleg Alexandrov, Mahanga, Njk, Jtfcobra, Daranz, DarTar,
Joriki, Richard Arthur Norton (1958- ), Woohookitty, Xsspider, Mindmatrix, Pinball22, RzR~enwiki, Lenar, Pol098, Desbest, JeremyA,
Ortcutt, [Link], Ljfeliu, Tabletop, Grika, Sygmoral, JRHorse, Torqueing, Eyreland, Male1979, CharlesC, Hughcharlesparker,
CPES, [Link].K, Graham87, Yuriybrisk, BD2412, Mendaliv, Tbird20d, Jorunn, Rjwilmsi, Nightscream, Koavf, Syndicate, Chi-
rags, Trlovejoy, MZMcBride, Essayemyoung4009, Haggisfarm, Gudeldar, Miserlou, Decode~enwiki, Ghepeu, Yug, Aerotheque, Fish
and karate, Allen Moore, Alejo2083, FlaBot, Nogburt, Brianreading, Gurch, Riki, Mpp1982, Cbmaster, Skierpage, Tedder, No Swan
So Fine, Psantora, Samkass, CJLL Wright, Daev, Moocha, Benlisquare, DVdm, Igordebraga, Bgwhite, Antnee, Dadu~enwiki, Pinecar,
Klingoncowboy4, Xcrivener, Huw Powell, RussBot, Amckern, Gregconquest, Jobie, Bhny, Rapomon, Hydrargyrum, Stephenb, Manop,
David Woodward, Gaius Cornelius, Ksyrie, Rsrikanth05, Pseudomonas, Bovineone, SamJohnston, Tavilis, Pelago, Kerry Raymond, UCae-
tano, PriceChild, Grafen, Arichnad, Exien, ZacBowling, MrGALL, Jurisnipper, Mkouklis, Lfcohen, Irishguy, Ragesoss, Johantheghost,
Jeffrey Sharkey, Blindwaves, Corevette, ScottyWZ, Eugrus, Matthew0028, Moe Epsilon, Mikeblas, Mirko Raner, Voidxor, Marc44, Jal-
abi99, SixSix, Tony1, EEMIV, Craigbrass, Deku-shrub, Procedure, Rwalker, TastyCakes, Blowdart, PanchoS, Bbaumer, Werdna, Hugo 87,
Wknight94, Ms2ger, Mugunth Kumar, Sandstein, Johndburger, Ninly, Icydesign, GraemeL, Plankhead, Speculatrix, Astonmartini, Back
ache, Ash Crow, Kaicarver, Vahid83, Smurfy, Eaefremov, ViperSnake151, NeilN, Leuk he, Some guy, Mardus, Seanjacksontc, Hominid,
Attilios, Frankie, Curmudgeon99, A bit iffy, SmackBot, Arc Orion, MattieTK, LarsPensjo~enwiki, Brian Patrie, Wlindley, Benjaminb,
Kentyman, Reedy, Bearda, InverseHypercube, JoshDuffMan, Marc Lacoste, Henriok, McGeddon, CastAStone, Vald, Nikhilj1, Fsamuels,
Clpo13, KVDP, Knilt, Thunder Wolf, Timeshifter, Jpvinall, Thornstrom, Andrewkantor, Subbu, Tim@, Elronxenu, Mcld, Unforgettableid,
Brianski, Ohnoitsjamie, Richfife, Dingar, NickGarvey, Anachronist, Paxfeline, Chris the speller, Stevenwagner, DStoykov, Thumperward,
Oli Filth, Htchien, Jeysaba, King Arthur6687, MalafayaBot, Hacheema, SvGeloven, Timneu22, Mdwh, The359, SephirothXIIIX, Jerome
Charles Potts, Ej159, Kungming2, Baronnet, Colonies Chris, Jdthood, Invenio, Zouzzou, Mappum, Emurphy42, Fjmustak, Audriusa,
NYKevin, Can't sleep, clown will eat me, Frap, Quartermaster, Jacob Poon, Chainz, Juancnuno, RedHillian, UU, Stevenmitchell, Abrahami,
Theanphibian, DinosaursLoveExistence, Cybercobra, CCalo, Coolbho3000, Ne0Freedom, Wordy McWordWord, Matt Whyndham, Sala-
murai, A5b, Marcus Brute, [Link], Sayden, Rodeosmurf, Sleepy Sentry, Ohconfucius, Dmit~enwiki, Digana, N Vale, Swatjester,
Lester, Guyjohnston, Rigelt, Mugsywwiii, Roguegeek, [Link], Briantist, Wislam, JoseREMY, Robferrer, Williameis, Rabur-
ton, Spiel, [Link], Slasher-fun, JHunterJ, Slakr, Hvn0413, Mr Stephen, UKER, DarrenW, Dpupkov, AxG, Larrymcp, Սահակ,
Fangfufu, IceHunter, Riffic, Swampyank, Flohack, AdjustablePliers, RIMOLA, Hu12, Norm mit, PaulGS, Levineps, Iridescent, Dansiman,
Blakegripling ph, Newone, Zero sharp, Jfayel, Sin2x, Adambiswanger1, WakiMiko, Sfm 7, I5bala, The Letter J, Eagle-slayor, Nagytam,
RaviC, Jontintinjordan, Cornlad, FatalError, Venona, Paulmlieberman, Pkkasu, CRGreathouse, Ivan Pozdeev, Raysonho, Pmyteh, Van
helsing, Hucz, Redekopmark, Edward Vielmetti, Nczempin, Kushal one, Dgw, Rockysmile11, Oldmokmok, N2e, Random name, Lesmin,
Wikigod, Gegorg, Echeese, Solomon Douglas, Bungalowbill, Ravensfan5252, Andrew Delong, Ironmagma, Phatom87, AndrewHowse, Cy-
debot, Danrok, Marqueed, [Link], Steel, Urashimataro, Gogo Dodo, [Link], Anthonyhcole, Bahua, Ivant, Myscrnnm, AlexMS,
Dancter, Clovis Sangrail, Christian75, DumbBOT, Ameliorate!, Alaibot, Kozuch, Bayonetblaha, Uzimaster, Digilee, RotaryAce, Free
French, PizzaMan, Thijs!bot, Epbr123, Cherie327, Qwyrxian, Jopo, KimDabelsteinPetersen, Hervegirod, [Link], Shachar, N5iln, Andyj-
smith, Marek69, Csrempert, Electron9, Legnaw, Second Quantization, Davidhorman, Afriza, Hcobb, OrenBochman, Alphius, Binary-
bits, Dawnseeker2000, Phy1729, Icep, Mentifisto, Dstruct2k, AbstractClass, Obiwankenobi, MetaManFromTomorrow, Prolog, Lovi-
bond, GeeBarny, Robzz, Nuclearmoose, Maximus06, Danger, Aspensti, Gh5046, Yellowdesk, Kevthegreat55, Lanilsson, Dark-Fire,
Eapache, Dreaded Walrus, Res2216firestar, JAnDbot, Xhienne, Leuko, Barek, MER-C, Nthep, Kforeman1, Arcanis, Enigmaticland,
[Link]@[Link], Freddicus, Albany NY, Gourinath, Windofkeltia, John Ericson, TheEditrix2, Y2kcrazyjoker4, GoldKanga,
Magioladitis, Mauripop, Bongwarrior, VoABot II, FredTubale, Aradius, JamesBWatson, Old Number7, BucsWeb, LafinJack, Tedickey,
CTF83!, NetHunter, Steven Walling, BotheredByBees, Rugops, Aoeuser, Ali'i, Pokstad, Aquarat, LookingGlass, Allstarecho, LorenzoB,
Cpl Syx, Roberth Edberg, Xavierorr, Dane, [Link], Douglaswth, Vujke, Indianstar, JasonS2101, Lucid00, Nodekeeper, AlexKucherenko,
NMaia, Tracer9999, Khr0n0s, Aliendude5300, Andreas Bischoff, Conquerist, HotXRock, FlieGerFaUstMe262, Dennisthe2, SeyedKevin,
Kontar, The Ubik, Kiore, Gautamkishore, Nikpapag, Jack007, CommonsDelinker, EdBever, Tgeairn, RockMFR, [Link], Trusilver,
Svetovid, Richiekim, ChrisfromHouston, KenSharp, Maurice Carbonaro, Jesant13, Headinthedoor, Jreferee, [Link], Acalamari,
SharkD, Andareed, Dispenser, Zipcodeman, Jimv1983, Mikael Häggström, Skier Dude, Kiddington, RenniePet, Grshiplett, [Link],
MatthewBurton, Kraftlos, Flatterworld, Mufka, Frogacuda, Smitty, Dhaluza, Juliancolton, S2333, Octavabasso, Tweisbach, Hcaandersen,
Geekdiva, Donmike10, Bonadea, JavierMC, Varnent, Dvyjones, Idioma-bot, Funandtrvl, Resplendent, Chillpenguin, Joeinwap, Jmcdon10,
Fattmann, Malik Shabazz, Hammersoft, VolkovBot, Thomas.W, Archangelsk~enwiki, RingtailedFox, Betmenko, Jeff G., Spiked105, DG-
MDGM, Marcuslim, Asymmetric, Epson291, Sierra1bravo, Philip Trueman, Fran Rogers, TXiKiBoT, Karthickmad~enwiki, Filmore,
Technopat, Fxhomie, Nxavar, Rei-bot, Joe2832, EmuWikiDude223, Peterkagey, Someguy1221, Troed, OlavN, Hellclanner, Rich Janis,
Ferengi, Cootiequits, Jmecimore, BwDraco, Sciencewatcher, Lowlyeditor, Ffinder, EonOmega, Labalius, Kevin James Field, Waltonkbbl,
Kawasakik, Milan Keršláger, Krazywrath, Tuxcantfly, Adamwatters, Tri400, Krushia, Haseo9999, Staka, PieterDeBruijn, Feudonym, Jr-
ishel, Prius 2, Suction Man, CoordinateFreak, YasharF, ClaudeReigns, Legopacific, Jessica23, Vinhtantran, Andreas Carter, Logan, Disk
Crasher, LinuxOne, Paucabot, Azza-bazoo, Howlingmadhowie, Pdfpdf, OsamaK, Yngvarr, SieBot, Coffee, Unamed102, Mobilepush,
14.1 Text 27

Dusti, [Link], LarsHolmberg, Dontmitchell, VVVBot, Gerakibot, Caltas, Thunderbird8, Darrenm540, Yintan, I, Podius, T-Rex84,
Thealexweb, Daabomb, GlassCobra, Jerryobject, Bpave777, Xrobau, Happysailor, Rajeshsweb, Jimthing, Mimihitam, Berelv, Rborghese,
Rmanke, Omshivaprakash, Lightmouse, Sjl0523, Techman224, Thampran, Millstream3, Svick, JohnSawyer, Wickedjacob, Coolstory-
hansel, CJMiller, Silvergoat, Iknowyourider, Jhonnyx1000, StaticGull, Searchmaven, HighInBC, TheHoax, Huku-chan, Mr. Stradivarius,
Claratte, WikiLaurent, LightSpeed3, Ekerazha, Ral725, Aryndar, Gainesk, ImageRemovalBot, Dlrohrer2003, Smashville, Martarius, Clue-
Bot, Saifuddinap, GorillaWarfare, Renzoy16, Ed Burnette, Zeek Aran, Sakthisam, Czarkoff, Frmorrison, Mild Bill Hiccup, Htinlinn90,
Papatenor, Chris Bainbridge, Ashwin18, Jwkilgore, Aydceri, PolarYukon, U5K0, Iuhkjhk87y678, Ayd00, Soma6, [Link],
YEqxhRDR8pyEqxhRDR8p, Cheekeong123, Cyrotux, Gsonnenf, TimmmmCam, Wesleyarchbell, Rprpr, Alunphillips, Melizg, Whati-
know, Gu1dry, Aydin00, Anindya Bakshi, Ayd86, Gordon Ecker, Acery~enwiki, DragonBot, LeoFrank, Aydchery00, Kitsunegami,
Excirial, Korkut00, Alexbot, Korkut000, PILZI, Ayd000, Explorer25, Scl98029, Hanifbbz, Captpossum, Aydcery00, Estirabot, Gbox-
dance, Rhododendrites, Sun Creator, Samontab, [Link], Fbtjock, Bosqueschool, TMO KOTOR~enwiki, Jotterbot, 842U, Mr. Met 13,
Aydcery86, Tahitiville, Jaizovic, TobiasPersson, TXI59, Usafshah, Mewtu, Frederico1234, GlasGhost, Minterior, DanielPharos, C628,
Fryn, Found5dollar, Thingg, Lindberg, Welocy, Ofennell, Anoopan, Googlemobileplatform, AntonioR449, JaredMT, Anderssl, Mdi-
kici, Mordka, SF007, Trefork, DumZiBoT, Jvosika, InternetMeme, Ryan8374, Wednesday Next, XLinkBot, Hotcrocodile, Kylelnny,
Fastily, Privateboz, Stickee, Messiisking, Imagine Reason, Estemi, Andresfi, [Link], Ost316, WikiRedactor, Agentlame, Sun-
nypsyop, Libcub, Solinym, [Link], ErkinBatu, Adileader, Frood, Alexius08, StewieK, MystBot, Mharen, Eleman, Zbutler7, Jabberwoch,
JCDenton2052, Good Olfactory, Athzai Khaine, Airplaneman, 51kwad, Dsimic, Aceleo, Addbot, Mortense, Yousou, Ghettoblaster, Pigr8,
Writermonique, Some jerk on the Internet, Melab-1, Tcncv, Queenmomcat, Friginator, Llewelyn MT, Capouch, Andrejavus, Grandscribe,
Blethering Scot, Kinkate18nic, NiklasBr, Dueynz, Scientus, Noozgroop, WhatMeWork, MrOllie, Sirlancer, Download, Longhornkate, Laa-
knorBot, Morning277, Pmod, ChrisHeller~enwiki, Favonian, SpBot, Slatedorg, Jasper Deng, ChaosData, Usmanahmed25, [Link],
Jubeidono, Numbo3-bot, Tide rolls, Ivario, Teles, Zorrobot, Jarble, JEN9841, Ettrig, Nicolas Love, IlPisano, , Luckas-bot, Yobot,
Themfromspace, Fraggle81, Gyro Copter, TheWishy, Yizhan, RegenerateThis, Amirobot, Wikipedian2009, Edoe, Knud Winckelmann,
Golftheman, Maxí, KamikazeBot, Jerebin, Guitarguy99081, [Link], Mobilecushion, Bios Element, [Link], Chr1syr, Sub-
[Link], Lightenoughtotravel, Fox hyx, Dsrivallabha, Ambictus, Jokonek, Koman90, AnomieBOT, Arjun G. Menon, Werbej,
Ciphers, ^musaz, Pokemaniac64, Götz, AtteL, Six words, Jim1138, Marcus2020, Tondi5, Wickorama, Lun Esex, CaseyBorders, King-
pin13, Newsoxy, Jbreckenridge, Ulric1313, Graig123~enwiki, Thesamami, Materialscientist, D20sheets, Kien64, H4lfN3ls0n, YICbaby,
Citation bot, E2eamon, Shirsakbc, Teleprinter Sleuth, Lkt1126, RockJuno, ArthurBot, Quebec99, Bangbang.S, Xqbot, Legoboy920, Car-
rlos, I Feel Tired, [Link], Jbruin152, Melmann, Watchcars, Isaacwaller, Y.P.Y, Gogoloid, Mohanpram, Oxwil, Nexus26, Jef-
fwang, Pwnage97, Trebek Skates, Zaratoustra, Tyrol5, Jiess, Ragityman, User931, Hedge777, Wizardist, Erwin Mulialim, Yadavjpr,
Chrismiceli, Mark Schierbecker, Uniwersalista, RibotBOT, Dudyk, Hymek, Moneytoo, Demysc, Shadowjams, Iggymwangi, Samwb123,
Midgetman433, P2jones, Txaggiemichael, A665321, FrescoBot, Surv1v4l1st, OspreyPL, Komitsuki, Pvanderlee, Originalwana, Ch Th Jo,
Tobby72, JAMJAM1666, Mark Renier, Gouranga Gupta, Cruiserbmw, Zeldex, Mistakefinder, MoreThings, Automate, Kronox android,
Alboran, Haeinous, HJ Mitchell, [Link], Finalius, Rapjul, Ankitasdeveloper, Drogonov, Sagarwal1981, Atlantia, Theartfullodger, Eric
324, Gooberfox, Winterst, Simple Bob, Biker Biker, Audi152, GreenpeaceUbuntuMan, Modamoda, A412, Galatz, Mattkap, [Link],
Skyerise, Cbr1000f, Guzzyron, Jusses2, Potentials, Hgb asicwizard, RedBot, LancerEvolution ;, Tahir mq, Chris gustafson, Glany222, Jan-
dalhandler, Alexey Izbyshev, Mistral Mktg, Thecurran91, Wild mine, Rzęsor, Aftekology, White Shadows, Rush2009, Vaibhav376, Herak-
leitoszefesu, Dsh13, Arthas01, TobeBot, Leyth, Diblidabliduu, Chris Caven, Lexischemen~enwiki, [Link], FFM784, Yunshui, Ghost650,
M0sia1, Drrll, Njonji, Ryry17354, Jonkerz, Lotje, Javierito92, Now wiki, LSUniverse, Ujimatcha, Dinamik-bot, Vrenator, Xx3nvyxx, Ralf-
smouse, 777sms, ThomasWilson2, Gugu2903, TorQue Astur, Sylvainchevalierfu, Aoidh, David Hedlund, Reaper Eternal, Jamgraham88,
Ktlynch, TheTechFan, Crysb, Luckerr, MoreNet, Skudo900630, Firefoxian, Diannaa, Wschlitz, Tbhotch, Ionistii, CrabbyPatrick, Xnamk-
cor, Bweono, RobertMfromLI, Oogbus, Stevedel7, Jb0807, Marko Gargenta, Games Yes!, Mirabilos, EugeneKay, EngineerFromVega,
Hockeyc, Nathanloop, Mantrik00, RjwilmsiBot, Neinsun, TjBot, KSEltar, Marksbark, Mchcopl, Tomchen1989, Aryamanjain, Lopifalko,
Drmonocle, Lbstone27, Salvio giuliano, Count Chockula, Piotrek54321, Adi19956, Steve03Mills, Joemalt1832, Brandorr, Androidlis-
cence, EmausBot, E258, Mistral Solutions, WikitanvirBot, T3dkjn89q00vl02Cxp1kqs3x7, Ohaaron, Look2See1, Nuujinn, Katherine,
Noloader, Kercker, Dewritech, GoingBatty, RA0808, G&CP, Ebe123, RenamedUser01302013, Alfstar1997, Jcogbil, Conzorz, Javachan,
Sp33dyphil, Silvio Marano, ZirconiumTwice, Jeromeds99, Xomm, Wikipelli, K6ka, Rod92p, Sigma2488, Blahbabe61, Alisha.4m, Alfredo
ougaowen, JacobSheehy, IBoy2G, Meepzip, AvicBot, Kkm010, ZéroBot, Kmdowns, NeMeSiS, [Link], Maxviwe, Namures, Mor-
bidEntree, Platypus333, Nahado, SZJX, Krc1185, William Leadford, Lindamilton, Kokken Tor, Jonpatterns, Pryanni, Nagy Dániel, Kris
cs1, Yiosie2356, Elektrik Shoos, Caio1478, Chardot, Alphonse2, [Link], Bilbo571, Salazasu, H3llBot, Hutchinsonam, Immunmotblue-
screen, Wintertanager, JosJuice, JavierCane, Ennustaja, Solipsys, Samdman95, Bbisgard, Wbison3, Lokpest, Chezi-Schlaff, Gabriel A.
Zorrilla, Sbmeirow, TyA, JustPlaneEditing, Guru4321, Δ, Vanished user fijtji34toksdcknqrjn54yoimascj, Xiutwel-0003, Magnamonkun,
[Link], ComputerGeek706, Amarenderjannu, Albert Lee1, Degorr, Chancer1001, PlantRunner, Johnconorryan, Gsarwa, Donner60,
Gokberks, Sailsbystars, Moshi Monster Fan303, Chrispilot2293, Orange Suede Sofa, Anthonynon, Bomazi, Arancı, Bill william compton,
The9Man, ChuispastonBot, AndyTheGrump, Evan-Amos, NTox, Walterlmitchell3, FurrySings, Muelaner, Kenny Strawn, DudeThinking,
Abhishekitmbm, Arghya139, InvertedPendulum, Amruth M D, Ronnies1312, Mjbmrbot, Jacobmathias, NexuSix, Lovetinkle, Woolfy123,
Cgt, Diamondland, Faramir1138, JobiWan144, Galaxytab, Meersmaj, ClueBot NG, Bedna, Flintb, Mattkap2, Sam4others, Hyiltiz, Math-
ewsherdil, Gareth Griffith-Jones, Jack Greenmaven, Dziedrius, RyanQuinlan, Shadez08, JamesNBarnes, GioGziro95, Wifuk, Rocboronat,
Satellizer, Sdht, Simonrleung, A520, Jenova20, Piast93, Apobilgin, Sijil cv, Myas012, Strcat, Shaddim, Wertydm, Doubledose 2, Mohit ke-
sarwani, Anoopmichael, Tsriopensourceblueprints, [Link], Kylesamani, Nico357, Esebi95, Pepperok, Zorak950, Craigbarnes85,
YuMaNuMa, Rachel263, Markmcwiggins, Macungie, Eciepecie, Tagrb03f, Maulikdave05, Banksbr2, HardCorwen, Nantasatria, Samuh,
XdaLive, Sainath468, Suzals3, Glen 3B, MDXDave, Rezabot, Masssly, 336, Tzw9373, Widr, RameshaLB, Darkspy945, Anupmehra,
Cresdajv, Spaghetti64, Bagelfat101010, Markpb91, Pluma, Randomname66, Blackfireshocker, Suckystraw, Kaisersushi, Fluffylouis, Help-
ful Pixie Bot, Ravipokemon, Jairodz, Jonathan-Morris711, Armunalam, S1lencing, පසිඳු කාවින්ද, Sanjanind, Victorpardosi, Googlesub-
culture, Wbm1058, Snakeskincowboy, Honeymanl, Madeincat, Jimmin~enwiki, Roif456, KayoWikiP069, Ian1337, Plarem, BG19bot,
Island Monkey, Freebiekr, Martin0499, ArgetlahmSource, , Adamjacobd, Mastrsushi, [Link], Steve1428, Snaevar-bot, MKar,
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shava G N, Jerrinsg, Kagundu, Secret Agent Julio, AwamerT, Hannes1983, Dandyandroid, 9th jinchuriki, Irislia, Compfreak7, Fbarousse,
Llancast, Socialmaven1, MyNameWasTaken, Peter712, Yowanvista, Executioner1337, Mdy66, VirusKA, Floating Boat, Ramonrabello,
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[Link], Googleuser999, Gamingforfun365, , Kripmo, SahilNairhacker, Kaartic, Jerodlycett, KasparBot, G-Fly, So-retro-
it-hurts, BBQ, Gaelan, CAPTAIN RAJU, Proud User, Dutral, Zafar24, Goo16, Vistadan, TurboProgramming, InternetArchiveBot, Euro-
cus47, Calvin Hogg, TheLocalGeek, MaxwellSO, GreenC bot, Bytesock, RSTech1, Gupta Dindayal, Jmcgnh, [Link] and Anonymous:
2070

14.2 Images
• File:A_Press_Conference_for_the_Launch_of_Nexus_7_on_September_27,_2012_in_Seoul_from_acrofan_3.JPG Source:
[Link]
2012_in_Seoul_from_acrofan_3.JPG License: CC BY-SA 3.0 Contributors: [Link]
view&cate=0003&wd=20120927&ucode=0200030001&page=7&keyfield=&keyword= Original artist: [Link]
• File:Abc.xyz_Favicon.png Source: [Link] License: Public do-
main Contributors: Extracted from [Link] Original artist: Alphabet Inc.
• File:[Link] Source: [Link]
svg License: CC BY-SA 3.0 Contributors: Anatomy Physiology of an Android Original artist: Smieh
• File:Android_7.0_Home_Screen.png Source: [Link] Li-
cense: Fair use Contributors: Android Original artist: Google
• File:Android_green_figure,_next_to_its_original_packaging.jpg Source: [Link]
Android_green_figure%2C_next_to_its_original_packaging.jpg License: CC BY-SA 3.0 Contributors: Own work Original artist: Dsimic
• File:Android_logo_(2007-2014).svg Source: [Link]
[Link] License: Public domain Contributors: [Link] Original artist: Android
• File:Android_logo_(2014).svg Source: [Link] Li-
cense: Public domain Contributors: [Link] Original artist: Google, Inc.
• File:Android_robot_2014.svg Source: [Link] License: CC
BY 3.0 Contributors: File:Android [Link], [Link] Original artist: Google
• File:Android_x86_on_EeePC_701_4G.jpg Source: [Link]
701_4G.jpg License: CC BY-SA 3.0 Contributors: Own work Original artist: Nzeemin
• File:Circle_frame.svg Source: [Link] License: Public domain Con-
tributors: Own work Original artist: PleaseStand
• File:[Link] Source: [Link] License: CC-BY-SA-3.0 Contribu-
tors: ? Original artist: ?
• File:Folder_Hexagonal_Icon.svg Source: [Link] License: Cc-by-
sa-3.0 Contributors: ? Original artist: ?
• File:Free_and_open-source_software_logo_(2009).svg Source: [Link]
open-source_software_logo_%282009%[Link] License: Public domain Contributors: FOSS [Link] Original artist: Free Software Portal
[Link] (FOSS [Link]): ViperSnake151
• File:Front_view_of_Nexus_7_(cropped).png Source: [Link]
7_%28cropped%[Link] License: CC BY 2.5 Contributors: [Link] Original
artist: [Link]
• File:Google_2015_logo.svg Source: [Link] License: Public
domain Contributors: [Link] Original
artist: Google Inc.
• File:HTC_Android_T-Mobile_G1.jpg Source: [Link]
jpg License: CC BY 2.0 Contributors: originally posted to Flickr as HTC Android T-Mobile G1 Original artist: Luis Alberto Arjona Chin
• File:[Link] Source: [Link] License: Pub-
lic domain Contributors: Own work Original artist: Evan-Amos
• File:People_icon.svg Source: [Link] License: CC0 Contributors: Open-
Clipart Original artist: OpenClipart
• File:[Link] Source: [Link] License: Public domain Contributors: ?
Original artist: ?
14.3 Content license 29

14.3 Content license

• Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0