Android OS is a mobile operating system based on a modified version of the Linux kernel and other open-source software, designed primarily for touchscreen mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets.
| FactSnippet No. 792,004 |
54 Facts About Android OS
2.
Android OS is developed by a consortium of developers known as the Open Handset Alliance and commercially sponsored by Google.
| FactSnippet No. 792,005 |
4.
Android OS has been the best-selling OS worldwide on smartphones since 2011 and on tablets since 2013.
| FactSnippet No. 792,007 |
5.
Android OS Inc was founded in Palo Alto, California, in October 2003 by Andy Rubin, Rich Miner, Nick Sears, and Chris White.
| FactSnippet No. 792,008 |
6.
Android OS then decided that the market for cameras was not large enough for its goals, and five months later it had diverted its efforts and was pitching Android as a handset operating system that would rival Symbian and Microsoft Windows Mobile.
| FactSnippet No. 792,009 |
7.
Since 2008, Android OS has seen numerous updates which have incrementally improved the operating system, adding new features and fixing bugs in previous releases.
| FactSnippet No. 792,010 |
9.
Plans to relaunch Android OS One surfaced in August 2015, with Africa announced as the next location for the program a week later.
| FactSnippet No. 792,012 |
10.
Many early Android OS smartphones were equipped with a dedicated search button for quick access to a web search engine and individual apps' internal search feature.
| FactSnippet No. 792,013 |
12.
Android OS has a growing selection of third-party applications, which can be acquired by users by downloading and installing the application's APK file, or by downloading them using an application store program that allows users to install, update, and remove applications from their devices.
| FactSnippet No. 792,015 |
13.
Android OS recognizes two types of secondary storage: portable storage, and adoptable storage.
| FactSnippet No. 792,016 |
14.
Since Android OS devices are usually battery-powered, Android OS is designed to manage processes to keep power consumption at a minimum.
| FactSnippet No. 792,017 |
15.
Android OS manages the applications stored in memory automatically: when memory is low, the system will begin invisibly and automatically closing inactive processes, starting with those that have been inactive for the longest amount of time.
| FactSnippet No. 792,018 |
16.
Android OS devices incorporate many optional hardware components, including still or video cameras, GPS, orientation sensors, dedicated gaming controls, accelerometers, gyroscopes, barometers, magnetometers, proximity sensors, pressure sensors, thermometers, and touchscreens.
| FactSnippet No. 792,019 |
17.
For example, as Android OS was developed initially as a phone OS, hardware such as microphones were required, while over time the phone function became optional.
| FactSnippet No. 792,020 |
18.
Android OS used to require an autofocus camera, which was relaxed to a fixed-focus camera if present at all, since the camera was dropped as a requirement entirely when Android OS started to be used on set-top boxes.
| FactSnippet No. 792,021 |
19.
Chinese companies are building a PC and mobile operating system, based on Android OS, to "compete directly with Microsoft Windows and Google Android OS".
| FactSnippet No. 792,022 |
20.
The Chinese Academy of Engineering noted that "more than a dozen" companies were customizing Android OS following a Chinese ban on the use of Windows 8 on government PCs.
| FactSnippet No. 792,023 |
22.
Hiroshi Lockheimer, the Android OS lead, admitted that "It's not an ideal situation", further commenting that the lack of updates is "the weakest link on security on Android OS".
| FactSnippet No. 792,025 |
23.
Mike Chan, co-founder of phone maker Nextbit and former Android OS developer, said that "The best way to solve this problem is a massive re-architecture of the operating system", "or Google could invest in training manufacturers and carriers 'to be good Android OS citizens".
| FactSnippet No. 792,026 |
24.
Google reported rolling out new amendments in Android OS 12 aimed at making the use of third-party application stores easier.
| FactSnippet No. 792,027 |
25.
Android OS's kernel is based on the Linux kernel's long-term support branches.
| FactSnippet No. 792,028 |
26.
Google engineer Patrick Brady once stated in the company's developer conference that "Android OS is not Linux", with Computerworld adding that "Let me make it simple for you, without Linux, there is no Android OS".
| FactSnippet No. 792,029 |
27.
Ars Technica wrote that "Although Android OS is built on top of the Linux kernel, the platform has very little in common with the conventional desktop Linux stack".
| FactSnippet No. 792,030 |
28.
In December 2011, Greg Kroah-Hartman announced the start of Android OS Mainlining Project, which aims to put some Android OS drivers, patches and features back into the Linux kernel, starting in Linux 3.
| FactSnippet No. 792,031 |
29.
Android OS is a Linux distribution according to the Linux Foundation, Google's open-source chief Chris DiBona, and several journalists.
| FactSnippet No. 792,032 |
30.
However, root access can be obtained by exploiting security flaws in Android OS, which is used frequently by the open-source community to enhance the capabilities and customizability of their devices, but by malicious parties to install viruses and malware.
| FactSnippet No. 792,033 |
31.
For its Java library, the Android OS platform uses a subset of the now discontinued Apache Harmony project.
| FactSnippet No. 792,034 |
32.
Security threats on Android OS are reportedly growing exponentially; however, Google engineers have argued that the malware and virus threat on Android OS is being exaggerated by security companies for commercial reasons, and have accused the security industry of playing on fears to sell virus protection software to users.
| FactSnippet No. 792,035 |
33.
Analysis of data traffic by popular smartphones running variants of Android OS found substantial by-default data collection and sharing with no opt-out by this pre-installed software.
| FactSnippet No. 792,036 |
34.
However, the open-source nature of Android OS allows security contractors to take existing devices and adapt them for highly secure uses.
| FactSnippet No. 792,037 |
35.
Android OS smartphones have the ability to report the location of Wi-Fi access points, encountered as phone users move around, to build databases containing the physical locations of hundreds of millions of such access points.
| FactSnippet No. 792,038 |
36.
In September 2014, Jason Nova of Android OS Authority reported on a study by the German security company Fraunhofer AISEC in antivirus software and malware threats on Android OS.
| FactSnippet No. 792,039 |
37.
Source code for Android OS is open-source: it is developed in private by Google, with the source code released publicly when a new version of Android OS is released.
| FactSnippet No. 792,040 |
38.
The best known fully open source Android OS services are the LineageOS distribution and MicroG which acts as an open source replacement of Google Play Services.
| FactSnippet No. 792,041 |
39.
Richard Stallman and the Free Software Foundation have been critical of Android OS and have recommended the usage of alternatives such as Replicant, because drivers and firmware vital for the proper functioning of Android OS devices are usually proprietary, and because the Google Play Store application can forcibly install or uninstall applications and, as a result, invite non-free software.
| FactSnippet No. 792,042 |
40.
Android OS received a lukewarm reaction when it was unveiled in 2007.
| FactSnippet No. 792,043 |
41.
The idea of an open-source, Linux-based development platform sparked interest, but there were additional worries about Android OS facing strong competition from established players in the smartphone market, such as Nokia and Microsoft, and rival Linux mobile operating systems that were in development.
| FactSnippet No. 792,044 |
42.
Since then Android OS has grown to become the most widely used smartphone operating system and "one of the fastest mobile experiences available".
| FactSnippet No. 792,045 |
43.
Android OS has suffered from "fragmentation", a situation where the variety of Android OS devices, in terms of both hardware variations and differences in the software running on them, makes the task of developing applications that work consistently across the ecosystem harder than rival platforms such as iOS where hardware and software varies less.
| FactSnippet No. 792,046 |
44.
Three billion Android OS smartphones were estimated to be sold by the end of 2014 .
| FactSnippet No. 792,047 |
45.
One of the main causes was the chicken or the egg situation where consumers were hesitant to buy an Android OS tablet due to a lack of high quality tablet applications, but developers were hesitant to spend time and resources developing tablet applications until there was a significant market for them.
| FactSnippet No. 792,048 |
46.
Additionally, by providing infrastructure that combines dedicated hardware and dedicated applications running on regular Android OS, Google have opened up the platform for its use in particular usage scenarios, such as the Android OS Auto app for cars, and Daydream, a Virtual Reality platform.
| FactSnippet No. 792,049 |
47.
Open and customizable nature of Android OS allows device makers to use it on other electronics as well, including laptops, netbooks, and desktop computers, cameras, headphones, home automation systems, game consoles, media players, satellites, routers, printers, payment terminals, automated teller machines, and robots.
| FactSnippet No. 792,050 |
48.
Additionally, Android OS has been installed and run on a variety of less-technical objects, including calculators, single-board computers, feature phones, electronic dictionaries, alarm clocks, refrigerators, landline telephones, coffee machines, bicycles, and mirrors.
| FactSnippet No. 792,051 |
49.
Ouya, a video game console running Android OS, became one of the most successful Kickstarter campaigns, crowdfunding US$8.
| FactSnippet No. 792,052 |
50.
Parrot unveiled an Android OS-based car stereo system known as Asteroid in 2011, followed by a successor, the touchscreen-based Asteroid Smart, in 2012.
| FactSnippet No. 792,053 |
51.
Android OS comes preinstalled on a few laptops and can be installed on personal computers by end users.
| FactSnippet No. 792,054 |
52.
On those platforms Android OS provides additional functionality for physical keyboards and mice, together with the "Alt-Tab" key combination for switching applications quickly with a keyboard.
| FactSnippet No. 792,055 |
53.
The platform is built into Android OS starting with Android OS Nougat, differentiating from standalone support for VR capabilities.
| FactSnippet No. 792,056 |
54.
Mascot of Android OS is a green android robot, as related to the software's name.
| FactSnippet No. 792,057 |